APRIL 2015

Diamond Hills Pre-School

Play, Learn, Laugh & Shine

Events this Month Thursday 23rd of April

4 Year old Groups photo Day

Thursday 30th April Incursion Rhythm drumming

Tuesday 5th of May Penguins Mothers Day

afternoon Tea Thursday 7th of May

10:30 Platypus Mothers Day Surprise

Penguins Mother’s Day gift giving

Families Welcome Dinner On Friday the 20th of March we held our annual Welcome Dinner, The events team put together a

fantastic night with Sam the Magic man who entertained all of the children with his brilliant magic show and then supplied all the children

with extraordinary creations made from balloons and continued to make them until the end of the night (his poor fingers!!) Then at the end of his

show our special visitor Peppa Pig arrived (Thank you to the Gibbins Family for volunteering) and

the kids went mad with excitement!!!! We also had the Michelle from Enchanted Entertainment doing brilliant face painting, she continued face painting

until it was dark. A huge thank you to the Toussaint family for lending us there outdoor gas heater it really helped keep the chills away and many of us huddled under it for warmth. Thank to all the Families that came along we hope you had

a fantastic night and also thank you for your continued support especially to those who

participated in our raffle you helped us raise a total of $204 which went towards our new sand

and water table which is already in our kindergarten being enjoyed by the children.

Local events Saturday 25th of April

ANZAC DAY Local Dawn Services are being held at 6am at

Eltham War Memorial, 903 Main road, Eltham, &

Yallambie Simpsons Barracks, 26 Mackay Road, Yallambie

Lego Make and Build Diamond Valley Library Tuesday’s

3:30pm-5pm Saturday 2nd of May

Research Primary School Fete 10am-4pm

Presidents Report Welcome to term 2 at Diamond Hills Preschool. The year has started off terrific. Thank

you to all families for making the welcome night a success and all the hard work that has gone into fundraising to date. Your support of these activities are vital to our preschool and we truly appreciate all your support. If you missed the Welcome Dinner don’t miss the next event which will be coming up next

term. Get involved in our community – we only have a few social events. Make them count.

This month the Committee are gearing up for our assessment and rating visit from the Department of Education & Training. Our assessment will be held

during sessions on the Tuesday 28 April. All groups will run as normal during the day.

This will be a huge focus for all committee and staff as we work towards meeting all the regulations and requirements set by the department. We ask all families be vigilante with any paperwork, forms and communication during this

time. The committee meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 7.30pm. Next meeting is 19 May. Parents are always welcome to attend these meetings.

Wishing you all the best for the coming month. Linda Wein

Red Cycle Diamond Hills will be implementing a new Red Cycle bin

Red cycle is a fairly new scheme trying to encourage people to separate certain

plastics that can be repurposed into building materials

These plastics are plastics that you can scrunch and they reform to their original

packaging

These include things like Bread bags, Biscuit packets, Frozen food bags, Rice and

Pasta Bag, Confectionery packet, Cereal Box Liners, Newspaper wrap, Plastic

Shopping bags & Old green bags

Introducing Red Cycle will helps reduce hard rubbishes and minimise our

Kindergartens and your home’s weekly waste

Red Cycle drop offs are located at Coles and some Local Woolworths

Welcome back to Term Two. Nicole and I hope you all managed to have a relaxing break and that

the Easter Bunny found your home and brought heaps of yummy chocolates.

Dinosaurs continue to provoke the children's interest.

There have been many discussions about the noise that

they might make, what they would eat and where they

lived. This lead onto discussing Volcanos. As a result, we

decided to create our own volcano in

the sandpit using bicarb soda, white

vinegar, colour and dishwashing

liquid. The children made predictions

about what would happen. 'It's going

to explode' said one child, spreading his arms in a wide circle above his

head to indicate the explosion. 'Erupt" exclaimed another.

(EYLF : Learning - Children are confident and involved learners when they

develop a range of skill such as inquiry and hypothesising to explore their

environment and make predictions and generalisations about

aspect of their natural world and environments).

The last week of Term One turned out to be a very busy

one. Following the children's previous reaction to the water

beads, where they also enjoy squashing them between their

fingers, Nicola and I decided to provide another similar

sensory experience for the children to explore. As the

children have also shown an interest in colour mixing, we

made a red and yellow jelly substance. At first the children

were a little unsure as to what was in the tub. However within a short time, the children began to

squish the jelly between their fingers and explore the slippery sensation.

"Yellow and red mixed up makes orange" said Stefano.

"Eeewww" stated Maree, but then continued whilst chanting "squash, squash, squash" as the jelly

oozed between her fingers.

(EYLF - Communication - Children are effective communicators when

they respond verbally and non verbally

to what they see, hear, feel and touch.

Learning - Children are confident

learners when they use reflective

thinking to consider why things

happen.)

Possums Wombats

Realising that it would soon be Easter, we set about creating special

baskets for the Eater Bunny to leave his delicious eggs for the children

and we sang "Little Peter Rabbit" to encourage the Bunny to visit. It was

a surprise when we returned inside to find a yummy egg inside each

basket.

We were also fortunate to have Adele's mum Chantelle (Possum group),

conducted a music and movement session with the children. Possum and

Wombat groups really enjoyed

the music sessions and

participated enthusiastically.

Not only is music fun, but

learning about rhythm, tempo and beat plays an

important role in language development.

The favourite part always seems to be when the

parachute comes out. The children were visibly

delighted as they shook the parachute and made the

frogs jump high into the air. Chantelle then asked the children to work as a team to lift the

parachute up and down to the steady beat of the music.

When the music changed, the children stepped under the

parachute and danced to the faster music. Of course, the

children appeared to really enjoyed this section of the

music and movement session the most, as they squealed

with delight each time they went under the chute.

This activity encourages the children to learn about 'form'

in music. It encourages the children to listen to the

different sections and changes that occur in songs. This

change is emphasized by alternating between slowly lifting

the chute up and down, then moving and dancing quickly

under the chute as the music changes. Thank you Chantelle

for a wonderful and extremely enjoyable music and

movement session.

(EYLF: Wellbeing - Children have a strong sense of

wellbeing when they respond to music and dance using

increasingly complex sensory-motor skills and movement

patterns. Communication - Children are effective communicators when they engage in enjoyable

interactions using verbal and non-verbal language and respond to what they see, hear, touch and

feel.)

On returning in Term Two, we provided more opportunities

for the children to explore colour combinations through

painting experiences. Using edicol dye in the primary colours

of red, blue and yellow provided the children with the

opportunity to reinforce concepts as they mixed colour,

whilst they hypothesized, experimented and explored

different combinations for themselves. Some children were

really interested in the results and excited to recreate

green or orange, whilst others were happy to experiment with brush

strokes and create pictures.

Painting whilst sitting at a table requires postural control and shoulder

stability in order to have controlled arm movements. It focuses on hand

- eye coordination and wrist control. Using small brushes helps develop

fine motor muscles and kinaesthetic

awareness of the pressure needed to hold a

pencil.

Providing a rich environment of sensory

experiences allows the children to explore

their world. It gives the children an

opportunity to develop their sense of agency

and engage independently with tasks and play.

(EYLF : Identity - Children have a strong sense of Identity when

they develop their sense of agency,

by being open to new challenges

and discoveries

Wellbeing - Children have a strong sense of wellbeing when

they use their sensory capabilities and dispositions with

increasing integration, skill and purpose to explore and

respond to their world.

Learning - Children are confident and involved learners when

they participate in a

variety of rich and

meaningful inquiry-based

experiences.)

As we enter into

Autumn, Nicole and I

are drawing the

children's attention

to the changing

environment within

our kinder garden.

We will continue to

explore this in the

next few weeks.

Until next time,

Tania and Nicole

Nude Food

In Term 2 we encourage our staff and

children to please try and bring Nude

Food Products

What is “Nude” Food?

Nude Food is food without excess

packaging. This reduces the amount of 'stuff' that needs to go into bins to be sent to

landfill. Helping our children understand the importance of less waste and rubbish is a

great way to continue to teach our children about caring for the environment.

Simple ways of having nude food is by taking food from its packaging and placing it

inside of reusable containers this will help reduce the rubbish at our kinder.

Nude Food has also created new creative ways to achieve unpackaged food such as

material reusable snack bags, Sandwich Wraps and Stainless Steel divider lunchboxes

Snack Bags from 4myEarth eco Stainless Steel lunchbox

Reusable sandwich wrap from ONYA

For a Nude Food Lunchbox,

Try to pack... Avoid ... Snacks in reusable containers Lunches packed in plastic bags or wrap,

foil, wax paper

Drinks in a reusable container Single use drink boxes, pouches, cans,

cartons, and bottles

Reusable utensils when needed Single use plastic forks and spoons

A reusable lunchbox or backpack Pre-packaged single-serve snack items

We thank you for helping encourage your children to bring Nude Foods

Fundraising Small Ideas Coupon Books

Are now available for purchase from

Diamond Hills, Please either fill out

and return your order form or place

your order online through the

Diamond Hills website. Small Ideas

coupon book contains more than 150!

family friendly coupons throughout

Melbourne

Amart Sports has now moved from Epping to

Cragieburn, Amart Sports is a huge supporter

of Diamond Hills Pre School we are part of

their rewards program every time you purchase

something from Amart Sports and mention Diamond Hills, money from your

sale will going back into our Kindergarten. Through the rewards program

Annmaree has recently purchased a new Outdoor Basketball ring and 2 new

basketballs for the children at NO COST!!

Thanks to Amarts rewards program

Welcome back to kinder everyone! We

hope you had a great holiday break

and that Easter bunny found you

wherever you were.

The last few weeks of term one were

busy and eventful.

The Penguin group have continued to explore their

kindergarten environment and have been increasingly

responding to a sense of belonging to the group and to

their kinder. The children’s relationships with the staff are

developing positively as we get to know each other and the children gain confidence in us. The

children have been investigating and exploring ideas coming from themselves, each other, staff

and their kindergarten environment, through play. They have been communicating their ideas

through language, play, music and art.

Our term ended with Adventure play day on Thursday 26th March. Adventure play day is a

fantastic opportunity for the children and teachers to get

messy, have some fun and explore & investigate their

playground with all their senses and abilities to explore,

hypothesise, and to accept new challenges.

Sensory play builds a child’s level of engagement in

learning and leads to meaningful understandings of their

world.

( Learning Outcome: Wellbeing…use their sensory capabilities

and dispositions with increasing integration, skill and purpose to explore and respond to their world)

It wasn’t the muddiest Adventure play Day we’ve ever had as the weather was a bit chilly; but we

will plan some more mud dancing in the spring

The learning opportunities were varied, with

fishing, climbing & obstacles, water

investigations, hidden wild animals, slime, jelly

fish, ice, sensory boxes and more.

The session began with a planning group time

with the children about creating a treasure map.

Lots of suggestions and ideas were shared by the

children and they created their own map –

complete with an X marks the spot! After a Bear

Hunt inside, the excitement of the day was a

group treasure hunt at the end, where we

checked our treasure map, set off on an adventure and discovered a chest of gold buried in the

Penguin

sandpit. Treasure maps, pirates and adventures were

a common interest demonstrated by the children

throughout 1st term and have provided great

opportunities to extend the children’s learning in a

variety of areas including communication, creativity

and collaborative play.

The children and teachers are currently planning

some more adventures/investigations/hunts this term

to continue to develop/scaffold this interest area.

In our last week of term, we also practised aspects of

our emergency drill. The children practised

responding to a whistle, lining up in pairs, exiting through different doors & answering a roll call

with a clear, loud voice.

We are required to practise these drills every 3 months. The Penguin group responded really well.

In coming weeks, we will be thinking about creating cubbies, feather collections and

investigations, discussing ‘nude food’, continued engagement with worm farm (and including our

families in this environmental focus) and planting our new vegetable garden. The Penguin group

demonstrate a keen interest in their preschool environment,

especially Dodge the duck, the chickens and egg laying, the worm

farm and the compost bins.

The children take responsibility for the recycling of their food

scraps, setting up their snack times and processing different

recycled waste to worm farm and compost. As a preschool, we are

working towards (in our Quality Improvement Plan) increasing

our sustainability practices and this will be a fantastic learning

opportunity for your children to develop a keen awareness of their

environment and their ability to contribute to this. (Learning

Outcome… Community: children become socially responsible and show

respect for the environment)

Diamond Hills will be undergoing a Rating and Assessment

process by the Department of Education and Training. This is

taking place on Tuesday 28th April for most of the day. Staff and Committee are busy ensuring we

promote Diamond Hills as we feel it deserves. We will

keep you informed

DATES to remember:

Thursday 23rd April: Photograph Day – Just Kids

photography

Tuesday 5th May: Mother’s Day afternoon tea - 12.30

– 1.30pm

Friday 7th May: Mother’s Day gift giving – 1.30pm

May 30th: In Rhythm incursion

Thank you for all your support and interest in our

Diamond Hills program.

Looking forward to a fun filled term.

Kim & Bronwen

2015 Teachers

Annmaree Watkins (4yo Platypus) Kim Walker (4yo Penguin) Tania Mantovani (3yo Possum & Wombat Groups)

Co Educators/Teaching Assistants Bronwen Gear (4yo Penguin Group) Kyla Ridgeway (4yo Platypus Group)

Nicole De Cata (3yo Possum & Wombat Groups) 2015 Committee Members

Administration Officer: Kerrie Haynes President: Linda Wein (Penguin)

Vice President: Carolyn Tsioulos (Platypus) Secretary: Karina King (Platypus)

Assistant Secretary: Monique Jutson (Penguin) Treasurer: Shannon Fitzpatrick (Possum) Fees Officer: Cassy Coffey (Possum) Enrolment Officer (4): Chantelle Alvaro(Platypus) (3): Margaret Lambeth(Penguin)

Fundrasing Co-Ordinator: Lisa Henry (Platypus) Events Co-Ordinator: Katrina Naish (Penguin)

Maintenance Officer: Paul King (Platypus) Staff Liasion: Bev Ashley(Wombat) Sub-Committee Members

Purchasing Officer: Carly Veale (Platypus) Duty Roster: Regan Sailah (Platypus) Fundraising Sub Committee: Wendy Sansome (Platypus) Bianca Vecchio(Platypus) &

Rebecca Fostineo (Possum) Events Sub Committee: Lisa Bovezza(Platypus) & Amanda Low(Wombat)

Centre contact Information: Hours- Monday- Friday 8am – 5pm

Phone: 9435 8694 Email: diamond.hills.kin@kindergarten.vic.gov.au

Web: www.diamondhillspreschool.com.au Postal: PO Box 56, Greensborough, Victoria 3088

Newsletter Contact: Monique Jutson email: m-e-jutson@live.com (photo’s, stories or things you would like to share with the kinder community.)

platypus

Hi Everyone and Welcome Back to Term 2!

Can you believe that 1st term is over and we have embarked on

another term? We hope that everyone had a restful break.

Thank you for all the positive feedback we have received

about the setup of the room.

Leading up to the end of term the children were involved in

lots of “hands on” experiences that many of the children

thoroughly enjoyed both inside and outside. So with this in

mind we decided to make the Celebration of all the learning

that had taken place during term 1 by having an “Adventure

Day” which involved lots of sensory exploration. The

children had plenty of opportunity to use their hands and

feet in experiencing different sensations through different

parts of their body and comparing the difference. They also

were involved in problem solving, being encouraged to

investigate, explore and asks lots of questions. Their

independence was also fostered. The children at this time

had also made jelly as a Science experiment the day before,

where we discussed dissolving, condensation, boiling,

crystals etc. On our adventure day the children were asked to

recall the colour that they had chosen. This was to provide

them with the practice of memory and recall. Some of the children

were also involved in making ice-cream which we all got to eat on

Adventure day.

Another experience that the children enjoyed was mixing colours. To

help develop this interest we introduced experimenting using dye and

paper towel and watching the colours run together to make new ones.

Many of the children’s skills were involved in this simple experience

as they were required to draw up the

different coloured liquid in an eye-dropper and then carefully and

slowly release the liquid. The children also identified the colours that

they were both using and creating. Another experience worth

mentioning as well was that the children drew and painted a self

portrait which allowed for a basic discussion on body awareness.

As our adventure day was the last day of term and our final session

before Easter, the Easter bunny made a secret, surprised visit leaving

the children a small egg each. There was great excitement when they

discovered this and even a few ‘sightings’ of him by the children.

Another important event that occurred during the last week was that

we practiced an emergency evacuation procedure. We discussed the

procedure on the Monday, before carrying it out on the Wednesday. It

is very important for not only the children but for the staff as well to

practice different scenarios regularly. It is also a good idea to maybe

have a chat together as a family and work on an emergency

plan for home.

During the last week of term we were very fortunate to have

Clara’s mum Chantelle, volunteer her time and expertise in

providing a music session with the children. The children

absolutely loved this as many of the children love singing and

making up their own songs. We are so lucky to have parent’s

who are willing to share their expertise to enrich the program

for all of the children.

With this in mind don’t forget to return your permission form for your child to participate in our

Taekwondo program that is due to start on Wednesday 22nd April. This will take place during normal

session time for approx. 45 minutes. (There is no cost involved)

Another important area that was incorporated into our Program throughout term 1 was the extension

of friendships, social interaction and the practicing of skills that is needed for the children to be

successful in forming relationships. This objective is of course ongoing throughout the year.

New objectives that we are working together on as a group for Term 2 are

–

Increasing and developing independence, engage in play including

engaging more with peers, re-setting experiences when finished which

encourages respect and caring for the environment and each other, to take

the next step with sustainability - the worm farm and compost and to

practice and enhance their Gross motor skills and listening skills by

incorporating a formalised program - “Taekwondo”. If you have any

other suggestions that you would like to suggest that we can work

towards as a group then please let Annmaree or Kyla know.

To help with us taking the next step in sustainability involving the worm

farm and the compost we have started to be send home a bucket for each

family to put their food scraps in and return to kinder. We will do this on

a roster system. You can keep the bucket for the week or just for one or two days it’s up to you.

Further details of what you might need to know are on the buckets.

Kyla, Elaine and I hoped that you enjoyed catching up on your child’s learning for Term 1 through

their journal. Please if you haven’t already done so don’t forget to have your say by completing the

“Feedback Form”. Remember any constructive criticism is valued.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION -

*We are very happy to let you know that we have a new

Parent Information area. This area is just inside the main

door to the right as you enter. (Where the children’s

learning journals are kept) This area includes all sorts of

things that you may want to know more about. For

example Diamond Hills Quality Improvement Plan that is

an ongoing document, information on nutrition and

interesting bits and pieces that you may find helpful or

interesting.

*As you are aware Diamond Hills is due to undergo their Assessment and

Accreditation. We now have a date which is Tuesday 28th April.

*Annmaree, Kim, Bron and Tania are updating their CPR on Tuesday 28th

April during the evening. The staff is very aware of keeping all of their

First Aid current and up to date.

WHAT’S COMING UP - DATES TO NOTE:

Thursday 23rd April – The photographer will be

spending the session at kinder to photograph the

children. Please return your Pre-paid envelope

before or on the day.

Thursday 30th April – An incursion – In-Rhythm

drumming. During normal session time

Thursday 7th May – Please keep this day free from 10.30am. Can we just

say it’s got something to do with a Mother’s day surprise.

Don’t forget anytime you have any questions/queries no matter how small please

don’t hesitate to ask.

Kyla, Elaine and Annmaree

Happy Birthday

April

Penguin

Charlize 13th

Platypus

Possum

Maree 11th

Paige 28th

Wombats

Ethan 18th

Sebastian 20th