1 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 1 Simone’s Message By Simone Cooke, Principal Dear Parents, What a delight it is each day to walk around our busy school and see all the wonderful learning taking place. Our little ones in the Nest are a never ending source of delight for us all, particularly at Movement time each day when they entertain us with their creative dance moves! Of course our Fledglings are not to be outdone and are impressing us all with their knowledge of colours and their beautiful butterfly creations. Our Stage 2 children have been making sure we are all recycling and caring for our environment, whilst Stages 3 & 4 are busy exploring the human body and taking exciting journeys to every corner of the globe. There is never a dull moment at St Leonards and our fabulous teachers are ensuring that each and every one of the children is enjoying the special magic of Reddam. Wishing you all a restful weekend. Warm regards, Simone 20 MAY 2016
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Simone’s Message - Reddam Houseand strength. Children can move their bodies in many ways. By moving their body, children develop movement control as they balance, crawl, run, jump
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1 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 1
Simone’s Message By Simone Cooke, Principal
Dear Parents,
What a delight it is each day to walk
around our busy school and see all the
wonderful learning taking place.
Our little ones in the Nest are a never
ending source of delight for us all,
particularly at Movement time each
day when they entertain us with their
creative dance moves!
Of course our Fledglings are not to be
outdone and are impressing us all with
their knowledge of colours and their
beautiful butterfly creations.
Our Stage 2 children have been
making sure we are all recycling and
caring for our environment, whilst
Stages 3 & 4 are busy exploring the
human body and taking exciting
journeys to every corner of the globe.
There is never a dull moment at St
Leonards and our fabulous teachers
are ensuring that each and every one
of the children is enjoying the special
magic of Reddam.
Wishing you all a restful weekend.
Warm regards,
Simone
20 MAY 2016
2 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 2
Curriculum decision making contributes
to each child’s learning and
development outcomes in relation to
their identity, connection with
community, wellbeing, confidence as
learners and effectiveness as
communicators (Element 1.1.1).
This week we have been working on two
projects. The first one is “what is this
sound?”. We have been collecting
paper rolls, empty cans and other
resources to make our own instruments.
We started by decorating our instruments
and next week we will work on our music
wall.
Autumn has approached and to
celebrate this beautiful season we
dedicated the documentation wall to
stunning trees made of cork painting. We
loved painting with corks because they
make such fun polka dots and are a
perfect size for little hands. This was a fun
exploration of fall colors and can be
adapted to either a strict focus on order
or it can have a more open ended view.
The goal was to talk about the colours,
the season, leaves and purely to let the
children create. Art is vitally important as
it encourages children to explore and
make sense of their world, investigate,
imagine, create and problem-solve. It
enables children to make choices and
achieve!
Children’s creativity is connected to all
five Learning Outcomes in the Early Years
Learning Framework (EYLF) (DEEWR, 2009)
and receives explicit attention in
Outcomes 4 (Children are confident and
involved learners) and 5 (Children are
effective communicators). Outcome 4
highlights creativity as an important
learning disposition that impacts on
learning throughout life.
The Nest By Gabriela Guimaraes
3 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 3
Specialist Classes
Drama, music, dance and visual art
foster creativity and imagination in
toddlers. These activities also help young
children develop their senses through
exploration and discovery. They let
toddlers express how they see the world
and their place in it.
Toddlers can use creative play to
communicate their feelings. They might
not always be able to say why they’re
feeling angry, depressed, happy or
frightened. But in an encouraging
environment, they might be able to use
arts activities and experiences to express
these feelings using paint, colour,
movement, mime, dramatic gestures,
singing or dancing.
Exploring Outdoors
Everyday the children in The Nest have
been offered a little “adventure track” in
the playground during their outdoor play.
The children are loving climbing up and
down, rolling in the tunnel, etc. They are
also loving climbing on the big
equipment frame in the playground so
they can have a turn on the slippery dip.
The children’s confidence is increasing as
they become more independent in
exploring gross motor activities. They are
starting not only to walk but to run as
well!
Friendly Reminders:
Even though the cold weather is
approaching we are still required to
wear hats outside, so please don’t
forget to pack hats.
Please ensure that all of your child’s
belongs are properly labelled.
With the change of weather, please
ensure that the children have
appropriate change of clothes in
their bags, including socks.
The Nest By Gabriela Guimaraes
4 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 4
The Nest Photo Gallery
5 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 5
The Nest Photo Gallery
6 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 6
Children are Confident and Involved
Learners
A sense of security and sound wellbeing
gives children the confidence to
experiment and explore and to try out
new ideas, thus developing their
competence and becoming active and
involved participants in learning.
EYLF Outcome 4
Observing how much the children loved
the book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”
we started making our own caterpillar
using balloon painting and colourful
sticks. We have also been busy making
butterflies, as the hungry caterpillar
becomes a beautiful rainbow butterfly.
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar“ is a
beautiful book, displaying its vivid and
colourful collage illustrations and is a
deceptively simply, hopeful story. The
children love the diecut pages and
finger-sized holes to interact and explore!
“He built a small house, called a cocoon,
around himself. He stayed inside for more
than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole
in the cocoon, pushed his way out and...
he was a beautiful butterfly!”
Movement, Music and Outdoor Play
Moving the Body
Regular movement helps children to
develop movement control, coordination
and strength. Children can move their
bodies in many ways. By moving their
body, children develop movement
control as they balance, crawl, run, jump
and swing. Children also develop a sense
of where their body is in relation to space,
and improve their balance, coordination
and strength. uesdays we explore
Physical Education with Coach Spencer
Clifton, targeting key areas for the development
of the children's core strength, stability and co
ordination.
Fledglings By Michele Santos
7 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 7
We have been practising dancing every
day and the children love moving their
bodies while listening to their favourite
songs. We have also been encouraging
the children to engage in activities that
promote movement. Jump, hop, run,
crawl, sidestep, slide, walk and balance
are so much fun!
On Tuesdays we explore Physical
Education with Coach Spencer Clifton,
targeting key areas for the development
of the children's core strength, stability
and coordination.
On Thursdays the children are invited to
participate in teacher lead dance and
drama activities with Laura Hudson,
involving props and music, body
movements and balance.
Music
Dancing, musical games and movement
activities develop children’s coordination,
control and body awareness. Musical
experiences also provide opportunities for
children to explore the elements of music
such as beat, rhythm and tempo.
Listening to songs and music helps to
develop children’s listening skills,
language, vocabulary and memory.
Participating in music activities develops
children’s imagination, creativity and
sense of wonder. As they make and
respond to music, they explore ways to
creatively represent their feelings, ideas
and experiences.
On Wednesdays the children have been
exploring music with Justin Sze. The
children have been introduced to new
music instruments, sounds and
movement. They love exploring all the
musical instruments and their favourite
time has been when Justin plays the flute
as they have an enjoyable relaxation
time, lying on the floor.
Fledglings By Michele Santos
8 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 8
Outdoor Play
Outdoor play provides a stimulating
context for children’s learning. Playing
outdoors promotes children’s physical
wellbeing, including developing control
and strength for manipulating objects
and equipment, and large movement
skills.
Every day the children are invited to
explore our outdoor area. They enjoy
playing in the sand pit, climbing, running,
exploring the deck and other activities set
up for them.
Books of the week
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar “, by Eric
Carle.
“In the light of the moon a little egg lay
on a leaf. One Sunday morning the warm
sun came up and pop! Out of the egg
came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar.
“The Gruffalo” by Julia Donalson and Axel
Scheffler.
“A mouse took a stroll through the deep
dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the
mouse looked good.”
Childhood is a time to be, to seek and
make meaning of the world! I hope you
have an amazing weekend with your
beautiful children.
Fledglings By Michele Santos
9 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 9
Fledglings Photo Gallery
10 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 10
Fledglings Photo Gallery
11 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 11
Welcome
Firstly, we would like to extend a warm
welcome to our new children and their
families who have recently started in our
class: Hannah, Sienna, Analisse and
Anna. We are truly thrilled to have them
join the Joeys and we would like to wish
each one of them many fun and learning
fulfilled days at Reddam school.
Our Current Project
We are now fully engaged in our recent
project of recycling and sustainability.
Every day we use materials that normally
we would throw away to create
something unique and beautiful. We are
using scraps of paper to create collages,
monsters and animals. We used empty
plastic bottles to make a lava lamp
which was also used as a scientific
experiment that helped children to
examine liquid density. The children
thoroughly enjoyed looking at them and
turning them upside down and slowly
watching how the little pieces moved. It
was actually very therapeutic and had a
most calming effect!!
As part of our provocation we have
regular conversations about how we can
use things in a beautiful or useful way
again. I think there is a lot of value in
children looking at things that we would
normally dispose of and imagine the
many possibilities beyond their current
use.
Children are now becoming more
familiar with the concept of recycling
and how important it is to segregate the
rubbish so that mother earth will be
happy!
Presentations-Making connection from
home.
Each day and every moment, we follow
the directions of the children, always
observing, documenting, listening and
interpreting so we can gain insights into
their thinking. We are always ready to
make changes and support the children
in their discoveries. We constantly search
for these magic moments and listen for
interests that can evolve into something
special, something that is meaningful for
the children.
Stage 2 By Kasia Rymarczyk
12 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 12
One day last week Bella brought in to the
class a drum, she then proudly presented
this precious instrument to the class; she
also happily shared the drum with her
friend giving everyone a turn to make a
sound. This little experience made us
reflect on how we could incorporating
traditional show and tell concepts into
group time. After long discussions we
decided to give it a go!
We will make these short presentations
very appropriate to children’s age and
ability and we will make sure it is
implemented in a relaxed way that
allows for free expression and gaining
confidence.
Children will be asked to stand or sit in
front of the class, shortly introduce
themselves and talk about the item from
home. When they are finished they will
be encouraged to say: “Thank you for
listening”. Every child will get a turn to
present; we will not assign particular days
to the children as we don’t want anyone
to feel that they must search for
something special just because it is their
presentation day, instead please
approach this news for our class concept
spontaneously.
To make presentation successful we
would like to kindly ask parents to
encourage children to choose an item/s
that they would like to take to school
and show to their friends. The possibilities
of items to bring are endless, ranging
from something homemade or a kitchen
gadget to something found in nature or
a favourite book.
Class presentations is an effective and
enjoyable way for young children to
refine their public speaking and oral
communication skills while learning more
about each other. It is the right of all
children to be part of a school
community that respects them as
competent individuals who are viewed
as contributors to the process of learning.
Here at Reddam we trust and respect
the capabilities of children and that is
exactly what makes our job so interesting
and inspiring.
Stage 2 By Kasia Rymarczyk
13 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 13
Stage 2 Photo Gallery
14 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 14
Stage 2 Photo Gallery
15 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 15
This week was the start of our amazing
journey around the globe. We had so
much fun travelling on our plane to
China.
To learn a little bit more about the culture
and amazing artefacts of China we
made Chinese drums, looked at some
pictures of the miraculous Chinese
Terracotta Warriors and made our own
out of clay and we even attempted to
eat with chopsticks! We looked at the
Chinese number symbols of 1-10 and
used paints and the art of calligraphy to
decorate our drums and learnt how to
say hello in Chinese - 你好 Nǐ hǎo.
Our understandings of our amazing
bodies is also growing as we reinforced
how our muscles and bones work
together. The children are learning the
complex names behind some of our
bones and muscles, and also the
importance that these have in our bodies
to help us move. We used our muscles in
action and talked about our quadriceps,
flexors, gluteus maximus, biceps and
triceps.
Our discussions after morning tea about
what we are learning is an important part
of the day. As the children share their own
understandings with each other they
learn valuable skills for life long learning.
Skills such as communication - listening,
thinking and speaking, turn taking and
also to value others points of view. Each
week we will add snippets of our
conversations....
Our discussion about muscles...
Why do you think we have bones?
Aditi: "So we don't become floppy."
What do our muscles do?
Sanjay: "They make our bodies move."
Aditi: "They make us stronger and bigger."
Stages 3 & 4 By Sue Mayer & Riina Andrews
16 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 16
How can we move if the muscles are not
attached to the bone?
Aditi: "We can't!"
How many muscles are in our body?
Annie: "Infinity!"
Lottie: "100."
Austen: "I don't know."
James: "Only one."
Sanjay: "Infinity!"
Christian: "A thousand."
Sophie: "Maybe a hundred."
What food do we need to eat to keep
our muscles healthy?
James: "A cucumber."
Austen: "Pasta."
Lottie: "Tomatoes."
Annie: "Milk and cheese."
Aditi: "Lots of cheeses and milk."
Sophie: "Meat."
Our discussion before our plane trip to
China...
What will we see in China?
Sophie: "Chinese princesses."
Sanjay: "Grandma and Grandpa live in
China."
Lottie: "People eat Chinese food."
Jeremy: "China Yako"
What is a China Yako, Jeremy?
Jeremy: "Hotel."
Austen: "Powerhouse Museum."
Aditi: "Chinese kids TV."
James: "I see the Chinese Dolphins."
Stages 3 & 4 By Sue Mayer & Riina Andrews
17 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 17
Where to next......Joints
Items from home..... Old hinges
Travel destination.... Japan
Items from home.......if you have travelled
to Japan, any photos or treasures to
show.
Music has also been an inspiration which
has led to the forming of the Kangaroo
Band.
This band consisted of Aditi, Oliver, James
and Zac. This group of children decided
to make their own musical instruments
from cardboard boxes and then perform
on stage. We had a guitarist and 3
drummers, who were all very confident
and involved learners as they discussed
which songs they would like to play and
who would do the singing.
Emily joined in from the crowd playing
along to the tunes of her peers with
enthusiasm.
We can't wait to perform for all of you!
A big welcome to Riina, the children and
Sue are very happy that she has joined
our class.
Stages 3 & 4 By Sue Mayer & Riina Andrews
18 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 18
Stages 3 & 4 Photo Gallery
19 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 19
Stages 1 and 2
The Stage 1 and 2s had another great
week of sport. We started the lesson off
with some warm up sprints, followed by
our core strengthening exercises that
included three new animal movements
namely the duck, donkey and worm.
These movements target key areas for the
development of the children's core
strength, stability and co-ordination.
Our next activity involved relaying running
with colour-coordinated queues. Working
in teams, the children ran between
different colour hoops that were
scattered around the exercise area
placing the correct colour bean bag
inside. Each new round of the relay
involved new rules being placed onto the
game eg: red bean bag had a higher
value.
Stages 4 and Stage 3
The Stage 3 and 4s had another
successful week of sport. We started off
with a warm up that expanded on last
week’s animal movements and included
three new exercises namely the donkey
kick, slithery snake and duckwalk.
For our next activity for the lesson
continued on from last week’s game of
sharks and islands, with the game focus
on spacial awareness, dynamic
movements, speed change, isolated
movement and proprioception.
Physical Education By Spencer Clifton
20 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 20
This week, we welcome our new Music
Teacher, Justin Sze.
In his 15 years of Music teaching
experience, Justin has taught in both
International and public schools. He has a
BA with Dip Ed, majoring in Music (Piano/
Voice/Clarinet). He also continues to
upgrade his musicianship and
pedagogical skills by completing
numerous levels of certification (Early
childhood, Primary and Secondary) in
both Orff and Kodaly pedagogy courses.
After attending the Orff Schulwerk
Summer Course in Salzburg, Austria, he
went on to attained Level 3 Orff
Schulwerk Course in Australia. Justin also
attained Kodaly Level 1 (Secondary
teaching) and Level 3 Early Childhood/
Primary Level 1 Teaching Course in
Brisbane, Australia. After his stint at the
Music Unit, Curriculum Planning Division,
Ministry of Educatiion (MOE) in Singpaore,
Justin decided to share his love of Music
to little children by becoming a
Kindermusik Educator in 2008 and
founded his own company, Kindermusik
with Jedize, in 2012 together with his wife
and fellow Kindermusik Educator, Ellize.
He has conducted training for teachers in
China, Indonesia, Malaysia and
Singapore. Justin also wrote an academic
paper entitled, “Moving toddlers and
parents with Soft Mozart in Asia” which
was published last year in the XIII
International Academic/Practical
Conference Modern Music Education
2014, held in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the
Herzen Russian State Pedagogical
University and St. Petersburg Rimsky-
Korsakov State Conservatory. A press
release about Justin’s innovative piano
teaching was also published in the New
Paper on 11 Mar 2015, in Singapore.
Currently, Justin is bringing Music (and lots
of laughter) to many children at Reddam
House ELS (Early Learning School),
teaching piano lessons at Reddam House
(Primary) as well as helping out with the
Orff Ensemble.
Music By Justin Sze
21 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 21