Message from Kay - Forest Child Care

Message from Kay,
We have had a great month at the Forest Childcare Centre and look forward to
another busy month.
Thank you to all the mothers who attended our Afternoon Tea. We hope you
enjoyed it.
Thank you also to the parents who attended the Parent Committee Meeting.
I hope you found it productive.
Don’t forget to book your time for your child’s Parent/Teacher Conference.
These conferences will be held from the 16th June, 2014. Booking forms can be
found near the Sign-In/Out sheets in each room.
1. Look for your child’s name/focus teacher
2. Write your name in a time slot to book a conference
We highly recommend that if your child is eligible for school in 2015, you book a
conference with your child’s focus teacher. If you are not available on the day of
the conference, please chat to your child’s focus teacher to organise another time
that fits in with the room’s schedule. Conferences are a great opportunity to have
uninterrupted time with your child’s educator.
Child Care Rebate: Please note that as the Child Care Rebate is capped at
$7,500 per child per financial year, some families do run out before the financial
year ends.
The Centre will be closed on Monday, 9th June, 2014 for the Queen’s Birthday
weekend. No fees will be charged for children enrolled on this day.
Our Policy Review this month is Standard 2 – Dental Hygiene and Care.
Copies of this Policy are available from the Office and are displayed on the Centre
Notice Board.
Please see the Centre’s Annual Calendar on Pages 2 and 3 of this Newsletter.
I hope you all have a wonderful month and that the sunshine lasts……
Kay
Doyle
(Approved Provider)
Forest Childcare Calendar
5th June
World Environment Day - “Raise your Voice –
Not the Sea Level”
8th June
World Ocean Day
9th June
QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY – Centre will be closed
17th June
Dragon Boat Festival
Incursion: “Sharing the Culture”
27th June
Red Nose Day – Children please wear RED
6th July
National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Week
7th July
Tanabata Festival (Make a wish and hang it on our tree)
9th July
INSERVICE COURSE – “TRANSITION TO SCHOOL”
7.30pm to 9.30pm - Danielle Mantakoul
9th July
PARENT COMMITTEE MEETING - 7.00pm to 7.30pm
14th July
Bastille Day - France
25th July
National Tree Day
1st August
Jeans for Genes Day
8th August
TRIVIA NIGHT, plus Dinner
14th August
Incursion, “Stories in the Shade of a Tree”
22nd August
Daffodil Day
1st September
Incursion, “Living Eggs”
1st September
First Day of Spring
7th September
Fathers’ Day
8th September
Moon Festival
10th September
4.00 to 6.00pm - FATHERS’ AFTERNOON TEA & ACTIVITIES
14th September
PARENT COMMITTEE MEETING - 7.30pm
14th September
Festival of the Winds
25th September
Rosh Hashanah (Jewish)
4th October
Yom Kippur (Jewish)
6th October
HOLIDAY – LONG WEEKEND (Centre will be closed)
9th October
Incursion, “Á Little Bit of Blue”
9th October
Sukkot (Jewish)
18th – 26th Oct.
Children’s Week – Celebrate the Right of Children to enjoy
Childhood
23rd October
Diwali - Hindu Festival of Lights
31st October
HALLOWEEN DISCO - 6.00pm – 8.00pm
4th November
Melbourne Cup Day
11th November
Remembrance Day
12th November
PARENT COMMITTEE MEETING - 7.30pm
17th – 28th Nov.
PARENT CONFERENCES
27th November
Thanksgiving Day (USA)
1st December
CHRISTMAS CONCERT (Tadpoles)
2nd December
CHRISTMAS CONCERT (Bilbies)
3rd December
CHRISTMAS CONCERT (Kookaburras)
4th December
CHRISTMAS CONCERT (Platypus)
12th December
CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT
17th December
CHRISTMAS PARTY
Santa Visit
Incursion: “The Dinosaur who Lost his Roar”
19th December
CENTRE CLOSES
22nd – 24th Dec.
HOLIDAY PROGRAMME
29th - 31st Dec.
HOLIDAY PROGRAMME
Healthy Teeth in Child Care
Good oral health is vital to general wellbeing and early childhood dental hygiene
is a key factor in the development of healthy adult teeth.
In Australia, significant numbers of young children spend time in non-parental care. Child care
providers have an important role to play in promoting and implementing good oral health
practices.
Policies are vital to promote good dental hygiene behavior in children, to reduce the incidence of
dental caries and to facilitate the prevention and management of dental trauma in children.
Service policies and procedures need to cover day to day practices that are workable for carers.
Information and support should be readily available to families.
Oral Health of Australian Children
The oral health of Australian children is still of significant concern with 15 per cent of infants
suffering dental decay.
Dental health in children has improved in the last decade; however, 50% of children aged 6 years
still have caries. The most recent study of dental decay in young children indicated that
approximately 84% of children aged 4 years enter their school years with clinically detectable
untreated decay. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 1995 data found that only 23% of 2 to
4 year old children had visited a dentist in the previous two years.
Risk factors associated with dental decay in preschool children can include late starting of tooth
brushing, low frequency of tooth brushing, frequent snacking, prolonged use of the feeding bottle,
use of the dummy dipped in sweet substances, high/frequent sugar consumption and parental
attitudes.
Guidelines for oral hygiene and prevention of caries
To help reduce the incidence of caries in young children:
Avoid the use of:
Nursing bottles containing sweetened milk
Fruit juices, cordials or soft drinks
Using food as behavioural rewards
Pacifiers dipped in sweet substances (eg. honey, jam)
Nursing bottles as pacifiers or using a bottle containing anything other than water
to help a child fall asleep.
Offer water to drink in preference to carbonated drinks, flavoured milk and fruit juices
Limit the number of times snacks are offered each day. When snacks are offered, use a
varied selection of nutritious foods such as vegetables, cheese, yoghurt, fruit, plain
pasta, and bread with spreads such as meat, cheese and vegetable extracts.
For children who are old enough, encourage them to rinse their mouth with water after
each meal.
NB Young children should only brush their teeth twice a day.
Dental Visits
Allow your child to accompany you when you visit the dentist. The dental professional may
offer your child a ride in the dental chair for fun.
Dental check-ups start with toddlers.
Help children to accept that dental visits are part of a regular routine.
Be positive about dental visits and highlight the new/interesting/fun aspects of visiting the
dental professional.
Make your child’s appointment for early in the day so that your child is not tired.
Arrive a little before the appointment time to let your child become familiar with the new
surroundings.
Be a ‘passive observer’ and allow the dental staff to capture your child’s full attention.
It is not necessary to ‘bribe’ children to see the dentist/dental therapist, nor for
children/parents to feel anxious.
Consult your dental professional, maternal and child health nurse, family doctor or
paediatrician for further information.
Tips on Toothbrushing
Clean your child’s teeth at least twice every day (after meals and before bed). Parents should
assist children up to six or seven years of age to brush their teeth thoroughly.
Sit your child on your lap facing away from you, or stand behind tall children, with their
head tilted against your body so you can see all the teeth.
Use a soft toothbrush designed for children and introduce toothpaste once the child is able
to spit out. A low-fluoride toothpaste is recommended for children aged two to six years of
age unless otherwise recommended by a dental professional.
Aim the toothbrush bristles down at an angle to the gum line. Gently jiggle the brush or
move it in small circles over the tooth and gums. Repeat for inside surfaces of all teeth.
For chewing surfaces, use a light back and forth motion.
Encourage your child to spit out the toothpaste after brushing.
Did You Know?
It is best to avoid using lollies, sweet biscuits or chocolate as treats or rewards for your child
A treasure jar full of balloons, stickers, crayons and toys is a great idea for special rewards or treats
for your child
A handy snack idea is to keep a ‘snack box’ in the fridge. The box should contain healthy foods such
as pieces of fruit, vegetables, cheese and small sandwiches. This helps establish healthy snacking
habits.
Source: Childcare and Children’s Health
News from the Office
 Office Hours: Rosie will be available between 8:30am -4:00pm
Request for Email Address Update
We will now be sending our monthly newsletter via email, as well as uploading it to the
website. If you wish to update your email address, please contact Rosie in the Office.
Fee Schedule
It is important that you pay your child’s fees on the first day they attend in the FEES
WEEK. We have a considerable amount of outstanding fees and to enable us to pay our
bills on time, we require you to keep up to date with your child’s fees. This is our only
income.
Any fees received after the fortnight you are paying for will incur a late fee of $10.00. A
late fee of $10.00 will be automatically charged to your account and an additional $10.00
will be charged for any subsequent week your fees are out of order. Please contact Rosie
or Kay in the Office at the beginning of the fee week if you are encountering any difficulties
in making your fortnightly payment, to avoid being charged a late fee.
Thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
Fees are as follows:
Platypus:
$96.00 per day
Kookaburras:
$102.00 per day
Bilbies:
$115.00 per day
Tadpoles:
$115.00 per day
Enrolment Records
It is very important that you always keep your child’s enrolment details up to date. Please
make sure that if you change phone numbers or address, you inform us ASAP. If your
details are not up to date on our system it will mean we cannot process your Fee Tax
Rebates.
Immunisation
A reminder to new parents who haven’t brought their child’s immunisation records to the
Centre – could you please bring your child’s blue book to the Office.
Parent Committee Meetings are scheduled every
2nd month on Wednesdays @ 7.30pm
9th July
10th September
12th November
We would like to encourage all families to take
part in our Parent Committee Meetings. Please
contact us via email to let us know whether you
can join us. You can be an integral part in
developing social events, making suggestions to
our programs and extracurricular activities for
the children at the Forest. Be a voice for the
families in your child’s room and express your
ideas and thoughts!
Sign In/Out:
It is VERY IMPORTANT that you always sign your children in and out on the register
every day. Many parents are forgetting to do this.
If a child is not signed in or out, they will be marked as absent when all your attendance
details are sent to Family Assistance. This may then mean your CCB% is cancelled.
Also, most importantly, you must sign them in/out in case there is an emergency at the
Centre. We can then make sure all children are accounted for.
Change of Days
Parents wishing to change enrolment days need to give a fortnight’s notice in
writing.
Staff News
We welcome Brendan Cappello to our Centre. Brendan is an Early Childhood Teacher
with many years’ experience. Brendan will be teaching the Platypus children – please
say hello and help to welcome him.
Sadly, we will be saying goodbye to Hanah Patom from the Kookaburras Room and Eliza
Stebbings from the Nursery. Eliza will be going to Nepal on a volunteer’s program for 3
months. We wish her well.
Michael Cardona will replace Hannah.
Staff taking well deserved holidays are Yuki Tarumi and Erin Hayes. Flavia Assuncao will
be replacing Yuki in the Nursery for 3 weeks, from 29th May to 23rd June.
Welcome back, Flavia.
Erin Hayes will be on leave from 23rd June to 9th July. Hopefully, Flavia will be able to
replace Erin.
We welcome two students to our Centre. Rita Ghate-Golanjan is completing her Master
of Education at Macquarie University and will be completing her practicum from Monday,
2nd June to Friday, 20th June. Rita will be in the Tadpole Room.
Alina Galoustian from Crows Nest TAFE will be completing her 3 weeks practicum from
Tuesday, 10th June.
News from the Rooms
May was a very busy month in the Tadpole Room.
Tadpole
Room
We celebrated Japanese Children’s Day, (Kodomo no Hi) with
Yuki and had fun painting on the Samurai Helmet.
The children have been enjoying lots of cooking activities, making delicious cup cakes,
yummy pizza and colourful jellies.
Music time with Jorge has continued exploring the different rhythms and music from
around the world and the Tadpoles have enjoyed singing and moving to their favourite
songs.
Our transitioning children have enjoyed playing in the Bilbies’ Room and are looking
forward to their new adventure. We wish them farewell and all the best in their new
room!
A big welcome to our new Tadpoles – Eden, Sofie and Jarvis! We hope you will settle
quickly into our room, so that you can have fun and explore.
During June we will be busy with our Tadpoles practicing walking, washing hands and
sitting at group time. We look forward to engaging in more art experiences during the
month ahead.
Yuki is going home to Japan on a three-week holiday and will be returning to the Centre
on 23rd June. She will be replaced by Flavia.
From the Tadpole Team – Alex, Flavia, Anahid, Natasha ,
Yuki, Lucia , Carmen and Paola
Hello to our Bilby Parents,
Bilby
Room
This month was extremely busy with transitions happening.
We’ve welcomed Victoria, Sebastian, Hayden, Layla, Abby
and Helena from the Tadpoles room who will be joining us as
nd
full time Bilbies from the 2 June. The new Bilbies have done an excellent job in getting
to know their new educators and fellow peers as well as exploring their new
environment. Sadly we’ll be saying goodbye to our big Bilbies as they move up into the
Kookaburras Room on the 2nd June; Sigrid, Jade, Scarlett, Aliza, Claudia, Daniel and Lilly,
who all seem to be having a great time in the Kookaburras room with some of their old
Bilby friends. There have been some small changes in the Orange, Blue and Red Groups.
As the new Tadpoles will be in the Orange Group, 3 or 4 children will be moving up from
the Orange Group into the Blue Group and the same will be happening from the Blue
Group to the Red Group. The transition between each group has been taking place over
the last 3 weeks and the children are settling in well. All parents have been informed;
however, if you have any questions about which group your child is in, please speak to
one of our staff members. A big welcome to our new Bilby friends who are just starting
at the centre – Joshua, Noah and William!
This month, our Bilbies children have been focusing on the season ‘autumn.’ We’ve been
discussing the weather change from our previous warm summer season to the cooler
autumn weather. The children have learnt about the changes that come with the
different seasons and the importance of making sure they are dressed appropriately.
Please make sure there are always jumpers in your child’s bag as we approach the cooler
weather. As you would have noticed, the children have also been participating in lots of
autumn craft such as glitter gluing different coloured cut out leaves, painting with
branches and helping to create our beautiful autumn tree that’s on our window. Now
that autumn is wrapping up next month we will be discussing winter! We also learnt a
special autumn song that goes like this:
Leaves are falling with the wind,
Leaves are falling down,
Twirling, twirling, swirling, swirling,
Soon they’re on the ground.
I rake the leaves into a pile,
And make it very high.
Then, I jump with all my might and
Weee! I’m out of sight!
During April in Home Corner, we had our own hair salon set up for the children to role
play with. In May we changed it into our own grocery store with empty food containers
and a cash register for children to use their imagination and extend their creative play.
We also added a shoe shop to this idea where the children have been putting their shoes
on the shelves before sleep time.
The children have also been involved in lots of sensory play during May, with shaving
foam and soapy water play. They have really enjoyed both these experiments.
Reminder Note:
Enter through main entrance only
Sign in and out
Place 4 nappies in your child nappy cubicle
Fill up drink bottle with water, place in coloured container
Milk bottles and dummies into white containers
Label all clothing items, including shoes and socks as well as bed sheets and
comforters.
This enables staff to proceed with the morning program smoothly.
From the Bilby Team – Wendy, Jaimie, Olena, Pat, Erin
Helena , Chris and Jo
Kookaburra Room
Hello to all our Kookaburra Parents!
Eugene’s Blue Group: This month we have been getting
ready for the transition of children from the Bilbies to our room, as well as seeing some
children moving up to the Pink Group. It is really exciting to see some more children in
the room and we look forward to providing fun learning experiences!
Samantha has joined the Blue Group as an educator and will be working with Eugene to
provide an exciting program. For the coming month, we would like to work on the
children’s self-help skills in order to foster their independence and confidence!
Marinella’s Pink Group:
taste and smell.
During May, the children have been exploring their sense of
Their interests have been extended by building and then painting, a rocket ship.
The Kookaburras have been engaging in lots of language activities in order to extend
their language skills, as well as their social and emotional skills.
It was great to meet all the families at the Mothers’ Afternoon tea. We enjoyed meeting
and chatting with all the parents who participated in the event.
June will be a settling in month for the children who are going to become Kookaburras.
For the children transitioning, it will be a great experience getting to know their new
routine during the morning Learning centre.
We will be meeting all our parents for our Half Year Development Report on each child.
June will be a month of knowing each other and learning children interests.
The Kookaburra Team: Marinella, Samantha, Eugene ,
Michael, Candice, Hannah and Talin.
Platypus Room
May was a very busy month in the Platypus Room, filled
with lots of exciting experiences.
At the beginning of the month, we spoke about the
Japanese national festival, ‘Children’s Day’. The aim of this special festival is to celebrate
children’s happiness and respect their individuality. As part of this celebration, we
invited Hamish’s parents to come in and teach us about this very special festival,
including Japanese culture. We learned that during this festival, all of the parents create
a special display using colorful carp banners or helmets. After this discussion the
Platypus children made a special helmet using the Origami technique. The practice of
inviting our families to come in and teach us about their culture and/or language, other
than English, is a part of our curriculum.
Following the ‘Children’s Festival’, we started our ‘Mother’s Day’ celebrations. Firstly, we
encouraged the children to think about their mums and all of the things that they like to
do together. During this great, long discussion we discovered over thousands of different
reasons why our mums are so special. We then created beautiful pictures entitled ‘Me
and my Mummy’. During this activity we were involved in a lot of writing and drawing
experiences, while at the same time practising our fine motor skills and hand-eye
coordination.
Following the children’s interest in cooking, we made yummy heart shape cookies for all
of our mums. During this experience, we did a lot of measuring, mixing and licking
(tasting). However, the most important ingredient today was ‘love’. We tried to put lots
of happy faces and love in our cookies in order for them to taste better. The Mother’s
Day afternoon tea was very successful and the Platypus children enjoyed making
pancakes and then serving them to their mums and all other special visitors.
To follow the children's interests in bugs, we set up a sensory table using plastic bugs,
books and posters with bugs on them. All of the children displayed great interest in this
topic and participated well in a great discussion. Currently, we have tadpoles in our
room and the children are spending a lot of time observing them and collecting
information about all of the changes. The great news came when some of our tadpoles
turned into beautiful little frogs. The children were so excited to see the little frogs
swimming in the water.
During the group time we discussed the importance of phonological awareness activities
such as: listening; rhyming; alliteration (beginning sounds); segmenting and blending.
Thus, we provided multiple fun opportunities for children to practice these very important
skills. This month we learned and practiced the following letters: m, d, s, h, l, n, p, g, o,
c, k, u, and b. With those letters, we also learned how to create a number of different
words and followed by practicing how to read these new words by sounding them out
first and then reading them again by blending them.
In order to continue to extend children’s ability to count with meaning, the children were
engaged in creating a ‘number’ book.
This month we also welcomed a new teacher, Brendon, to our Platypus Room. Brendon
is already very popular amongst all of the children.
Until next time, take care.
The Platypus Team: Vesna, Samantha, Jane, Pru, Mary,
Yulika, Izumi, Michael and Brendan
Music Corner with Jorge
During the month of June, the Tadpoles will continue to explore a wide range of music,
being exposed to different rhythms and reacting to fast and slow movements, and happy
or sad music.
The Bilbies are continuing to play action games with lots of movement, such as ‘Ring-aRing-a-Rosy’ to reinforce relationships and listening skills.
The Kookaburras are also playing lots of circular games, as well as learning some songs
in different languages, such as Italian, Greek and Japanese. We are learning the Cuckoo
Bird song and exploring its accompanying story.
The Platypus children are also learning the Cuckoo Bird song, as well as some songs from
Africa. They enjoy playing musical games.
Dance with Cheryl
‘Frozen’, the musical fantasy-comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation, has
inspired many of the children who have watched it. PPAA has taken the magical song
from this film, “Let It Go”, and choreographed a wonderful expressive dance. The
children have begun to learn the dance and have embraced it with enormous passion.
Voice projection has been explored during the learning of the new routine and the
children have enhanced vocal skills, from shouting the words, to singing them.
Increasing the opportunity for the children to perform individually has been an exciting
process. The children have been able to discuss movement of animals and using their
imaginations, have creatively re-enacted the way they move on different levels. An allround favourite was the slithering snake. Shape and colour recognition has once again
been tested to maintain the awareness of the surrounding props used for performance.
During June, the children will begin to understand balance and how to control it to the
best of their ability and we will continue to learn the new routine, “Let It Go”.
Cheryl Lee, BA (HONS) Dance Performance
Passion Performing Arts Academy
TechknowKids
Funny Money: The children travelled in a spaceship with some friendly aliens. We
visited a maths planet where everyone looked a bit funny. We went to the spaceship
workshop to help repair the spaceship. We saw that tessellated shapes make interesting
patterns. By selecting a range of pieces and rotating them, we were able to make the
required shape to obtain parts to repair the spaceship.
Skills: Concentration; Counting; Visual Discrimination; Problem Solving;
Collaboration; Use of Rotation Tool; Understand Icons.
Rainbow Balloon: We travelled around the village and helped people in the story by
completing tasks. We found other items we needed to help our friends and we were
promised a ride in the hot air balloon.
The children took a trip to the book shop and ‘read’ some of the adventure stories. They
were able to make their own selections and were required to solve problems using clues
they found along the way.
Skills: Listening/Following Instructions; Observing; Letter Recognition/Phonics; Relate
to Experiences Shown; Understand text is read from left to right; Group Discussion on
Problem Solving; Co-operation.
Match our Menu: The children played a letter recognition game in the Alphabet. When
we finished our soup we went to make a range of puzzles that got harder as we
progressed.
Skills: Letter Recognition; Sound Recognition; Recognise Sounds in Words; Reinforce
knowledge from other lessons.
Need more information – then please contact Geof and Edilia directly:
02 9874 8552
[email protected]
Safety Corner
Car Park Safety
Gate safety is again a matter of concern in the Forest Childcare Carpark.
To ensure optimal safety, it is important that children are
discouraged from climbing the gate in order to open it, as
well as swinging on the gate.
Swinging on the gate places pressure on the hinges and
gates become unaligned.
Parents talking with the gate opened can allow another
unrelated child to freely enter the car park.
It is important to hold children’s hands at all times
when walking to and from your car.
Hello everyone!
Here is a recipe for Carrot and Parsnip Muffins
Ingredients
Olive or canola oil spray
1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
¾ cup white self-raising flour
¼ teaspoon paprika or curry powder
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 parsnip, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or basil
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup low-fat milk
Method
Preheat oven to 190oC. Lightly spray muffin trays with oil.
Sift flours into a large bowl, returning husks to the bowl.
Add paprika and fold in carrot, parsnip, cheese and herbs.
In a separate bowl mix eggs, oil and milk. Pour into the dry ingredients.
Lightly combine but do not over-mix.
Spoon into a greased 12 muffin tray and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and firm to
touch.
7. Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 12
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Hint:
These muffins freeze well and can be defrosted and microwaved to serve warm
Serving suggestion: Serve with low-fat cheese such as cottage cheese, quark or labneh
Love and live healthy,
Nui
Hudson Geercke is turning 2 on 4th June
Savanah Geercke is turning 2 on 4th June
Erik Alex is turning 1 on 7th June
Jarvis de Jersey is turning 1 on 12th June
Georgia Clarkson is turning 3 on 18th June
Marlee White is turning 2 on 20th June
Charlotte Ristevski is turning 2 on 27th June
Thomas Johnson is turning 1 on 30th June
Dragon Boat Festival
Chinese - Tuen Ng (Cantonese); Tuen Yang (Mandarin)
Monday, 2nd June, 2014
The festival commemorates the death of a popular Chinese national hero, Qu Yuan, who drowned
himself in the Mi Lo River during the 3 rd century BC, in protest against a corrupt government.
Legend has it that as locals attempted to rescue him, they beat drums to scare fish away and
threw dumplings into the sea to keep the fish from eating his body. During the festival period,
people eat rice-and-meat dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and many look forward to
swimming, or even simply dipping their hands in the water, to symbolize trying to save him.
The dragon boat races were first held in 1976 as part of the 2000-year-old Tuen Ng Festival and
have now become an exciting and spectacular annual event. Over 100 teams from across the
globe participate in the waters around Hong Kong and its islands. After the locals have raced, the
event becomes an international open. The main competitions take place on Shing Mun River, at
Sha Tin in the New Territories.
World Environment Day
Thursday, 5th June, 2014
World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is the United Nations’ principal
vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment. Over the years it
has grown to be a broad, global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated by
stakeholders in over 100 countries. It also serves as the “people’s” day for doing something
positive for the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collective power that generates
an exponential positive impact on the planet.
In support of the International Year of Small Island Developing States, the World Environment
Day theme selected for 2014 is Raise your Voice, not the Sea Level. The call this year is to
recognize that we all face the same challenges and are connected by our common goal of a
sustainable and prosperous life for all on this planet. The call is to raise our voice in solidarity
with one another, particularly with the citizens of the small island states. Whether it is to organize
clean up campaigns, food waste reduction initiatives, walk-to-work days, plastic bans, art exhibits,
tree-planting drives, concerts, dance recitals, recycling drives – every action counts.
Bike Day for Platypus Group
Tuesday, 3rd June
On Tuesday, 3rd June, the Platypus children are going to have a Bike Day.
This activity will be held in the car park at the Childcare Centre. We will barricade the
area to make it safe for the children.
Please bring your child’s bike or scooter and helmet, and park them along the fence
near the chicken shed.
World Oceans Day
Sunday, 8th June, 2014
This day acknowledges the importance of the world’s oceans and the part they play in our world’s
food chain, economy and regulating the global climate. This day provides an opportunity to
consider the conservation of the world’s oceans and the reduction of our impact on their fragile
ecosystems.
Queen’s Birthday
Public Holiday - Monday, 9th June, 2014
The British sovereign has two birthdays every year – on the real date of his or her birth and on an
officially proclaimed day. This explains why, although the present queen was born on 21 April,
her birthday is celebrated on the second Saturday in June. The day was not chosen because any
particular monarch was actually born then. Indeed the choice had nothing to do with the needs or
convenience of the monarch. Concern for the people’s enjoyment was the major reason for fixing
the date in June. Because the day fell during the summer season, it was most likely that the sky
would be blue and the weather pleasant and therefore conducive to all types of outdoor events,
games and sports.
Other considerations of a practical kind also supported the new date. Traditionally, the king or
queen awards titles and decorations twice annually. Honours’ lists are published both on New
Year’s Day and the monarch’s birthday. To prevent the occasions from being too close together
or, worse still, happening to fall during the same month, the middle of the year was chosen as the
most feasible time to fix the monarch’s official birthday.
Source: R Brasch, CollinsAngus&Robertson Publishers Pty Limited, 1993
The Queen’s Birthday is observed in NSW on the second Monday of June.
The Centre will be closed on Monday, 9th June.
No fees will be charged for this day.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Commencing Monday, 16th June, Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held
as follows – please make sure you find a time that suits you.
The schedules are to be found next to the Sign-In/Out sheets in your
child’s room.
Monday, 16th June:
Wendy Leung
Pru Carson
-
Bilbies
Platypus
Tuesday, 17th June
Mary Taylor
-
Platypus
Wednesday, 18th June
Yulika Silva
Eugene Lam
Pat Corben
-
Platypus
Kookaburras
Bilbies
Thursday, 19th June
Erin Hayes
Natasha Rawson
Alex Hruncev
-
Bilbies
Tadpoles
Tadpoles
Friday, 20th June
Paola Eraso
Samantha Chan
-
Tadpoles
Platypus
Monday, 23rd June
Carmen McAnnally
Jamie Li
Jane Wu
-
Tadpoles
Bilbies
Platypus
Tuesday, 24th June
Olena La Macchia
-
Bilbies
Wednesday, 25th June
Helena Wu
Vesna Turalic
-
Bilbies
Platypus
Thursday, 26th June
Marinella Russo
Kay Doyle
Izumi Chikugo
-
Kookaburras
Platypus
Platypus
Friday, 27th June
Talin Danieuan
-
Kookaburra
Thursday, 3rd July
Yuki Tarumi
-
Tadpoles
Young Australian Workshop
Tuesday, 17th June, 2014
“Sharing Culture”
The children will be participating in an incursion called “Sharing
Culture”. This is an indigenous group who sing, dance and tell stories
about their culture.
Red Nose Day
Friday, 27th June, 2014
The innovative ‘signature day’ fundraising concept of selling novelties
was introduced into Australia in 1988 in the form of a simple red
nose.
Held the last Friday in June each year, Red Nose Day is an icon in the
Australian community and is SIDS and Kids major fundraising activity
across Australia.
Funds raised on Red Nose Day go to support research into Sudden
Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) being undertaken by the Children’s
Hospital, Westmead.
The children will be encouraged to wear RED on FRIDAY,
27th June, 2014.