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Welcome to Term 4. We cannot believe how quickly this year seems to be going and yet, it has also seemed slow of late without a preschool full of children!
We look forward to welcoming you all back soon and travelling the next part of the preschool journey together. Please feel free to contact us via email or phone if you have any questions around the coming weeks. We will navigate this together as a community.
Book Week
In 1946 the CBCA established annual book awards to promote children's books of high literary and artistic quality. These awards are now the most influential and highly respected in Australia. This year, the picture book winner is from award-winning author Meg McKinlay and celebrated artist Matt Ottley - How to make a bird. This moving and visually stunning picture book celebrates the transformative power of the creative process from inception through recognition to celebration and releasing into the world. It shows how small things, combined with a little imagination and a steady heart, can transform into works of magic. This message is a wonderful example of how we can encourage our students in the ELC through wonder and awe and inspire each child to be their own protagonist.
Sharing stories, talking, and singing every day helps your child’s development in many ways.
Reading and sharing stories can:
- help your child get to know sounds, words and language
- learn to value books and stories
- spark your child’s imagination and stimulate curiosity
- help develop your child’s brain, ability to focus, concentration, social skills and communication skills
- help your child learn the difference between ‘real’ and ‘make-believe’
- help your child understand new or frightening events and the strong emotions that come with them
- help your child learn about the world, their own culture and other cultures.
Just by looking at books with your child and talking about them, you can be a great storyteller and a good model for using language and books. Your child will learn by watching you hold a book the right way and seeing how you move through the book by gently turning the pages. Reading stories with children has benefits for adults too. The special time you spend reading together promotes bonding and helps to build your relationship with your child.
Return to Preschool
We are looking forward to welcoming all children back to the ELC on 25 October and have a Covid-19 safety plan in place to ensure the health and safety of children, families, and staff for their return. Please read below the updated procedures for the dropping-off and pick-up of ELC children.
- To minimise number of people on site, please only one parent or carer at a time completing drop-off and pick-ups. Where possible older siblings are asked to remain outside the ELC grounds.
- Masks must be worn by parent or carer when entering the ELC grounds, and all visitors (parent/carer) are required to check in via the Check In CBR app.
- Children will be dropped-off and picked-up from the covered area outside our front door. Families will not be able to enter the preschool building.
- Staff will sign children in and out of the ELC to minimise use of high touch points.
- Please observe physical distancing; parent or carer should minimise the amount of time spent on site as much as possible.
- Parent or carer are welcome to drop children between 8.50am-9.10am and pick-up from 2.40pm-3.00pm, to stagger arrivals and departure and minimise high traffic periods. Families using Before and After School Care may arrive and pick-up from ELC as needed. At this time, please use the doorbell
Furthermore, to increase safety the ELC has undertaken the following measures:
- Classrooms have increased ventilation, and when possible, classes will optimise outside learning.
- High levels of cleaning of high touch areas, equipment and toys will continue by staff, as well as the daily clean of the ELC by contracted cleaners.
- It is now mandated for all ELC staff to be vaccinated, first-dose vaccinations will be required by staff no later than 1 November 2021. Staff must then be fully vaccinated - that is have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine - no later than 29 November 2021. To date there has already been a very high uptake for vaccination amongst CECG staff.
- NDIS staff and therapists are able to continue visiting the ELC and have the same vaccination requirements as ELC staff.
- Please monitor your child for signs of sickness and do not send your child to school if they have cold or flu-like symptoms. Any children showing signs of sickness whilst at school will be required to be collected from school promptly.
The Department of Education, Skills and Employment have confirmed that although the lockdown lifted on 15 October, the Gap Waiver payments will continue until Friday 22 October. Regular fees will apply from 25 October.
We are lucky enough to have access to some short video's with some fabulous early childhood professionals and we wanted to share these with you when they come across our path. Follow this link for a 5 minute video with Maggie Dent on calming anxious chidren. Maggie speaks about recognising and understanding some of the normal anxiety's in children and provides some great strategies to implement.
