Happy Holidays

Dear Little Princes Families,

We hope you have a happy and relaxing holiday filled with lots of (safe!) fun. We have had a busy term and are also looking forward to a little relaxation but already miss the boys and will be thrilled to see them back at school with lots of holiday adventures to share on Tuesday the 16th of October.

From Mel, Sarah, Susan, Amanda, Karen, Janet and Marie

Sports Day

Thank you to all the parents who supported our Little Princes students on sports day. We were very proud of the effort, participation and sportsmanship of all our budding Olympic heroes! A special mention must go to Thomas who successfully completed the entire day in a leg cast (with a little help from Mrs Ricks). We were thrilled to see how enthusiastic all our parents were to compete in the parent races, it was a very special moment for all of our boys.
Taylor House was the winning house this year with Watsford coming in second, Waterhouse and Cotton in third and fourth place respectively.
Thank you also for supporting the Junior Primary P&F representatives fundraising for charity through the sports day sausage sizzle. Unfortunately not everybody was able to get their orders and money in prior to the day. We were pleased that we had some extra sausages for those who needed them. If you were lucky enough to grab one of those snags please pass your sausage sizzle money to Kindergarten staff at the start of next term and we will add it to the JP P&F fundraising account.
(Please watch this space for a sports day photo slide show at the end of the holidays)

Farewell Chickadees

Our ten fluffy babies departed for their new home on a farm (complete with a mother hen waiting to take care of them, she will go to bed with ten babies and wake with twenty!! That will be a shock!). We would like to thank Tommy's Grandpa Dolek for offering a home. We look forward to seeing our little babies first eggs after Christmas.
Cluck Cluck

Sports Day Details

Sports Day in nearly upon us and below are details for parents. We hope you can join us for an enjoyable morning. (Get your running shoes on!)

• Our day starts at 9.00am on the tennis court


• Children may wear a shirt in their house colour. House shirts are available at Princes Parade (ask Margie, she has a list and knows what house your son is in) and are particularly recommended for boys in the Flinders Room as they will require a house shirt in Reception in 2008 anyway.


• Please return your Sausage Sizzle form ASAP if you would like your son to have a sausage for lunch. Please Note: Sausages may not be ready immediately at the conclusion of our morning.


• Children will return to Kindergarten half way through the morning for a toilet stop and snack. We ask that parents do not join us in the Kindergarten but instead wait for us in the Rose Garden.


• Children will be able to have an ice block at the end of sports day. Please let your son’s teacher know if your child has an allergy.


• Our Day will run as follows
  *8.40 – 9.00 – Tea and Coffee for parents in the Rose Garden
  *9.00 – 9.15 – A welcome by Mr Andary and Health Hustle on the Tennis Court
  *9.15 – 10.45 – Running Races and Duck Duck Goose circles
  *10.45 – 11.15 – Toilet and snack break
  *11.15 – 11.45 – Sports Circuit activities
  *11.45 – Close of the mornings events and medal, ice block presentation
  *12.00 – Sausage Sizzle and lunch
  *12.00 – Option of early dismissal – Please let your son’s teacher know if you are taking him home before you leave.

Weather Update:
Please note that rain is predicted for Thursday. We will make every reasonable effort to continue with sports day to avoid disappointment.

Welcome Mrs Janet Ricks

We would like to warmly welcome Mrs Janet Ricks who will work with us in the Pirie Room every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as a Kindergarten Assistant. Janet is a very experienced and well qualified addition to our staff and has already shown us her calm and patient manner and friendly and caring personality. Janet is undoubtedly an advocate for young children and early childhood education and we look forward to all her assistance, experienced insight and positive influence on our Kindergarten programme.

Continuing our quest to reduce, reuse and recycle with Tupperware

Thankyou for your fantastic support of our efforts to reduce waste at eating times. The children are now very proactive in recycling plastic spoons and zip lock bags and this already has made a significant impact on waste levels. It’s wonderful to see those bags returning to school day after day.
We are now ready to take our next step in our reduce, reuse, recycle plan. Susan Lock has negotiated with Peter Wooldridge from Tupperware who has provided us with some catalogues and examples of small storage containers for children’s lunches at sale prices. For those who would like to do away with zip lock bags and convenience packaging all together (…go on, we dare you!!) visit our waste display in class and pick up a catalogue.
Sarah Taylor is now investigating Kindergarten composting in preparation for our third step to environmentally friendly snack and lunch times in our centre.

Holiday Ideas

• Thomas the Tank Engine Musical Show – Tickets on sale at the Festival Theatre now, don’t miss out!
• South Australian Museum Holiday Program – Butterflies and Bugs, From Tuesday the 2nd to Friday the 12th of October at 11.00am to 3.00pm on week days. For children aged 4 and over.
• Oz Asia Lantern Festival – lots of family friendly experiences down by the Torrens River including a spectacular night lantern walk.

Sports day Sausage Sizzle

Dear Parents,
Yellow Sports Day Sausage Sizzle order forms are in children's pigeon holes now. Please return them as soon as possible. Please note that if your child is a half day boy on sports day you may need to wait for your son's sausage to arive as we cannot predict exactly when the JP parents will have them ready.
Thankyou
Kindergarten Staff

Our Philosophy has made it to Fountain Lakes

For those of you who were watching “Kath and Kim” that aired on channel seven last week you may have picked up a humorous reference to our centers guiding philosophy. In last weeks episode Kim was looking for a suitable Kindergarten for her daughter Eponee-Rae. She was quite excited about a centre that “had that Reggiana Parmigiana!”
Kimmy was, of course, referring to the world renowned approach to early childhood development from the Italian province of Reggio Emilia.
At Little Princes our philosophy about how children learn is heavily influenced by this ground breaking approach. We believe:
- children are unique individuals who are competent learners
- the environment plays a pivotal part in the facilitation of child development
- that Teachers are facilitators on the journey of investigation
- children can find beauty and inspiration in the natural world
- that we are developing competent citizens as well as educated beings
Overall we believe that children are not vessels that we need to fill but that we are, in fact, drawing from their existing knowledge and scaffolding this into a greater understanding.
It's nioce, it’s different, it’s unusual, yeah, it’s noice!

From the Mouth of Babes

Some wise words from our students this week:
“I like Fruit Salad Cottage”. Sam states his preference for “Prince Alfred College”!
“You had a chicken!!” Willem looks incredulously from Sarah Taylor’s baby bump to the new chickens in our brooding box, what other explanation could there be!

New Top Tales Arrivals

Dear Parents,
A new box of Top Tales children's literature has arrived and is available to be viewed at the sign in desk at Kindergarten. Orders from the last box are in children's lockers now. There are many wonderful titles in the new box. Staff recommendations include:

• The ABC kids Party Book - A great one for parents who are out of ideas for party themes
• Harry and the Dinosaurs at the Museum - A favourite with the boys
• Fred Stays with Me - a beautifully illustrated book that whimsically looks at a separated family
• Hippo has a Hat - A rhyming book for very young children 3 years and under

Happy Reading

A Message for Expectant Mothers

Please Note: We have had two incidents of chicken pox in families who come to Kindergarten. None of our students have experienced any symptoms. We are not concerned that any of our students are at risk but would like to inform any expectant mothers.

An Exciting Announcment

Dear Parents,
As you are already aware, Mrs Sarah Taylor is expecting her first baby and will be leaving us at the end of week 4 next term to go on maternity leave.
We are now excited to announce that Mrs Susan Lock is also expecting another addition to her family, a brother or sister for her son Bailey. We will be fare welling her at the end of Term Four.
For those who can’t wait that long for an arrival, make sure you keep a sharp eye out over our brooding box in the kindy, you may spot some fluffy yellow babies!

Sarah Taylor and Susan Lock

Parent Teacher Interviews

The Kindergarten will be holding Parent Teacher Interviews for all Flinders Room boys and all new students in the Pirie Room in week 9 on the Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th of September. We ask parents of other students in the Pirie Room who are interested in an interview to speak to a Pirie Room teacher to coordinate an appointment.

Helping Children Understand Death

Dear Parents,
This week in the playground we discovered a dead sparrow. This prompted a lot of discussion and some negotiation about what we should do with it.
The children decided that the bird had not been killed by a hunter or a cat because there was no blood. They thought he looked like he was asleep and that perhaps we should pop him up on the fence so that he could fly away when he woke up. Some children felt that because he didn’t move when he was poked with the spade that he was dead and wouldn’t wake up.
One child suggested that the bird should be put in the bin by the teacher but most children agreed that dead things didn’t go in the bin, instead they should be flushed down the toilet like a fish. The Teacher asked if the bird was a fish, and if not, what should we do with it instead? Finally it was decided that the boys would dig a big hole in the garden and that we should bury the bird. This was a big process with lots of boys wanting to participate in the digging of a little hole! Finally the bird was gently nudged into the hole and covered up with a vigorous pat. One child felt that we should put something special there so that people would not forget the bird. So he colored in a picture of a chicken and taped a pop stick to the back of the paper to make a sign. He asked the teacher to write the following words “The children buried it because it was dead. The bird was nice looking, It was lovely”
We followed this experience up the following day with a book by Mem Fox called “Tough Boris” about a pirate who feels sad when his parrot dies. The children were eager to talk about some aspects of death and parents may find that some children have questions or want to discuss the concept of death at home. This is never an easy discussion and some parents feel a little uncomfortable or get upset by their own past experiences. Below we have given some tips that may help you in dealing with your child’s questions if they have any. We hope they help.

*Be matter-of-fact: don’t make death more airy fairy than it is.
*Answer your child’s questions: You don’t need to tell them everything you know, just answer their questions, if they have others they will let you know. Don’t be afraid to tell your child that you don’t know the answers to all the questions.
*Be honest: The truth is that we don’t know what happens when we die. Telling children that a pet who has passed away has gone to live on the farm simply strings out the child’s desire to see their pet because there is hope. It also passes up a wonderful opportunity to begin to deal with death before it becomes a more confronting issue.
*Help allay children’s fears: Children can get anxious and feel under prepared as they begin to worry that it might happen to them. Reinforce that people only die for three reasons:
-when they get really, really, really, really, really, really, really old,
-really, really, really, really, really, really, really sick
-or their body gets really, really, really, really, really, really, really broken (Specialist in the area recommend that you use at least 7 “reallys” so that children understand that you don’t die because you have a cold, because you are over twenty or because you broke your arm!) It can help children’s understanding to explain that when one of these three things happens that your body is not a nice place to live anymore so you leave it behind.
*Help children understand deaths place in their world: Talk about people they know or people that were important to you, how it made you feel and what happened after. Eg: “I felt sad for a while after my Nanny died but now I just think about her every now and then and remember some happy things about her. The blue teapot in our kitchen came from my Nanny’s house and reminds me of her, it’s very special to me”
*Help children understand the permanency of death: Reinforce that once people die they never come back to life. We get to remember them in special ways instead.
*Encourage children to express their growing understanding and communicate their ideas: Let them talk and draw pictures, you will find that this lets you know what’s going on in your child’s head.
*Encourage children to express their feelings: Sometimes when people die it’s Okay to feel a little bit lonely or sad and it’s definitely Okay to cry.

Hatching Chickens

Dear Parents,
You will notice that we have some fertilized eggs in an incubator in our classroom at the moment. We have sourced these from a company called “Living Eggs” to ensure that they are free of any infections or abnormalities. Living Eggs supply us with all we need to make sure the chickens, after they hatch, are safe and well fed. In the coming days we have asked the children to move slowly and carefully around the incubator table to give our embryos the greatest chance of living, hopefully we will be welcoming up to ten chicks by the end of the week and next week the chicks will be hardy enough to be handled by the children.
The incubator and brooding box will leave us at the end of next week. If you or grandparents etc… would like to offer some chicks a home so that your children can see them grow into a hen or a rooster please let a staff member know. You must take a minimum of two chicks at a time but we would be happy for all of them to go to one home if someone has the space. We can also give you some information on rearing chicks at home.
Flinders Boys will be making fluffy chickens in the next two weeks. If you have any yellowy colored wool at home that you are no longer using we would be most appreciative of a donation.
Thank you
Kindergarten Staff

How a Father is Made

Dear Dads,
Please enjoy the following quote. I think it speaks volumes about how Mums and Dads parent in different but equally important ways.
Enjoy
Mel Bishop

When God was creating fathers, He started with a tall frame. An angel nearby said, "What kind of father is that? If you’re going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high? He won’t be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping." God smiled, "Yes, but if I make him child size, who would children have to look up to?" When God made a father’s hands, they were large and sinewy. The angel shook her head sadly and said, "Do You know what You’re doing? Large hands are clumsy. They can’t manage diaper pins, small buttons, or rubber bands on pony tails." God smiled, "I know, but they’re large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day…yet small enough to cup a child’s face." Then God molded long legs and broad shoulders. The angel nearby said "Do You realize You just made a father without a lap? How will he pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?" God smiled, "A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle or hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus." God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had ever seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. "Do You honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?" God smiled, "They’ll support a small child who wants to "ride a horse to Banbury Cross" or scare off mice at the summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill." God worked through the night, giving the father few words but a firm authoritative voice; eyes that see everything, but remain calm and tolerant. Finally, He added tears, then turned to the angel, "Now are you satisfied that he can love as much as a mother?" The angel was silent.
-Anon

A Grandies Day Thank You

Grandies Day was a huge hit this year. Thank you to all the Grandies and relatives that visited us in our classroom. Your messages of love were wonderful.

A Khmer Thankyou

Thank you to those who donated for Samnang, our Cambodian visitor. The Flinders boys enjoyed the concert immensely and particularly liked the monkey dance. Samnang enjoyed his time in the Kindergarten with us and particularly enjoyed playing on the scooter, the likes of which he had never seen before…he mastered it very quickly. We will begin to fundraise next term to purchase some scooters and bikes for the orphanage in Cambodia so that all of Samnangs brothers and sisters can enjoy them too.

Quick Reminders Week 7 Term 3

1. Please let us know if you intend to come to our dinner at the Strathmore
2. Flinders Room boys have health checks this week

Book Week Dress Ups

Wow, fantastic characters came to school for Book Week . It was wonderful how the boys insisted on staying in character all day! Check out just a few in our slide show below:

KESAB Paper Making in the Kindergarten

Dear Parents,
This week we will be excited to welcome Margaret from KESAB (Keep South Australia Beautiful) to our Kindergarten on Wednesday morning. Margret will be holding an paper making morning for all Wednesday boys, bringing with her lots of lovely coloured paper pulp, deckles, squeegees and other paper making paraphernalia! It sounds as though it's going to be lots of fun. Children will require an A4 sized piece of cotton cloth to dry their paper on. Old sheets or dad's old cotton shirts that have worn out collars are a wonderful recyclable resource to pinch your cotton from! We apologise for the late notice but KESAB programs are in such demand we were lucky to be informed that we were receiving a visit late on Friday. If you have a large cotton sheet that would contribute more than one A4 sized piece of cloth we would love it if you could cut more than one piece so that your child can share some with a friend or visit the pulp trays more regularly.
Thanks

Half Day Pick Up Times

Dear Parents of Half Day boys,
Our half days finish at 12.30pm. Thank you to all the parents who regularly arrive at 12.25pm or before, ready to collect their son, we appreciate your support. Unfortunately we are experiencing some habitually late parents and this is impacting on our staffing arrangements between 12.30pm and 1.00pm. For parents who are experiencing difficulty with pick up times please feel free to contact our registrar, Carolyn Roney if it would help to enrol your son for afternoon sessions on the days that pick up is problematic. Carolyn can be e-mailed directly on croney@pac.edu.au.
Thank you
Mel Bishop

Grandies Day this Thursday

Dear Parents,
This Thursday we are holding our annual Grandies Day at PAC Preparatory School. Hopefully Grandies have received their invites and we will see them on Thursday. Please remind Grandies to meet us at the Assembly Hall, not at Kindergarten. Also, we would ask that Grandies bring their special message hearts on the day to add to our display board. Festival Photographers will be present on the day to take photos and will be available to be purchased via their website in week 8.

Science and Water Absorption in Week Six

This week we had fun at the science table looking at how different types of paper absorb liquid. Children quickly concluded that "hard paper wont let the water in, it says 'stop'" and that "soft floppy paper lets it come in but soon it gets too full and the water has to stay on the outside". This experience encouraged children to recognise that paper comes in different forms and can be used for different uses. One child even decided to fetch some toilet paper to see what would happen. Students also enjoyed colour mixing with the dyes and creating patterns on the more absorbent paper. Check out our photos.

Photos from the Big Boys Breakfast

Dear Dads, Uncles, Godfathers and Grandads,
Thank you so much for attending our Big Boys Breakfast, you all looked wonderful in your handmade ties! The boys enjoyed the event and continued to talk about it all day, it was very special for them to welcome you into their school life in a small way.
Dwayne from Festival Photographers took some wonderful photos on the day. These are now available to be purchased on their website. Some of the photos are stunning and would make a wonderful keepsake or gift for paternal grandparents with Christmas a few short months away. We can guarantee that the quality of Festivals photos are outstanding. To view the proofs simply go to:
http://www.festival-photo.com.au/
after the site has appeared click on View Events and then scroll down to Prince Alfred College 2007 and click on Fathers Day Breakfast. The site will ask you for an event date, type in 30/08/2007 and push enter. Simply follow the directions if you wish to purchase a photo. We hope to have some printed proofs in the Kindergarten in the coming week for those whose eyes need a larger image!!!