From the Acting Director of Early Learning
Dear Families
As many of you are aware, I wear two hats here at St Peter’s Girls’ School; I work at the Early Learners’ Centre and I am mother to Aubrey who is currently in the Ferguson Room. Last week, I had the privilege to meet with Ms Mel Angel to engage in dialogue about Aubrey’s time in the Ferguson Room, focussing on her growth and involvement in research and investigations. I was thrilled to be able to talk with other families while they waited for their appointment with their child’s teacher or upon conclusion. It was lovely to hear how valuable these opportunities to meet with the teachers are for families.
Our Parent-Teacher Conversations are an important chance to find out about your child’s progress at the ELC and to share information about your child with their teacher. These conversations symbolise the positive partnership that exists in a child’s journey through the ELC where parents and teachers are working together. They are also a wonderful opportunity to get to know your child’s teacher and celebrate the learning journey, including the many special moments. A huge amount of preparation goes into these conversations where the teaching team works together to ensure that we are sharing valuable and meaningful information. We thank you for embracing our new online booking system and making a time to come into the ELC to meet with the teachers.
In the Parent-Teacher Conversations, the teachers shared documentation or discussed information that can be found on either the room’s homepage or on your child’s ePortfolio on our myLink parent portal. The homepage gives you the opportunity to connect with the inquiry learning that is happening at the ELC. Our teachers aim to update the homepages regularly, sharing information about the investigations that are occurring within the rooms. We encourage you to browse through the homepage and click on the buttons to find out more. Your child’s ePortfolio will be updated towards the end of each term. This is where the teachers will share your child’s involvement in the inquiry. In their ePortfolio, they will also have a photo gallery with special moments captured throughout the term. You can access your child’s ePortfolio by clicking the ‘Community Portal’ tab on the Welcome page, then selecting ‘Documentation’. For more information on how to access ELC features on myLink, watch this short instructional video.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the ELC community for its support during my time as Acting Director of Early Learning while Kate Mount has been on long service leave. I have had the pleasure of immersing myself in ELC life across the Centre and continued to strengthen and build the most delightful relationships with children and families. I look forward to another wonderful term and I hope you have a relaxing holiday break with your loved ones.
Kind regards
Kirsty Porplycia
Acting Director of Early Learning
Save the Date
1 October: Public Holiday
2-12 October: Vacation Care
15 October: Term 4 commences
A Message from Mrs Yu
亲爱的家长们，
女士节
我们诚邀您参与即将到来的女士节，特别是各位妈妈们。此次女士节定于10月21日周日在S. C. Pannell Wines McLaren Vale举行。巴士于上午10点45分学校出发，下午4点返校。票价（每人68元）可在www.trybooking.com/XGNJ 购买，其中包括午餐的五道菜分享菜单以及往返场地的巴士。当天可以购买饮品。我们希望你那天见到你！
诚挚的问候
Mrs Sophie Yu
ELC Showcases Ada Robot to South Korea
There was a buzz of excitement last week as a South Korean media giant visited our ELC to produce an article and video showcasing children interacting with our humanoid robot Ada. JoongAng Ilbo, a newspaper that operates in association with the New York Times, embarked on the story after approaching the company that owns the technology, SoftBank Robotics.
This unique opportunity was facilitated by the Association of Independent Schools of South Australia (AISSA), which shared the visit on its website and Twitter account. The children enjoyed doing their morning yoga with Ada, as well as coding her to say their names and using voice recognition to ask her to stand up.
“It is really awesome to be able to share with South Korea how we are finding humanity through technology while working alongside Ada,” Acting Director of Early Learning Kirsty Porplycia said.
Natalie Lockwood, one of the ELC educators who works closely with the Hallett Room children and Ada, says “Through using Ada, we’ve seen a lot of different aspects of learning such as empathy, collaboration and problem-solving, as well as valuable skills such as coding.”
The newspaper is producing a series of international stories on the latest developments in technology in education, and our ELC is expected to feature in print and online next month.
The robot technology has played an immense role in enriching our teaching and learning, and we are pleased to share our knowledge both locally and globally.
Accessing Your Child’s ePortfolio
St Peter’s Girls’ ELC encourages parents to use myLink, the School’s parent portal, as a special window into life at the Centre. There’s a host of great features and vital information including notices, inquiry overviews, investigations happening in the room, documents and much more. For further information on how to access ELC features on myLink, watch this short instructional video.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How can I access the Canvas homepage for my child through myLink?
Click the ‘MYLINK HOME’ tab on the top menu to take you to your child’s profile. When you click the link for your child’s room, it will take you to a homepage that will look like the one pictured below right.
How often are the Canvas homepages updated?
The Canvas homepage gives you the opportunity to connect with the inquiry learning that is happening in the ELC, and it is updated regularly by the educators. This is a wonderful place for you to access information in the ‘Communication’ tab, which often includes invitations and notices. We encourage you to browse through the Canvas homepage and click on each of the buttons to learn more.
How can I access my child’s ePortfolio?
You can access your child’s ePortfolio by clicking the ‘COMMUNITY PORTAL’ tab on the top menu, and then selecting ‘Documentation’.
Your child’s ePortfolio will be updated towards the end of each term. On your child’s ePortfolio, the ELC educators will share your child’s involvement in the inquiry. They will also include a photo gallery filled with special moments captured throughout the term, as shown below.
Please note: if there is a photo of your child that also includes another child, it must not be shared on social media.
You should have already been supplied with a username and password instructions but if you have any difficulties, contact our IT Helpdesk on helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.
Enjoy a Ladies’ Day Out!
Join us for a relaxing day out especially for mums on Sunday 21 October at S.C. Pannell Wines, McLaren Vale. The bus departs School at 10.45am and returns around 4pm.
The cost is $68 per person and includes a five course share menu for lunch, and the bus to and from the venue. Drinks can be purchased on the day.
Book your ticket via www.trybooking.com/XGNJ
This year, the Friends of the ELC encourage you to donate a pre-loved handbag filled with essential items for the Share the Dignity campaign, which supports homeless women and fights for domestic violence victims.
Choose a handbag, fill it with items you think would make a woman feel special and write a thoughtful note. Handbags and backpacks must be in good to excellent second-hand condition or new. Please bring your donation bag on the day.
News from the Stonyfell Room
As we head towards the end of another term here at the ELC, we reflect on the journey our inquiry has taken.
The beginning of a term always brings a mixed array of feelings from excitement to uncertainty. At the beginning of this term, we asked ourselves:
Where will our learning take us?
The educators carefully plan our environment, discuss experiences and offer the children provocations.
What do we observe?
Something that has been highlighted to us repeatedly this term is that mathematics is everywhere, and it is part of our daily lives. Our children explore mathematical concepts every day, and it is our role as the adults to support them in exploring these concepts and to be able to build upon them. We have placed focus on using intentional mathematical language exploring Ferguson Park and during the children’s play.
For example, the language of comparison has been of great interest to the children and we have been using words such as:
- Tall
- Long
- Wide
- Narrow
- Short
- Thin
- Big
- Small
We have also seen the mathematics in our daily rituals, in particular in our meal times and our morning welcome. Mathematics has been explored through stories and songs and through our art experiences.
I hope you have enjoyed hearing about the learning that has occurred over this term in the Stonyfell Room through our newsletters, Canvas page and via your child’s ePortfolio.
Laura Reiters
News from the Bell Yett Room
Over the past few weeks, the Bell Yett children have been visiting Ferguson Park on a daily basis to think like botanists. They have been exploring different types of native plants and flowers as a part of their inquiry.
The children have been collecting and gathering various plant samples from the park, and sharing their findings and questions during group time and morning meetings. They have also been discussing their samples with the Ferguson Room children who have been conducting their own plant investigations.
To increase the children’s understanding of how to think like a botanist, we have been extending their knowledge of plants by using scientific tools to carry out further analysis. First, they visited the School’s Library and borrowed a range of non-fiction books to research the names of their plants.
The children ended up discovering that the samples they gathered are called the following names:
- Kangaroo Thorn Bush
- Cyperus Pine Tree
- Magic Tree
- Golden Wattle
- Smooth Rice Flower
They are now beginning to sort and classify these plants into plant families. The children are documenting data by graphically representing their samples through drawings, which are displayed on the walls in the Bell Yett Room.
They have also been working alongside Mrs Caterina, the ELC’s Atelierista, to explore features of their plants and organisms which are not apparent to the naked eye, but visible through a digital microscope. By working with a microscope, the children are not only able to have a magnified view of their plants, but they can also take enlarged images which allows them to view their findings from another perspective.
Nell Tierney and Jess Ash
News from the Ferguson Room
In Term 3, the children in the Ferguson Room have explored the idea that ‘Mathematicians search for patterns, rules, and relationships to explore their world’. We have had several projects running concurrently throughout the term, and we have positioned mathematical concepts at the heart of them. This transdisciplinary approach where Mathematics is embedded in the experiences allows children to engage in projects that interest them. Our three major projects have been:
- A botanical study
- Creating perfumes in the Atelier of the Scents
- Making a book of numbers in the Kaurna language
It has been extremely rewarding to enrich our learning by reaching out to members of our community. These have included:
- Tamaru, our Kaurna friend, who visited us every week this term to enrich our understanding of Kaurna culture and language.
- Mr Joseph Gallasch, the Park Ranger of Ferguson Park, who shared his knowledge of local plants with us.
- Our families, who demonstrated their support and love for our learning by accompanying us on walks throughout the term, contributing herbs and spices to our Atelier of the Scents, and of course, converging on Ferguson Park as a very large community of learners on Saturday 8 September.
Through these encounters, we have learned so much about each other as well as the mathematical concepts that underpinned our Unit of Inquiry.
As educators, the better we know the children, the more we understand how to engage and extend them in the experiences we plan for them. Each child is unique, and the importance of knowing each one of them at a deep level cannot be underestimated. Our interactions with you, their first and most important teachers, support us to know more about your child.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support this term. When you read our newsletters, stop for a chat in the morning or afternoon, come on a walk with us or attend an event at the ELC, you are participating in the life of the School, and this is of enormous benefit to all of us who live and learn together here at St Peter’s Girls’ ELC.
Mel Angel
News from the Hallett Room
During the term, we have combined intentional teaching with the children’s interests to develop their mathematical skills, knowledge and concepts. Through building on the children’s play, they have developed deeper understandings of:
- The attributes of 2D and 3D shapes
- Measurement including length, area, capacity and time, and tools for measuring these
- The use of symbols for efficient recording of their mathematical ideas
- Interpreting, recording, comparing and analysing data
We are now fortunate to have a real-life opportunity to embed our mathematical thinking in our Garden Bed Project. The children have been asked to care for two garden beds in the ELC garden that have been neglected for some time.
As a starting point, we began observing the garden beds, focussing the children’s attention on what they see, think and wonder. It was through this experience that the children began exploring some deeper philosophical issues.
“We need a scarecrow.” – Luciana
“So the birds don’t eat our food.” – Lucia
“We could make a new house for the birds with seeds in it.” – Ella
This empathetic thinking has initiated a smaller inquiry with some of the children who are interested in finding out more about the birds living in our ELC environment. They have begun designing new homes for them and are grappling with the idea of whether this is in the best interest of the birds.
We have begun visiting Ferguson Park with the intent of discovering more about these birds in their natural environment. We always appreciate the company of parents on our journeys to the park, enabling us to visit more frequently and gain a greater depth to our inquiry. If you are able to accompany us, please let one of the Hallett Room educators know.
We are currently in the process of sharing what we would like to plant in the garden beds, investigating what we can successfully plant and working on a fair system so that everyone contributes to the decisions. All of this is underpinned by our mathematical thinking. We look forward to sharing our final decisions with you.
Leanne Williams and Natalie Lockwood