Narrabundah Early Childhood School Learn Develop Nurture Volume 7 Issue 4 25th March 2015 Last day of Term 1- Friday 10th April First day of Term 2- Tuesday 28th April Kindergarten Screening— Friday 15th May 23-27 Kootara Crescent Narrabundah 2604 Phone 6142 3828 Leadership Team Overview Harmony Day Saturday 21 March was Harmony Day. Narrabundah Early Childhood School celebrated Harmony Day on Monday 23 March. All learning spaces were engaged in rich and meaningful activities that related to literature that enabled us to celebrate the diverse backgrounds of all our families. A special thanks to all of our staff who made this an authentic and enjoyable learning experience. Many thanks also to one of our new families who made a delicious dessert to share. Fresh Tastes Our school is a Fresh Tastes school. Over the last couple of weeks we have seen all learning spaces involved in the planting of seeds with one of our educators leading this process. It will be exciting to see how the seeds grow and what produce we have to use in cooking experiences and in the kitchen. Transitions to Year 3, 2016 We value the partnerships we have with our two feeder schools Red Hill and Forrest. A letter explaining how transitions work for our children transitioning from year two at NECS to year three at Forrest or Red Hill will be sent home this week. We are working closely with both schools to ensure the transition is a smooth process for all involved. Red Hill and Forrest schools will be having information sessions in term 2 for all interested families. Online enrolments open on Tuesday 28 April. There is no rush to complete an enrolment application. All children who live in the Priority Enrolment Area are guaranteed a place at their zoned school. All children who live in the shared zone are guaranteed a place at either Forrest or Red Hill depending on capacity. National School Improvement Tool The executive have just completed training in using the National School Improvement Tool. This tool will support our work in preparing from External Validation. Monday 27 April is a Public Holiday. Term 2 resumes on Tuesday 28 April. A quick hello from the Toddlers… We are still settling into the New Year here in the Toddlers room and have had many new peers come to join us over the last three months. It has been an interesting journey as we all begin to engage and interact with one another and learn to communicate more verbally. Just recently, we took our turn in potting some new plants into the relocated vegetable and herb gardens that are located in the over three’s yard. Dimi from the Joey’s room came along with us to share her knowledge about the different types of plants and how to plant them successfully. We chose to plant some spinach, broccoli, and pak choy into the garden bed that we are sharing with the Infants and found the different types of green leaved plants very intriguing to touch and smell. The first thing that we had to do before planting the vegetables into the garden was ‘aerate’ the soil by digging and turning it over, this will help our plants to grow and spread their roots. Next we helped Dimi and Alicia separate the seedlings from the pot and dig some holes into the dirt for each individual seedling. We were a little reluctant to use our hands to dig, especially when we saw how dirty Alicia’s hands were… “yuck” we told her. Once we had made the holes (with our shovels) we helped place the seedlings into the hole and cover them up with more dirt, patting them securely into place. We had to be very careful not to bury the seedlings and sometimes had to dig it back out again to give it some more room to breathe and see the sunshine. After we planted all of our seedlings into the ground Dimi instructed us to give them a little drink of water, as plants need the soil, sunshine, and some water to grow properly (EYLF Principle: high expectations and equity; EYLF Practice: intentional teaching). Whilst we were out in the older children’s yard we noticed their new bamboo maze and were eager to explore. Alicia came along with us into the maze and ran ahead calling out our names so that we could try and follow her voice in order to find her. It was great fun exploring, investigating and using our problem solving skills to find one another and hide from one another (EYLF Practice: Learning environments). We look forward to visiting again soon to check on the growth of our garden and have another turn playing in the maze. NECS P&C Welcome BBQ Public Consultation - draft Reporting Student Achievement (Preschool to Year 12) Policy and draft common report templates Opening Date: Monday 23 March 2015. Closing Date: Friday 15 May 2015 The ACT Government is seeking public comment on the draft Reporting Student Achievement (Preschool to Year 12) Policy and draft common report templates for ACT public primary and high schools. The draft Policy and draft common templates are designed to ensure parents receive consistent information about their child's achievement regardless of which ACT public school their child attends. Parents/carers can provide feedback through the ACT Education and Training Directorate website at www.det.act.gov.au and the ACT Government’s Community Engagement 'Time to Talk' website at http://timetotalk.act.gov.au/. Do not pick or eat any wild mushrooms! ACT Chief Health Officer is reminding the community not to touch, pick or eat any wild mushrooms found growing in and around the ACT. The Death Cap mushroom can easily be confused with edible wild mushrooms. In Canberra, Death Cap mushrooms grow mainly near established oak trees in mild, moist weather typically observed in late summer and autumn. All parts of the mushroom are poisonous and consuming even a small amount of the mushroom can be fatal. Cooking the mushroom does not make it safe to eat. Anyone who suspects that they may have eaten Death Cap mushrooms should seek urgent medical attention at a hospital emergency department. It is advised that people remain vigilant and remind friends and family who are visiting or new to Canberra not to touch, pick or eat any wild mushrooms. For safety, all mushrooms should be purchased from a reputable supplier. If you see wild mushrooms in public areas, call Canberra Connect on 13 22 81. A fact sheet providing information about the Death Cap mushroom is available online at http://www.health.act.gov.au/datapublications/fact-sheets/environmental-health. Authorised by Paul Kelly Chief Health Officer, Population Health, Health Directorate NDIS Community Participation Grants New grants up to $1,000 are available to enable people with disabilities, their families and other unpaid carers to prepare for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The grants can go towards attending events or activities related to the NDIS, or services that can help people develop their life goals, recovery goals or future plans. What is available?  Up to $1,000 to attend an NDIS event, which includes:  Up to $500 – to help you participate in an event about the NDIS such as a conference, seminar or training workshop. And Up to $500 – to help contribute to the cost of any support services (such as attendant care, respite, peer support worker or support person) required to attend the event. Or Up to $1,000 to engage someone to help you develop your life goals, recovery goals (for people with psychosocial disability) or future plans, or develop informal networks. Find out more about the NDIS Community Participation Grants visit: http://www.communityservices.act.gov.au/disability_act/national_disability_insurance_scheme/ grants or contact Donna Seal on 61423828 or email: [email protected] Authorised by Therese Gehrig, Director, ACT NDIS Taskforce, Community Services Directorate Looking for something to do with the kids on the weekend? Come along to the CONNECT AND PARTICIPATE EXPO! Saturday 28 March, 11am – 4pm at the Old Bus Depot Markets in Kingston. The EXPO will provide opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to discover the wide range of social groups in Canberra including sport, outdoor recreation, art & craft, music, performing arts, environmental and hobby groups. There will be come-and-try activities, performances, food stalls and more. Entry is free. A free ACTION bus will run a loop every 20 – 30 minutes from Civic (Platform 10 Northbourne Ave) to the Old Bus Depot Markets in Kingston, between 11am to 4pm. For more information, please visit www.connectandparticipateexpo.com.au or www.facebook.com/CAPExpo Principal– Bernadette Hayes Board Chair– John Norgrove P&C President— Karen Marriner Communities@Work Director– Rebecca Lester School Phone Number— 6142 3828 Childcare Phone Number— 6142 3824 P&C E mail— [email protected] School E mail— [email protected]