TERM 4 NEWS:

Presidents Message

100% Enrolments

for 2017

News from the Director

Important Notices

Supporting

Children’s Social and Emotional

Learning

Nurturing Friendships in the

Early Years

School Readiness

Reading Tips

Parents’ Club

Upcoming Events

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President’s message continued next page

Well we (and the children) have almost made it! The end of Term 4 is fast approaching and what an eventful year it has been at the Harty Street Community Kindergarten. In the September school holidays we finalised the upgrade to the swings, path area and grass to create additional outdoor areas for the children to run and explore. The new bridge across the dry creek bed is also another fantastic addition to the ever changing and growing playground area that makes this kindergarten such an attractive place to learn and play for the children. We have also been looking to maximise the use of resources available at the kindergarten. With the move to a longer day format for some classes, which has freed up some teaching space, we have explored the creation of an additional "introduction to kindy" program for younger children (available from 36 months old). Significant interest has already been shown and we are hoping to have this program up and running for 2017. This is a great opportunity for the kindergarten and for families in the Harty Street community to ease into the kindergarten year.

If your child is planning to start kindergarten in 2018 and is born between the months of July 2013 and January 2014, then you can take advantage of the introduction program. It will only go ahead with sufficient commitment and support so if you are interested in this program please ensure that you speak to Suzy Hartley directly as soon as possible to save a place! Our AGM is also right around the corner, taking place next week on Wednesday, 16 November 2016. I encourage everyone to participate in the parents’ welcome function for the new 2017 parents to the kindergarten. If you are a returning family in 2017, I also encourage you to come to the AGM and put your name down for a committee position! When the prep year moved to schools, and kindergarten changed from a two to a one year program this had an impact on the continuity and corporate memory of the committee. Being familiar with the kindergarten, even if you weren't previously on the committee will go a long way to ensuring that the 2017 committee can hit the ground running and make decisions in the best interests of its members - you!

WHAT A WONDERFUL YEAR IT HAS BEEN

Being a part of the committee is both a challenging and a rewarding experience and I encourage everyone to give it a go. There are a range of positions available to suit everyone's skill set and any member of the 2016 committee would be happy to talk to you about what's involved. Previously I have found it to be a fantastic way of getting to know the other families at the kindergarten and participating in the kindergarten community, when I haven't always been available for pick-ups or drop offs. Please do not hesitate to talk to us about what is involved and the benefits of participation. Our final kindergarten Working Bee for the year is set for Saturday, 19 November 2016. Can I ask everyone to give it one last push! The grounds look fantastic so let's make sure we leave them that way for the incoming 2017 kids to enjoy as much as our kids have. Finally a word of thanks. Firstly to my tireless committee members, I've been overwhelmed by the commitment and support that each of you have given to the kindergarten this year. I look forward to staying in touch as our children progress through school and celebrating our achievements over a glass of champagne! Finally, to our director, teachers and support staff. The endless passion and enthusiasm that each member of the team shows for the kindergarten and our children is amazing. On behalf of the committee a very big thank you, we have seen our kids grow and develop throughout the year through the benefit of your patience, support and wisdom. It is staff like ours that make our kindergarten such a popular choice and an experience that both families and children can treasure. Families, enjoy these last couple of weeks. I look forward to seeing you all in this final term (and of course at the AGM and Working Bee!). Christy Miller 2016 President

The educators work incredibly hard to support the children and their families and I would like to acknowledge and congratulate them for their continued dedication, enthusiasm and support. This year, Harty Street introduced a long-day format in two groups and the teaching staff worked tirelessly to ensure the smooth transition & success of this program. We are excited to announce that our hard work is paying off and we have full enrolments for 2017 in all four groups. We are also looking at the best way to make use of the empty classroom on a Wednesday so are currently exploring the option of introducing a one-day per week class for children turning four in the July 2013 – January 2014. Our Committee Assistant, Caroline Taylor is always available to the Committee and the staff and is a great support to our families, so thank you Caroline. Finally, I would like to thank all the children, families, visitors and community members who make Harty Street Kindergarten the wonderful place it continues to be. On behalf of the staff I extend to you our warmest wishes for a beautiful and safe Christmas. Enjoy your holidays and the special moments with your families and friends. Best wishes Suzy Hartley, Director

As we come to the end of another wonderful year at Harty Street I can’t help but be thrilled with everything we have achieved this year – and there are so many people that I need to thank. Firstly, I would like to thank the outgoing 2016 Management Committee –thank you for your commitment, professional support, community spirit and personal skills that continue to enable Harty Street to thrive as a successful and well-regarded community kindergarten. The 2016 Committee has worked hard with the staff to progress our playground masterplan and this year we have enjoyed many upgrades to our playground including installation of the new sandpit, creating a new swing corner and extension of the boardwalk, new turf to create a fabulous open play space and installation of new garage doors. An amazing achievement in just 12 months. Harty Street is renowned for our fabulous community spirit and this is in part due to the active Parent’s Club. I would like to thank Bianca McFarlane and Marnie Dalrymple and the lovely group of parents who contributed their time, ideas and skills to make every Harty Street event a successful one. The Parent’s Club has been incredibly supportive of our educators’ decision to reintroduce community events and information sessions to support our parents and the local community. This year we hosted Triple P workshops, a nutrition information morning, Prep readiness talk, Learning Connections session and a resilience talk. With the support of the Parent’s Club we will be continuing with these community programs next year. Thanks also to the class coordinators: Skye Wolf, Sallyanne Pitt, Catherine Parer, Anna O’Sullivan, Ketaki Deshmukh and Julia Berkman, who support the educators and the Parents’ Club in so many different ways.

FROM THE DIRECTOR

IMPORTANT NOTICES Vaccination updates It is a C&K requirement that Harty Street Kindergarten ensures all children’s immunisation records are current and that we maintain acceptable documentary evidence. A reminder to all parents/guardians to provide an updated official record to Harty Street when your c h i l d h a s r e c e i v e d t h e i r f o u r - y e a r - o l d immunisations. Acceptable documentary evidence is either an official record issued by the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) or a letter from a recognised immunisation provider. A copy of a child's Red Book (or other state-based Personal Health Record) is no longer recognised as an official record. If you have not provided the correct documentation would you please do so immediately. If you are unsure what form of evidence you have provided please contact your child’s teacher. One Day a Week Program

The children at Harty Street are enjoying the new grassed areas in the playground. The newly turfed area and pathway was partly funded by a grant from the Griffith Stronger Communities Program.

How beautiful is our new swing area? Harty Street is incredibly grateful for the grant we received from the Lord Mayor's Suburban Initiative Fund to help fund a new swing area and extension of the board boardwalk. The children love it!

Thank You

Is your child turning 4 between July and December next year? Do you know anyone whose child is turning 4 between July and December next year? Harty Street Kindergarten is investigating the possibility of running a one-day week program for children who turn 4 between July and December in the year before their formal kindergarten program. This program would run on Wednesdays from 9:00am – 2:30pm Staffed by existing Harty Street Educators, if interested call our Director on: 3397 6434. Paper Needed

The Harty Street Annual Book Drive held in August was a huge success! Thank you to all of the wonderful families for your support and to those who purchased and donated books back to the kindergarten.

Annual Book Drive The kindergarten is in desperate need of A4 or A3 paper for the children to draw on. If anyone has any old letterhead or similar please bring it to the kindergarten as soon as possible.

SUPPORTING CHILDREN’S SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING

Playing with other children provides opportunities to practice important social skills including sharing, taking turns and cooperation

Help children identify and develop strengths by encouraging them to have a go at things and find out what they are good at. Remember to praise them for their effort, celebrate their success and encourage them to keep trying and learning

Parents have an important role to play in guiding and supporting their child’s social and emotional learning. Everyday situations present lots of opportunities for children to learn and practise skills for coping with emotions, managing relationships and solving problems. Parents can help their children build these skills by providing effective coaching. Here’s how you can help:

Encourage children to talk about how they feel, listen with empathy so they feel understood and help them understand that feelings are normal and talking about feelings help you manage them

Encourage discussion of feeling

Encourage Creative Problem Solving

Support Children’s Confidence

Provide Opportunities to play with others

Lead by Example Children learn how to behave by observing and imitating the behaviour of those around them, so remember you are an important role model for your children. If you model positive ways of coping it helps your children cope with strong feelings like anger and shows them that they can also manage their strong feelings

Give Children Choices To develop responsibility children need practice in making choices that are appropriate for their age and experience level. Help your child build decision making skills by encouraging them to explore options and help them think through the reasons for their choices. You can involve your children in family making decisions including where to go for holidays, how to celebrate a birthday – not only does this help them develop skills for responsible decision making but it also encourages cooperative family relationships.

Asking questions that help children think of alternative solutions support their thinking and problem solving skills. Ask them: “What could you do about that?”

Teach Children to use Assertive Communication Skills Encourage children to talk about how they feel, listen with empathy so they feel understood and help them understand that feelings are normal and talking about feelings help you manage them Ref`erence – Kids Matter

NURTURING FRIENDSHIPS IN THE EARLY YEARS There is something quite special and even magical about close friendships - no matter what age we are. Friendships build human connectedness and bondedness, and help create life-affirming experiences that can help build emotional, social and psychological competence. We are more physically and psychologically buoyant when we have family and friends who care for us and who we care for when adversity arrives in our lives. How can parents help their children form good friendships:

Boys often use less verbal communication to build friendships bonds than girls, so they actually need to spend more face-to-face time playing together doing physical stuff. Creating “adventure type” opportunities that stimulate lots of ‘dopamine’ – the brain chemical that makes boys feel alive, engaged and interested – helps build stronger connectors of affection. Ideas for these type of activities include games with balls, sandpits, building things, climbing frames and sport activities. If boys have no friends they often display aggressive behaviour towards other students and teachers because they feel isolated and disconnected so they like to have a good mate around. Parents can help by organising play dates at the local park with other boys from their class to help develop strong bonds.

For Boys

For Girls

Girls can be like butterflies – flitting around being friends with lots of girls but they can also be much more manipulative in their play – best friends today, worst enemies tomorrow. Parents can help by not stepping into girl friendship dramas and sorting them out. Rather you can be quietly supportive and encouraging, allowing them to work through it themselves, reminding your girls about empathy and exploring how others feel when someone is mean and unkind.

SCHOOL READINESS

School readiness is defined as how prepared your young child is to start and succeed at school. It is now widely accepted that social, behavioural and emotional competencies are better indicators of how successful a child will be at school than how intelligent or academically prepared a child might be. As you consider whether your child is ready to start school, it’s helpful to ask yourself the following questions: 1.  Is your child able to get along with others,

including family members, teachers and peers?

2.  Is your child able to follow directions? 3.  Is your child able to identify and handle his/her

feelings? 4.  Is your child likely to seek out a teacher’s help

if needed? 5.  Is your child able to manage his/her behaviour

in different social settings? 6.  Is your child able to join in with a group and

cooperate with others in play? 7.  Can your child think of appropriate solutions

when conflict arises? 8.  Is your child able to pay attention to and

persist with tasks? 9.  Is your child able to make sense of other

people’s behaviours and feelings? 10.  Does your child feel good about him/herself

and others? These questions reflect the key skills which have been identified as essential for school readiness and later academic success. Identifying any areas of difficulty for your child can provide you with a focus of where best to help, ahead of time. Source: www.drkaylenehenderson.com

TEN TIPS FOR READING TO CHILDREN

1.  Read aloud every day - 10 minutes of reading aloud every day makes and important difference to your child’s language and literacy development.

2.  Make Reading Fun – Read stories with enthusiasm! Change voices for different characters and alter

the volume of your voice to build excitement.

3.  Talk, play and tell stories to your children – Tell your child stories every day about your day, their family, exciting things you’ve seen or done. Reading, storytelling, talking and play helps your child listen and develop social and language skills.

4.  Read anywhere – Reading in a variety of places to your child. Read outdoors, in the park, at the beach and on the bus. Just like adults children enjoy reading in different context and times of the day.

5.  Read Anything – Storybooks and picture books stimulate imaginations and foster a love of literature.

But read recipes, newspapers, brochures, maps and other texts to support your child’s literacy levels in all aspects of their life.

6.  Listen to and praise your child reading aloud – listen to your child read. Consistent reading aloud improves children’s reading and confidence. Wait patently and let your child work out more difficult words. Praise them.

7.  Ask questions – Encourage your child to ask questions about what they are are reading before, during and after reading. Ask them what happens next, why something stated is important, and discuss their feelings about events and opinions in the text.

8.  Discuss the language in the texts – move your finger under the words from left to right as you’re

reading encourage your child to do the same when they are reading. Stop now and again and discuss a particular word. Ask what it means and what other words are like it.

9.  Don’t forget the pictures – Focus on, celebrate and explore the visuals that go along with the text. These can be illustrations, maps photographs or graphics and they often help your child understand the book or text being read.

10.  Be seen reading! – Model reading to your child. Let them see you reading for entertainment and information. Ask them to join in when reading the newspaper, measuring something from a recipe, or view a text message.

JOIN US for our next Working Bee on Saturday 19th November from 2pm to 5pm! Let’s get together one more time this year and maintain our beautiful kindergarten for our 2017 families. All you have to do is add your name to the Working Bee volunteer list, which is positioned at the daily “sign-in” table for further information contact our Working Bee Coordinator, Buddhi on: 0430 649 620. Even if you can only spare an hour, don’t miss a fun and rewarding day!

Keep up to date with what’s happening at Harty Street and “Like” us on Facebook. Please feel free to invite your friends and family to follow us on Facebook. Find us at www.facebook.com/hartystKindergarten or click on any of the Facebook icons in this newsletter.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!

WORKING BEE

End of Year Picnic Sunday 13th November 3:00pm-5:00pm

Annual General Meeting Wednesday 16th November 7:00pm

Final 2016 Working Bee Saturday 19th November 2:00pm-5:00pm

School Day - Beginning of Week group Tuesday 15th November

School Day - End of Week Group Friday 18th November

End of Year Concert/Picnic Megan’s Group - Monday 28th November

Suzy’s Group - Tuesday 29th November

Hayley’s Group - Thursday 1st December

Sara’s Group - Friday 2nd December

Magician Show and Party Tuesday 6th December (MTW)

Thursday 8th December (WTF)

PARENTS’ CLUB UPDATE

The Parents’ Club held a Kids Disco at Harty St on the 13th of August. We were pleased to see more then half our families attend. The kids enjoyed dancing and entertainment with Bronte from Superstars, and cooled down with an ice block. Some children delighted in having seconds. After lots of hard work our Parents' night went ahead on 9th September. Although the lawn bowls were cancelled due to rain, we all had a great night at Club Greenslopes. There were lots of lucky winners thanks to the wonderful local businesses that supported our raffle! Chloe and Dan Robbins were the winners of our lucky door prize and will enjoy a Peppers Resort weekend thanks to the event sponsors - Auscopters, Superstars, CP Dental, Remax (Craig Bullen), Jeff Nicholls Town Planning and Thermomix. We hope the children are enjoying the use of their special melamine Picture Plates! Thanks to all the families that supported this fundraiser. Harty St Parents’ Club will celebrate the 'year that’s been' at Majestic Park with a sausage sizzle and cake on Sunday 13th November from 3pm to 5pm, we hope to see you all there! Thanks goes to Joe Kelly MP and Terri Butler MP who have generously donated prizes for the End of Year raffle. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

WHAT’S HAPPENING – UPCOMING EVENTS