e-News
Banksmeadow Public School Preschool
In This Issue
Read on to find out about:
- Dates for the Calendar
- General Reminders
- Assistant Principal's Message
- P and C Spartan event
- Classroom News
- Project Work
- Preparing for School
Dates for the Calendar
* Friday September 23rd- Last Day of term. Children must be collected by midday on the day so that our educators can clean and prepare for Term 4. The children do not need to bring their lunch to Preschool.
*Monday October 10th- Children return to the Preschool. There is no Staff Development (Pupil Free Day) in Term 4.
*Wednesday October 12th- First Kids into Kindy Session. One class from the Preschool will come up to Kindergarten for our transition to school program.
*Friday October 14th- P and C Spartan Day. The Preschool children will participate in this event in the school playground.
General Messages
* The front gate to the Preschool has been broken again and we are in the process of getting it fixed. Parents are reminded that children should be well supervised when entering and exiting the building to ensure that they are not swinging on the gate.
* Term 3 fees are now due. Could all families please ensure all Term 3 fees are paid by this Friday 23rd September. Please note that due to a change to the Department of Education's finance system, online payments will be unavailable from 4pm on Friday 23rd September until Monday 17th October. Payments by cash or cheque will also not be possible between Wednesday 12th October and Monday 17th October.
Assistant Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Our transition to school program has started in the last few weeks and will continue throughout next term. It was great to see many of you again at the school Open Night and Kindergarten Orientation morning. I also popped down to the Preschool a week or so ago and answered some questions from parents. I hope the information provided at our orientation events has given you a good understanding about the programs we offer at the school and how you can prepare your child for Kindergarten next year. If you do have any further questions, please contact me through the school office on 9316 9608 or via email at roxanne.bragg@det.nsw.edu.au
Last week I brought down a few 'experts' from my Kindergarten class to the Preschool, to speak to your children about starting school in our very own Banksmeadow question and answer forum. My children explained and displayed their school uniforms, discussed the activities they do at school, what they eat, what happens in the playground and answered many questions asked by our Preschool students. This annual session is always very interesting, with the questions asked by Preschoolers and the advice given by Kindergarten being quite unpredictable! The idea behind this session is to give children an opportunity to ask other children about what they want to know about starting school and so it is very much from a child's perspective. We are starting a new book for the children to share their transition to school adventures, so please feel free to add a photo and a short story about your child's experiences when they visit their new school over the next few weeks.
For the first six weeks of next term, our current Preschool children will be participating in our Kids into Kindy program. Every second Wednesday morning (not Tuesday as we originally advertised) one class from the Preschool will visit the Kindergarten classrooms at the school for an hour to participate in some fun activities, including singing, reading and art activities, as part of their daily schedule. At the end of each session, the children will be given some morning tea and a popper, just like when they are at school. They can have these in the playground and then play on the equipment. Even children who are not attending Banksmeadow next year will participate in this program as all schools are very similar and we want the children to get used to being in a much different educational setting with familiar Preschool faces to support them. Our Year 4 and 5 students will also assist in this program and will be an older buddy friend to assist the Preschool children to feel comfortable. Each class will come to the school three times over the first six Wednesdays of next term, from 10am-11am.
For further information about starting school, the NSW Department of Education has also established a great website with lots of information for parents about school from Preschool to the high school years. It has some good parent resources about preparing for school and is a valuable resource throughout the years of your child's schooling. The address to the website is www.schoolatoz.nsw.edu.au
We have recently sent our letters of offer for Preschool 2017. Some of our new families will be starting to come and visit the Preschool in Weeks 2 and 3 next term, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
There is no Pupil Free day next term , so we will see all the children back at the Preschool from the week starting Monday 10th October. Have a lovely holiday and we will see you back in Term 4.
Kind Regards,
Roxanne Bragg
Assistant Principal
P & C Spartan Event
Our school P&C will hold their major fundraising event for this year on Friday 14th October (the first Friday back in Term 4) which will also involve the Preschool children. The children will have the opportunity to participate in a SPARTAN event. This event will be set up on the school field and will contain inflatable obstacle-style apparatus. Classes will take turns to complete the event and will have a whole lot of fun while doing so! The event will have activities suitable for every age and fitness level, and is designed to get kids active...and dirty! (Please wear old clothes and shoes, and bring a spare set to change into).
The aim of the day is to have fun and raise some money for our school as the school P & C provides financial support for the school, including the Preschool. This week, the children have an information note and a sponsorship card in their Preschool pocket. Families are asked to recruit sponsors from other family members, work colleagues and friends, and collect money for completing the event. Prizes will be awarded to the class and the individual boy and girl who raise the most money.
Pelican's Classroom
It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the end of Term 3. The year is flying by so quickly! The children are getting excited about beginning their next adventure and are talking about the schools they are going to next year. Everyone enrolled at Banksmeadow PS enjoyed their morning at their Kindergarten Orientation. They met their buddies who assisted them as they participated in a range of activities. Some Kindergarten children have visited the Preschool to explain what school is like and to answer the Preschool children’s many questions. As several of the children enjoy playing ‘schools,’ we would like to set up a ‘classroom’ in the home corner after the holidays. Does anyone have any pre-loved school uniforms that we could borrow for the children to dress up in? We will also have a ‘Going to School’ class book that we would like you to contribute photos and information to when your child attends their school orientation.
There was much excitement when Farmer James brought his farm animals to Preschool to be fed, held and patted. These experiences were lots of fun and Farmer James commented on how well the children listened, answered questions and waited their turn. It was wonderful to see the more hesitant children develop the confidence to pat and hold the animals. We have been singing lots of farm songs and have even made up some new ones. Farm puzzles and games have challenged the children’s problem solving and memory skills. Both fiction and non-fiction farm books have been shared and the children are developing an understanding of the different types of books. They have also produced some creative farm-related artworks.
We wish all our families a safe and happy holiday.
Kathy, Mona and Rosemary
Transition to school
Feeding the Pigs
Patting the animals
Kookaburra's Classroom
While Mrs Royston has been on leave, the Kookaburras have been having fun with Ms Brown and Ms Donis. At the moment, the Kookaburras are very interested in dinosaurs. They have been engaging in pretend dino play and have also been playing math and literacy games with a dinosaur theme. Some of these games include identifying upper and lower case letters and matching dice dots with written numbers. By using the children’s interest in dinosaurs when programming learning intentions, the children have been more willing to learn and participate in activities. They have also enjoyed playing games on the ABC Kids website that focus on strategy and problem solving.
Spring has seen lots of art time with Mrs Nicol. The children have been painting all sorts of different flowers and trees that are starting to bloom in our Preschool environment. Mrs Nicol has been encouraging the Kookaburras to focus on the features of different flowers and trees and to identify shapes within nature, to assist in the development of their drawing skills.
On Wednesday 14th September, Kindi Farm visited Preschool and the Kookaburras had a great time! They enjoyed patting and feeding the different animals, as well as learning about the animals' features, feeding habits and habitats. They also got to see a sheep being sheared!
Thank you to all of the Kookaburra families for their continued support.
Elisha, Lisa and Susie
Feeding the animals
The bull was extra thirsty!
Patting the animals
Project Work- Gardening
Throughout the last couple of weeks, Mrs Jimenez has been assisting some very keen gardeners during outdoor play time. They prepared the garden beds, dug holes and planted lots of plants, including tomatoes, peas and some pretty flowers. Then the daily job of watering began and there is always plenty of help. We have taken photos of our tomatoes and pea plants and will be monitoring their growth in the future weeks.
To keep our new plants safe in our vegetable garden, we created a scarecrow. He has been seen relaxing in his chair in several spots in the garden. He is a very sun smart scarecrow, wearing his broad brimmed hat just like our Preschoolers. Some of the children in the Pelican class who helped create our scarecrow have named him Gideon. Welcome to Preschool, Gideon, and please keep those birds away from our garden!
Mona Jimenez and Lisa Nicol
Everyone helped to plant
We watered our new plants
We took care of the plants
Preparing For School Next Year- Home ideas to support an understanding of Maths
Key Concepts
1.Understanding that things can belong in different groups.
2.Understanding that things in the world sometimes have a special order or pattern.
3.Undertsanding space
4.Understanding quantity
5.Understanding “one to one correspondence”
6.Understanding that there are symbols that represent an amount.
TIPS TO TRY AT HOME
*Playing with Space
Build cubby houses with your child using sheets and towels.
Make obstacle courses inside or outside.
Play with construction toys and blocks.
*Playing with Shape
Find shapes in the environment.
Make shadows with lights and torches.
Make cookies using cookie cutters.
*Playing Measuring and Weighing
Play with containers of different sizes and shapes.
Record the heights of family members.
*Playing with Patterns
Talk about everyday patterns in body rhythms, movements, brick walls and fences.
Cut magazine pictures to make new puzzles.
Use your clothes pegs to make patterns.
*Playing with Numbers
Introduce your child to simple board games that use dice.eg snakes and ladders.
Make up some simple games with packs of cards. Eg snap, memory, your own idea!
Ask your child to count out the number of items needed for the dinner table, etc.
Measuring
Snakes and Ladders
Patterns are everywhere
Banksmeadow Public School Preschool
Email: banksmeado-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Website: http://www.banksmeado-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/
Location: Corner Herford and Wilson Streets, Banksmeadow
Phone: 9316 7661
Twitter: @banksmeadowps