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It has been a wonderful start to Term Three at the ELC, with our students returning with enthusiasm, curiosity and excitement for another term of learning and discovery.
This term, we are delighted to have launched our new Expressive Arts Specialist Program for our K2 and K3 learners. Led by our specialist teacher, Miss Milly Brodie, the program provides children with rich opportunities to explore creativity, self-expression and the arts through music, movement, drama and visual arts. These experiences encourage children to develop their confidence, imagination and ability to communicate their ideas in a range of meaningful ways.
We were also thrilled to celebrate our Pre-Prep Athletics Day, which was a wonderful opportunity for our children to participate in a range of fun and engaging athletics experiences. Supported by our Year 5 Junior School leaders, the children embraced each activity with enthusiasm, developing their physical skills while also experiencing the importance of teamwork, encouragement and having a go. A special thank you to our Year 5 students for their wonderful leadership and for being such positive role models for our youngest learners.
It is wonderful to see our ELC community continuing to grow and thrive, and I look forward to sharing many more moments of learning, connection and celebration with our children and families throughout the term.
Katarina Hills
Director of Early Learning Centre
This term, we read Have You Filled a Bucket Today? and explored the important message that each of us carries an invisible bucket. When our bucket is full, we feel happy, valued and cared for, while an empty bucket can leave us feeling sad or lonely.
Together, we discussed the words and actions that can fill someone’s bucket, as well as behaviours that can dip into it. The children shared their ideas about what fills their own buckets as they created their own bucket. This extension activity helped the children to visualise their buckets and think about the people, words and actions that help to fill them.
Building on our learning about emotions in Term 2, our circle-time discussions have encouraged the children to think about how their everyday choices can make a positive difference to others. They have been invited to share whether their bucket feels full, half-full or empty, creating wonderful opportunities to talk about ways we can support ourselves and our friends.
It has been heartwarming to see the children’s smiles when a friend shares how someone has helped fill their bucket. They are beginning to understand that our buckets are not always full, and that we cannot fill our own bucket by dipping into someone else’s. We are excited to continue exploring what it means to be a bucket filler.
Andrea Kartika
ELC Teacher
The Bluebells exploration and learning of the land, sea and sky assisted the class in the success of creating their beautiful kingdom and form an emerging understanding on how we belong for our learning journey evening. It was wonderful to see the children take such pride in their creations whilst building lifelong skills such as research, design, form greater fine motor skills and a develop a deeper understanding of our world. With the success of our kingdom, I asked the children this term ‘What shall we do with our kingdom?’
After much deliberation and group discussion the class has concluded that they would like to build a city! Keeping our animal kingdom separate it shall be on one side of the room and a bustling city on the other. Buildings, roads, helicopters and beyond! The children have set to work and are eager to continue creating an in room display the will grow over the term.
Learning together in such a collaborative and interest driven capacity has allowed the children to all shine as individual and valued members of our classroom. Their growth this year has been a joy to witness.
Bea Campbell
Bluebells Teacher
Grevillea have recently had a Responsible Pet Ownership incursion. We were excited to meet a friendly dog named Zaria. Through stories, songs, and interactive activities, the children learned about safe and respectful ways to interact with dogs. They discussed when it is best to leave dogs alone, what to do if they are approached by an angry or aggressive dog, and how to safely approach and greet a dog.
At the end of the session, every child had the opportunity to practice these skills by asking the owner if they could pat Zaria before gently greeting and patting her. It was a wonderful hands-on learning experience that helped build the children's confidence and understanding of responsible pet ownership.
Jackie Walker
ELC Teacher
In the Waratah room, our children have begun to show interest in the lavender bush growing outside our classroom. They were curious about why the flowers were purple and why they were a little rough. Some of our children took their time to make observational drawings of the lavender bush and the flowers, first taking the time to touch, smell and look closely at the lavender before drawing them.
This inquiry provided the children with an opportunity to use their senses to explore and investigate the natural environment around them. By touching, smelling and observing the lavender, the children were able to notice its different textures, colours and scents. Their observational drawings also supported the development of their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and ability to represent what they could see through drawing. Inquiries such as these encourage children to slow down, observe closely and share their ideas, while continuing to develop a deeper connection with nature and their learning environment.
Dilshi Samarasekera
ELC Teacher
