To begin with I would just like to say a huge thank-you to all our families who participated in our Parent Teacher Conversations over the first few weeks on Term 3. It was extremely successful with a very high participation rate in the Possum group. It was beneficial to have the opportunity to formally meet with each family individually and be able to engage in discussions regarding their child’s learning and development. It also provided time for discussions regarding future goals and strategies to be implemented in the coming semester for our individual children. Lynne and I are also extremely appreciative of all the positive feedback we received and are so glad your children have been enjoying their time at kinder this year.
Transition to School – Starting school is a major life transition for both children and their families. Both challenging and exciting, it is a time of change in which children, families and educators adjust to new roles, identities, expectations, interactions and relationships. A focus for the Department of Education and Training (DET) is encouraging kindergartens and schools to continue to develop and strengthen relationships that will assist the children and families in their transition to school. This year we have participated in excursion visits to Parkdale, St John Vianny’s and Parktone Primary and the children have enjoyed exploring a variety of school settings and spending time in the classrooms completing some activities. We will continue to reach out to these schools and explore how we are able to continue to develop our relationships through reciprocal visits, shared activities etc. This term we will have children from St John Vianny’s coming to read to the Possum children on a Thursday afternoon and we look forward to sharing this experience.
An aspect of the Transition to School process is the completion of a ‘Transition Learning and Development Statement’ (the Transition Statement) which has been designed to assist families and educators share information and specific strategies to support each child’s learning and development. The Transition Statement helps to connect Early Childhood services, schools, OSHC services and families all working together to support transition into school and the continuity of learning for each child.
The 4 Year Old Teaching team will begin to prepare the individual children’s Learning and Transition Statements in the coming months with the intention of having they sent to the children’s nominated schools in mid October. Prior to the Term 3 holidays I will be sending home the ‘Family’ section of the Statement for families to complete and return. The finalised Statement is then provided to families to approve prior to being sent to your nominated school.
Excursions – We have some very exciting excursions planned and look forward to engaging in these with our children. On Tuesday 5th September we will be walking to the Parkdale Library to participate in a story time. On Tuesday 12th September we will be travelling on a bus to the McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park to have a tour of the site and also participate in 2 very exciting art based experiences. On Tuesday 24th October we will also be adventuring to the Melbourne Museum! We will require adult helpers for these excursions so please volunteer your time if you are able to do so – it will be a wonderful adventure!
Donations – We are currently seeking donations of fire wood, kindling, newspaper and larger pieces of calico or fabric. If you are able to donate any of these resources it would be greatly appreciated!
Thank-you,
Gina
