Dear Families
It is my honour as Director of St Peter’s Girls’ Early Learners’ Centre to extend a warm welcome to our new and returning families. It’s been wonderful to see children entering their new learning spaces excited and eager to investigate, explore and connect with those around them. In my new role, I have had the opportunity to experience first-hand the atmosphere of warmth and inclusion that is present through interactions with staff and the careful planning that has gone into creating the learning environments.
We are looking forward to working in partnership with you to support your child’s learning, development and wellbeing. Providing consistency for children and families through rituals that support active participation in learning is a focus for the start of the school year. Educators have been working hard to establish strong relationships with each child and to create a sense of belonging here as this is foundational for learning to occur.
We are delighted to have introduced our new Pathway to School for children 6 months before they start Reception. Pathway to School supports children to experience a seamless transition into the next phase of their learning journey. Fundamental capabilities such as social, emotional and self-management skills are further developed, supporting growth in independence, organisation and resilience. Literacy, numeracy and STEM opportunities are amplified through investigations and intentional play-based learning, igniting problem-solving, creativity, curiosity, collaboration and engagement.
At St Peter’s Girls’ Early Learners’ Centre, there is a strong emphasis on ensuring that children have knowledge of and respect for our shared Australian history. The history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is respectfully reflected through community involvement and culturally sensitive practices. During my initial tour of the indoor and outdoor spaces and observations of practice in the Centre, this has been clearly visible. It was wonderful to listen to the journey that the Centre has been on, and to hear the children using and exploring Kaurna language as they engage with each other and their environment.
Sustainability is another core element of our Centre. Children have the opportunity to engage in real-life contexts that allow them to explore concepts of sustainability and responsibility, and to be active and purposeful in their actions. A highlight for me has been visiting the ELC Community Garden with the children; how wonderful to witness the children’s joy as they observe the tomatoes growing and starting to change colour.
It is a privilege to be a part of your child’s learning journey. I am thrilled to be working in partnership with you and our amazing staff, and I look forward to nurturing our thriving community.
Liz Schembri
Director of Early Learning
Important Dates
Friday 10 February: ELC – 12 Drinks on the Lawns, 6.30pm
Monday 13 February: ELC Meet the Teacher Information Evening, 6.30pm
Monday 13 March: Public Holiday (ELC closed)
Friday 17 March: ELC Twilight Family Picnic, 5pm
7 – 10 April: Easter (ELC closed)
11 – 24 April: Vacation Care
Tuesday 25 April: Public Holiday (ELC closed)
Excursion Permission Forms
Throughout the year, we access both the School grounds and Ferguson Conservation Park for various extended learning opportunities.
In order for your child to join these enriching experiences, your child’s teacher requires your written consent for the remainder of the year. You can complete the electronic forms via myLink:
- Visit myLink
- Select the ‘Community Portal’ tab
- Select the ‘Excursions’ tab
- Here, you will find the consent forms
If you would like your child to participate in these excursions, we ask that you complete the electronic forms by Wednesday 22 February 2023.
If you haven’t accessed myLink before, please read the instructions in the article below.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me via email if you have any queries: eschembri@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Liz Schembri
Director of Early Learning
Access Our myLink Parent Portal & ELC Home Page
myLink is our School’s parent portal, where families have access to a range of resources including the ELC Home Page. Our ELC Home Page is a dynamic online sharing space that invites you to participate in our learning. We use this tool to house important information for families and provide a window into your child’s life at the ELC, with educators sharing documentation of teaching, specialist lessons and spontaneous moments.
This page can also be accessed through your smartphone, via the Canvas App.
Accessing myLink for the first time:
Each parent has an individual username to access our myLink Parent Portal.
Please note that the username is your ID number followed by @stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Your ID number has been provided to you in an email from the School
If you have not accessed myLink before or have forgotten your password, please follow these steps:
- Visit https://mylink.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
- Sign in with your parent username
- Click on ‘Forgot my password’
- Make sure the ‘email’ address is your parent username, type in the code, then click the blue ‘Next’ button
- Enter your mobile number registered with the School, with the area code (Australia is +61), dropping the 0 at the beginning (e.g. +61 400000000). Then select ‘Text’
- Enter the security code sent to your mobile number
- Enter the password you would like to use and click ‘Finish’
- Return to the login screen at https://mylink.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au to access myLink
Accessing the ELC Home Page through myLink:
- Access myLink as per the above instructions
- Click on the ‘MYLINK HOME’ tab
- Click on your child’s name tab
- Under ‘Class Contacts’, click on the ELC room name (you may need to enter your user name and password again)
Accessing the Canvas Parent App for the first time:
- Ensure you have previously logged in to myLink on a PC
- Download the Canvas Parent App from your App Store
- Click the ‘Find School’ button
- Look up: stpetersgirls
- Log in using your School email address & password
- Tap on ‘ELC 2023’
- Click on ‘Front Page’ on the top right hand side
- Here, you can navigate the page through the app
Please note: we do not use the message feature on this app, and ask families to contact their child’s teacher via email rather than this message feature.
If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact our IT Hub via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.
Meet the Teacher Information evening
Come along to our Meet the Teacher Information Evening to learn about daily life within our Learning Communities.
Monday 13 February, 6.30pm in the ELC (enter via Hallett Road)
Meet our Director of Early Learning Liz Schembri and the staff in your child’s learning environment. ELC Teachers will outline their teaching and learning plan for the year ahead and share with parents how they can support their child’s growth and development.
Playgroup is Back in 2023!
It was wonderful meeting our new Playgroup families and welcoming our returning ones back to St Peter’s Girls’ Playgroup!
Playgroup is on Wednesdays during term time, starting from 9.30am with free play and concluding around 11am with songs, stories and dancing. It is for children aged 6 months to 2 years accompanied by their parents or carers
Please remember to bring sunscreen and a hat for outside play, a drink and snacks for your child (no nuts or nut products please).
While we have some pram parking at the ELC entrance, car parking on Hallett Road is limited, so you may need to find a shady spot in the surrounding streets.
If you have any questions with regards to playgroup, please email Kathy McCabe via kmccabe@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Drinks on the Lawns – Tomorrow Night
Our parents across ELC to Year 12 are cordially invited to join us in celebrating the new school year by coming together as a community for an evening of socialising.
Friday 10 February
6.30 – 9pm
Chiverton Lawns
A great opportunity to connect with other parents and staff, including our new Principal Cherylyn Skewes.
Friends of the ELC
Are you a parent/family member looking to be a part of our Friends of the ELC, connecting with other families and helping to organise our ELC community events? Building strong relationships together supports the development of a flourishing community for children and families.
The Friends of the ELC (FOELC) will hold casual get-togethers on a regular basis. If you’re interested in joining, there will be no ‘lock-in contracts’ – just an opportunity to further engage with one another and the ELC. We welcome all help and participation from our community however it fits into your busy schedules.
If you are interested in coming along to our Friends of the ELC meetings, please contact our FOELC Community Representative Angelica Mesisca via 0434 832 127.
Sustainability in the ELC
At our ELC, we are proud to uphold our focus on sustainability. We are working together to build awareness of our environmental responsibilities so that we can contribute to a sustainable future. Some of the initiatives that you can observe in our Centre include:
- Harnessing neighbouring Ferguson Conservation Park as an intentional teaching space to explore and develop relationships with our environment and living things.
- Our garden-to-table program that encourages sensory exploration, an awareness of and respect for the environment, and the promotion of healthy eating and nutrition.
- Educating children to care for living things (stick insects, frogs, fish, etc.).
- Incorporating recycling as part of our everyday practices and exploring what the different types of bins we have in the Centre are used for.
- Using our organic bins (green) for food waste.
- Using recyclable containers during morning tea and afternoon tea.
As we continue to develop our sustainability initiatives, we welcome any ideas or suggestions from families to support us on our journey.
欢迎来到2023学年的ELC
亲爱的家长朋友们，
作为圣彼得女校早教中心的园长，我很荣幸向我们的新家庭和回归家庭表示热烈欢迎。我们很高兴的看到孩子们兴奋地进入新的学习空间，渴望了解、探索并与周围的人建立联系。在我的新职位上，我有机会通过与员工的互动以及为创造学习环境而进行的精心规划，亲身体验到了ELC的温暖和包容的氛围。
我们期待着与您合作，为您孩子的学习、发展和身心健康提供支持。通过建立日常学习习惯，为孩子和家庭建立统一持续的学习环境来支持积极的学习参与，是新学年开始的一个重点。教育工作者一直在努力与每个孩子建立牢固的关系，并在这里创造一种归属感，因为这是学习的基础。
我们很高兴向大家介绍我们的“通往学校之路”的学前班，这个班是为我们要踏入学校前六个月的孩子所设置的班级。这个班级可以帮助孩子们无缝过渡到下一阶段的学习旅程。基本能力，如社交、情感和自我管理技能得到进一步发展，支持独立性、组织能力和适应力。通过我们对孩子的日常观察和有方向性设定的“学习基于玩乐”的学习项目，孩子们的读写能力、计算能力和关于STEM方面的能力将大大提高。同样激发了他们解决问题、创造力、好奇心、互相协作和参与度。
在圣彼得女校早期学习中心，我们非常强调确保孩子们了解和尊重我们共同的澳大利亚历史。原住民居民和托雷斯海峡岛民的历史和文化通过社区参与和文化情感的实践得到尊重。在我最初参观该中心的室内和室外空间以及观察实践时，这一点已经清晰可见。听着中心的历程，听着孩子们使用和探索原住民语言，与他人和周围环境互动，真是太棒了。
可持续发展是我们中心的另一个核心要素。孩子们有机会参与到现实生活中，让他们探索可持续性的概念和他们的责任，并积极有目标性的体现到他们的行动中去。另外一个亮点是和孩子们一起参观ELC社区花园。当孩子们观察西红柿长大，开始变色，而我看到了他们的喜悦，这是多么美妙的事。
能参与您孩子的学习旅程是一种荣幸。我很高兴能与你和我们出色的员工合作。我期待着与大家一同建立我们蓬勃发展的社区。
园长
Liz Schembri
Emma Huang works in Learning Community 1 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.
News from Learning Community 1
We extend a warm welcome to all of our Learning Community 1 children and their families, both those starting their ELC journey with us and those continuing from last year.
As we embark on a new school year together, the teaching team take time to reflect on what is important for our youngest citizens of St Peter’s Girls’ Early Learners’ Centre. The cultivation of relationships and a feeling of connectedness are pivotal to a child’s sense of belonging and wellbeing. These underpin their ability to develop understandings, enhance knowledge and learn new skills.
With this in mind, our Central Idea for Term 1 is:
‘Rituals and stories can support a shared understanding of our community.’
Within the context of Learning Community 1, we will deeply explore this Central Idea, guided by the following lines of inquiry:
- Developing a cohesive Learning Community
- Engaging in shared rituals such as our Morning Meeting ‘Banbanbalyas’
- Exploration of storytelling as a form of communication, connection and learning
We are looking forward to a wonderful term ahead with you and your children.
Nell Tierney, Henrietta Balnaves and Jess Catt
Learning Community 1
News from Learning Community 2
Welcome to Term 1, 2023! As always, the beginning of the year has brought about plenty of change in both staff and spaces at the ELC. Change can be a challenge, and we as adults can find change difficult and unsettling. Some of us avoid it as much as we can; however, like most things in life, it is inevitable. How we manage change can significantly impact how our children manage change. We often want to smooth their pathway, take out the bumps and make it as easy as possible. We need to ask ourselves:
What do they learn from this approach? What happens when we are not there to do this for them?
As your child develops and grows, we want them to build on their strategies and ability to work through these times; to feel confident that change can be a positive experience and that we can learn something from facing times of challenge.
Over the past few weeks, we have been embracing change in our Learning Community. We have welcomed our new Ferguson teacher Miss Chloe Skoss, and our new learning space, the Pathway Room. We have many new families and children and have taken the time to build our relationships and connections with them. This can look different in each room as the needs of our children differ. We have been excited to begin our inquiry focus and look forward to sharing this developing learning with you all via our ELC News, myLink page and room documentation.
Chloe Skoss and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2
News from Our Pathway Room
As a part of Learning Community 2 we have created a flexible learning space to provide targeted support for children during the six months prior to their commencement at school. Last week, we welcomed the first group of children into the Pathway Room as these children will be eligible to start school from mid-2023.
Together, we have begun to discuss the importance of rituals, responsibilities and transitions. As a collective, we discussed the concept of the term ‘pathway’ and wondered why this was used to name our room. After deep conversation and investigation, we realised that our room name symbolises our next step in our educational journey, our Pathway to School.
As a class, we have started to share what we hope to learn and our goals during our time in the Pathway Room. As these children are the very first Pathway Friends, we are eager to build rituals and traditions that will live on past these six months which will become deeply cemented into our Pathway Room practices.
Kirsty Porplycia and Kathy McCabe
Pathway Room
New ELC Uniforms Available Now
Our new ELC uniforms are available to purchase in the School Shop.
This beautiful new range is designed for the needs of our youngest community members, giving our ELC children a smart, cohesive look, and simplifying the routine of getting dressed in the morning.
We look forward to seeing the children proudly wear their new ELC attire.
Important Allergy Information
Please remember allergy awareness when packing food for your child.
We kindly ask you to refrain from packing nuts or nut products in your child’s lunch box.
We have members of our community across the Centre with severe food allergies to the following:
- Nuts
- Dairy
- Sesame
- Fish and shellfish
- Egg
- Banana
Due to the severity of these allergies, we are asking that you be mindful of this when packing food for your child. Please ensure food is safely packaged and/or contained.
If you have any questions, please see your child’s Room Teacher. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our community safe.
Sun Safety in the ELC
We have a Sun Safe Policy to ensure that each child minimises any health risks due to sun exposure. We ask that you support this policy by:
- Providing your child with a named wide brimmed hat.
- Applying sunscreen before your child comes to the Centre
- Dressing your child in the ELC uniform to ensure that their skin is appropriately covered when outdoors.
Children not wearing a hat will be required to play in an area protected from the sun. If your child has any sensitivities to the SP50+ broad spectrum and water-resistant sunscreen provided by the Centre, we ask that you supply an alternative for us to use throughout the day.
Appropriate footwear is also required and we ask that children wear sneakers or sandals that have a backing to them. For visits into Ferguson Park, long pants and closed-toed shoes are required.
Emergency Evacuation Drill
In order to ensure the safety of our St Peter’s Girls’ ELC community and to meet regulations, emergency and evacuation procedures are rehearsed on a regular basis. We will be having an emergency evacuation drill on Wednesday 15 March. As part of this procedure, we will take children onto the main campus.
Staff will ensure that children are feeling safe and secure throughout this process. Where developmentally appropriate, educators will talk to your children about the sound of the alarm, what this means, what we need to do and why.
The evacuation drill is followed by a review to ensure that our practices would be effective and efficient in an emergency situation, and that the children’s safety and wellbeing are of the highest priority.
COVID-19 Information
Please find the latest guidance from SA Health:
- It is strongly recommended that students stay home if they have cold or flu-like symptoms, and test for COVID-19.
- Whether they receive a positive or negative result, they should stay home until symptoms subside (usually five to seven days).
- It is strongly recommended that parents/guardians inform the School if a student is a close contact. For further advice regarding close contacts, click here
If your child tests positive to COVID-19, please notify the School. Please also notify the School each day of absence, or provide the expected period of absence.
You can notify us via one of the following methods. Please include the name of the ELC Room. If emailing, feel free to ‘CC’ the teacher/s of the room as well.
Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200
If children are displaying symptoms, it is mandatory that we send them home. SA Health guidelines advise that symptoms include:
- Fever (a temperature of 37.5˚C or higher) or chills
- Cough
- Loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Tiredness (fatigue)
- Runny or blocked nose
- Shortness of breath (difficulty breathing)
- Nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea
- Headache
- Muscle or joint pain
- Loss of appetite
For more SA Health information, click here
Please note that if your child is unwell, they should remain home until they have recovered, irrespective of the illness.
Absences in the ELC
If your child will not be attending ELC due to illness or otherwise, please notify the School via one of the following methods and include the name of the ELC Room.
If emailing, feel free to ‘CC’ the teacher/s of the room as well. Please also provide a reason for the absence as the School requires this for government reporting purposes.
Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Phone: 8334 2200
ELC Room Contacts
-
- Stonyfell – 8155 5778
- Bell Yett – 8155 5780
- Ferguson – 8155 5776
- Hallett – 8155 5775
- Pathway – 8334 2250
ELC Immunisation Policy
Under the Government’s No Jab No Play policy, families must meet immunisation requirements to attend the ELC and receive the Child Care Subsidy. Families are required to provide all approved immunisation records to the ELC. Further information is available by clicking here.
Children who are suffering from illnesses such as those listed below must be excluded from ELC in line with our Exclusion Policy:
- Influenza
- Chicken Pox
- Conjunctivitis
- Diarrhoea
- Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease
- High Temperature
- Infectious Hepatitis
- Measles
- Meningitis
- Mumps
- Rubella (German Measles)
- Scabies
- Scarlet Fever
- School Sores (Impetigo)
- Upper Respiratory Tract Infection
- Vomiting
- Whooping Cough
As part of our approach to prioritising health and safety, we implement effective hygiene practices and work to prevent and effectively deal with any infectious disease in line with the Education and Care Services National Regulations and the advice of health experts. If your child has one of the following, chickenpox, measles, rubella, meningococcal or tuberculosis or any other vaccine preventable diseases we ask that you inform the Centre as soon as possible.