From the Director of Early Learning
Dear Families
Term 3 has begun with a beautiful start, as children and families settle into their rooms with several changes occurring. As we celebrate our Mid-Year Reception students starting school, we welcome new students into both of our Learning Communities. Our Learning Community model is demonstrating its positive attributes with the start of a new semester, with the benefits of children having an extended period of time in the one room allowing not only strength in relationships but also the opportunity for our older children to demonstrate greater leadership and social skill development across the day. These were our intentions of the model so it is extremely pleasing to see them in action.
A team of nine staff travelled to Perth in the July break to attend the ‘Landscapes of Transformation’ Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange (REAIE) Conference. This was a wonderful opportunity for rich collaboration as we heard from our international Reggio Emilia speakers, as well as leading Australian practitioners who were key speakers in concurrent sessions. It was an honour to be one of these speakers, to co-present with Mel Angel, about our leading practice in embedding transformation through courageous practice. We received glowing feedback as we represented our team and ELC community to two large audiences. We shared our learning with a presentation to the whole ELC staff and have a pathway forward in new research that will guide our future. We look forward to sharing this with you.
The Community Garden
During the break, Ned Ziesing from Property Services worked tirelessly on our Community Garden project. This has become such a shared interest with the community, particularly for the children as they watched the space evolve and wondered what would happen next. You will notice the space is now almost complete, but please take time to look at it with your child to build on their thinking about how we might use it.
In reinforcing this as a truly collaborative, community-focused project, we welcome your input and ideas:
- What do you see as the key purpose of a community garden?
- How can we involve our community?
- What sustainable practices can we embed?
- Do you have some garden success stories to share with us?
- Do you have a community garden near you? If so, how does it work?
These are just a few points to engage your thinking. We will provide places in the Centre for your ideas to be collated, or feel free to email me via kmount@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
We look forward to a wonderful term.
Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning
Save the Date
Thursday 1 August: Friends of the ELC Welcome Morning Tea, 8.30am
Monday 5 August: Parent Information Evening, 5pm
Wednesday 28 August: Fathers and Special Friends’ Breakfast, 7.45am
Monday 2 September: Reception Twilight Tour of Junior School, 5pm
Wednesday 11 September: Grandparents and Special Friends’ Afternoon Tea, 2pm
Friday 27 September: Term 3 ends
Welcome Morning Tea Tomorrow!
You are invited to a welcome morning hosted by the Friends of the ELC on Thursday 1 August at 9am in the ELC Garden.
Tea and coffee will be provided, along with a light morning tea.
We look forward to welcoming new families into our community, and strengthening our connections with current ELC families.
Parent Information Evening
Next Monday 5 August from 5-6pm, we are holding a Parent Information Evening where our new families can meet the educators and hear about the significant learning and daily rituals of their Learning Community.
We are also extending this invitation to current families who may have missed the information evening at the beginning of the year, or whose child has moved Learning Communities. We look forward to seeing you there.
ELC Presents at Major Conference
Earlier this month, Kate Mount and Mel Angel proudly presented their research at the Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange (REAIE) Conference, ‘Landscapes of Transformation, Changing Education for Changing Times’, held in Perth. They spoke about the past year of transformation at our ELC and the positive impact our two new Learning Communities have had on the children.
Eva Simitsis, ELC educator and member of our Symphony of Languages (SOL) team, was the successful applicant for a conference scholarship offered to a deserving member of the ELC. We are extremely proud of Eva, her ability to share her learning with her peers and transfer it into her work with dance, and as a valued member of Learning Community 1. Eva has developed a much deeper understanding of the Reggio Emilia principles and practice as a result of attending the conference.
Watch our video below to learn more about this rich learning experience.
Reception Twilight Tour
The Director of Early Learning, Kate Mount, and the Head of Junior School, Suzanne Haddy, warmly invite you to attend a Twilight Tour of the Reception classrooms.
Monday 2 September at 5pm
Meet in the Arts Centre foyer for refreshments
This is a perfect opportunity to meet Ms Haddy as well as our Reception teachers
and hear all about how your daughter can become a Saints School Girl.
RSVP to Enrolments Director Jess Geraghty via jgeraghty@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Working with Children Check for our Valued Volunteers
We value family participation in the ELC and love seeing the connections that strengthen from parents and family members volunteering.
All people working with children now require a Working With Children Check (WWCC) which is valid for five years and is portable across organisations and roles so it can be used elsewhere.
This includes people who:
- are in paid or volunteering roles where it is reasonably foreseeable that they will work with children
- run or manage a business where the employees or volunteers work with children
- are employed to provide pre-school, primary or secondary education to a child
A WWCC assesses whether a potential employee or volunteer could pose a risk to the safety of children, based on criminal history and child protection information.
If you are considering volunteering for the ELC/School and you have a valid DCSI, this will continue to be valid until its expiry date which is three years from when it was issued. If you have not already given the School a copy of your DCSI, please send it through to Sue Dickinson with a note explaining which class or year group you will be volunteering for and the name of your child/grandchild. When your DCSI is due to expire or if you do not currently possess a DCSI, we will require your details as per below in order to commence the WWCC on your behalf.
- Full legal name
- Date of birth
- Preferred email address
- Purpose of application, e.g. parent volunteer
Please email these details to Sue Dickinson, EA to the Principal, who will commence the application on your behalf, via sdickinson@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning
Fathers and Special Friends’ Breakfast
Please join us on Wednesday 28 August at 7.45am for a special celebratory breakfast.
A light breakfast will be served. We look forward to seeing you there.
Absences in the ELC
Student Absences
Please notify the School via one of the following methods for late arrivals/early departures and absences, ensuring a reason for the absence is included.
Text: 0428 601 957 (save to phone contacts as SPGS)
Email: attendance@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Phone: 8334 2200 or phone the relevant room as per the contact list
Feel free to also include the relevant room teacher when sending via email.
ELC Room Contacts:
Bell Yett – 8155 5777
Ferguson – 8155 5776
Hallett – 8155 5775
Stonyfell – 8155 5778
Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning
Accessing your Child’s Canvas Page
Your child’s Canvas homepage is a dynamic online sharing space that invites you to participate in your child’s learning as it happens. It provides a window into your child’s life at the ELC as educators share intentional teaching, specialist lessons and spontaneous moments.
We can share videos and images directly with parents that capture the rich learning experiences in which your child is engaged throughout their time at the ELC. The Canvas home page also enables us to share more of the process of learning, rather than just the end product.
Your child’s Canvas page is accessed through the myLink Parent Portal. If you have not accessed myLink or your child’s Canvas page before, please follow these instructions:
Accessing myLink for the first time:
- Visit https://mylink.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
- To set your first password, click the link below the sign in section
- Enter your username, click ‘Next’
- On the next screen, enter the security code emailed to you
- Enter the password you would like to use and press submit
- Return to the login screen at https://mylink.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au to access myLink
- Several instructional videos are available via the Welcome page if you click on the ‘HELP’ menu tab.
Accessing Canvas through the myLink parent portal:
- Access myLink as per 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 parent username and password again)
If you have any problems accessing or navigating myLink, please contact the IT Helpdesk via 8334 2227 or helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
Photo Etiquette:
Please note that your child’s Canvas home page and Portfolio will contain some images and video footage of other children. We therefore ask that you do not copy or share images or videos, especially on social media, if they contain other children.
来自黄老师的信息
亲爱的家长朋友们，你们好:
不知不觉我们迎来了我们的第三学期。当我们学习社区中的一些小朋友开启新的学习篇章，进入小学学习的同时，我们很高兴迎来了新的小朋友和家长朋友们。在这一新学期中，我们的学习社区开始展示了其优越性:进入新学习社区的小朋友们有机会和原来的小朋友们学习交流，我们年长的小朋友们，通过和新小朋友的交流，促进了他们社交和领导能力的发展。这也是我们通过我们新学习模式、学习社区所希望看到。
在过去的这个假期里，我们一部分老师参加了在珀斯举办的学术交流会。通过这样一次珍贵的机会，我们有幸听到来自国际Reggio教育演讲者，包括来自澳洲教育先锋演讲者的演说。我们的园长
Kate和Mel Angel老师也很荣幸向教育学者们分享和展示了我们新学习社区模式的变革。我们收到了来自各方积极反馈。我们也向我们所有ELC老师们分享并探索更好的学习模式和社区。
社区花园
在假期里，我们致力于建造我们的社区花园。小朋友们对他们学习社区的新变化产生了浓烈的兴趣。如您所见，我们的社区花园还需要一些时间去完成。在此期间，我们也期待你们参与进来，欢迎你们和小朋友提供宝贵建议和反馈，比如:如何参与到我们的花园建设，你是否有任何花园种植的成功经验，在你们身边有没有这样的社区花园，如何更好的融入进来?
期待大家提供你的建议，可以同我们的老师们交流，或者也可以给我们园长发邮件:kmount@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
家长信息交流日:
8月5日 星期一 5:00-6:00pm
欢迎所有家长朋友的参加，届时我们会向家长朋友们介绍关于我们的学习社区的教学模式和日常学习。
届时我们会向家长朋友们介绍关于我们的学习社区的学习模式和日常学习。
Emma works in Learning Community 2 on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm, and Jade works 11am – 6pm every day in Learning Community 1.
Learning Community 1
News from the Stonyfell Room
Welcome to Term 3! The Stonyfell Room is very excited to welcome new faces across our Learning Community, as well as to reunite with our ‘old’ friends, the children who have been with us all year. In particular, we welcome Ada, Wallace, Oliver, Lola, Claudia and Amaris to the Stonyfell Room. We have admired their resilience as they have negotiated their first few days among us. They have expressed curiosity and delight as they have observed and explored spaces, materials and rituals.
Our morning meeting is a special time where we come together for learning and connection. We speak and sing in the Kaurna language which we have learned from Kaurna elder and friend Tamaru. The children and adults are learning this language together, and this has become a shared language in our community. We sit in a circle that is known in Kaurna as the ‘Palti Circle’, and ask each other “How are you?” in Kaurna language. Finally, we sing a song about Australian animals in Kaurna. We now know the words for:
- Dingo – kudli
- Koala – Kulu
- Wombat – wartu
- Kangaroo – tandanya
It is exciting to be learning side-by-side with the children, which is a focus of our mission statement, as this is a new language for the educators as well.
Our formal meeting times gives us the opportunity for intentional teaching moments. There are also many invitations for children to play in spaces of their choices, building relationships with their peers and educators.
We look forward to building our relationship with all of you as well as with your child. Please know that we are available to chat with you when you come in and when you pick up, or at another time that is mutually convenient. You can follow us on our weekly Canvas page that can be accessed through myLink, and this fortnightly newsletter is a valuable source of information. We warmly invite you to our upcoming events, the Friends of the ELC Morning Tea and the Parent Information Evening.
Mel Angel
News from the Bell Yett Room
As we head into Term 3, still braving the cold, we wish to extend a warm welcome to new and old friends in our Learning Community. We have welcomed a number of new families across the Bell Yett and Stonyfell rooms, who have entered our space with confidence and an eagerness to explore and begin their learning journey. The children have embraced these new friends, inviting them into, and helping them through, the rituals that have constructed the culture of Learning Community 1, establishing a strong sense of belonging from day one.
In our ELC, we consider children to be the protagonists of our spaces. There are a number of places and spaces across the ELC that we are curious to see how we will connect with as a group. Over the holidays, our Community Garden was constructed and is ready for us to explore and to begin making decisions about what we would like to grow. Already, we have noticed lots of little caterpillars that have set up home in this space and we have wondered how we can look after them. We have discovered our new natural climbing space, repurposed from a tree recently removed for safety reasons in the Hallett Garden. A small group of children created a game together on these logs which they have shared with their peers, creating their own language unique to the space.
We will be venturing back into Ferguson Park to continue our study of the native trees and the Kaurna language. We invite you to be a part of our learning and to take advantage of the numerous opportunities for our families to join us in Ferguson Park. In Learning Community 1, we believe learning happens in relationships and we embrace opportunities to grow connections with our families. As such, we would love for you to spend a part of your morning or afternoon with us in the rooms and join us in our special rituals. This may include morning or afternoon tea, or story time!
A reminder that our Welcome Morning Tea is tomorrow; it is a lovely opportunity to meet and reconnect with educators across the ELC and with other families. Additionally, we have our Parent Information Evening on Monday 5 August.
Annabelle Redmond
Learning Community 2
News from the Ferguson Room
What has changed? – Provoking children to ‘focus in’ and build their capacity for observing change
“Things are changing there (in the ELC grounds) but not here (Ferguson Park).” – Ariana
Ariana provided us with a thought-provoking observation. She noticed the many changes that had occurred in the grounds of the ELC during her absence in the school holiday period. The Community Garden was coming to life and the climbing logs had been thoughtfully positioned. When we asked her during a visit to Ferguson Park if anything had changed, Ariana, along with her peers, declared that it was the same as it had always been. This challenge from the children’s perspective allowed us to reflect on the words of educator and author of A Pedagogy for Ecology, Ann Pelo:
“Living in a place over time can breed a sense of familiarity, and familiarity can easily slip into a belief that we’ve got the land figured out. We stop expecting to be surprised, to be jolted into new ways of seeing; we become detached from the vitality of a place.
Our challenge is to see with new eyes, to look at the familiar as though we’re seeing it for the first time. When we look closely and allow ourselves to be surprised by unexpected details and new insights, we develop an authenticity and humility in our experience of place, and wake up to its mysteries and delights.”
In order to challenge this perspective, the educators have provided the children with a range of tools to further investigate. They were carefully chosen and have included:
- Magnifying glasses
- Binoculars
- iPad cameras
- iPads with a microscope lens
We asked ourselves: How will these tools impact or shift the children’s observations in the park?
What has been observed over the course of the week has been a shift in the children’s perspectives and observations. The tools have allowed them to ‘tune in’ to specific details in the park that may have been overlooked before. As they focused in on the ‘smallness’ of the park, so did their bodies. We have all spent time low down on the ground peering through the sour sobs into the leaf litter. The children’s gaze is starting to change. Their conversations are a testament to that.
“Come over here everyone! I have discovered something alive.” – Shauna
We all raced over and Shauna declared she had found a ‘big guy’ hiding in the leaf litter. We all took the time to wonder what the large grub-like creature could be and watched as it slowly made its way to the safety of the dark moist ground.
From these explorations, we believe the children are beginning to re-imagine Ferguson Park, their place, their home, in a new light and are “waking up to its mysteries and delights.”
Laura Reiters
News from the Hallett Room
“Love for a specific place makes possible love for other places. An ecological identity allows us to experience the earth as our home ground, and leaves us determined to live in honorable relationship with our planet.” – Ann Pelo
Transformation of the Community Garden
We were so excited to discover our planning had come alive when we returned from the school holidays. After two terms of researching and collaborating, our Community Garden was ready to welcome us.
The Property Services team worked extremely hard throughout the holidays to have the garden prepared and waiting for the commencement of Term 3. They respectfully used the theories, designs and ideas that the children created together as their ideal gardening space. It is a very inviting space that consists of a symbolic path that leads to a Palti Circle and four garden beds.
In creating this new space for learning in our community, it has given us the opportunity to engage in dialogue about our intentions. As the children enter the garden, the workshop, the laboratory, they will be working side-by-side, developing skills in observation, listening and learning to care and respect our environment. It will begin as a place of wonderings.
“What are we going to plant? We need to check with Ned.” – Elly
“We have pumpkins in our neighbour’s garden, let’s plant them.” – Scarlett
“We have strawberries in the summer.” – Elijah
“It’s a caterpillar’s house.” – Emily C
“They will build a cocoon for their home.” – Anya
During the next few weeks, we will be inviting the children to connect with the space before we begin planting. Erica shared, “We can play while we are waiting.” The waiting will enable us to deepen our connection with the garden and our desire to explore in this magical space.
Our Community Garden will be a collaborative place of research where we will nourish our knowledge about nature and food as well as deepening our ecological identity. Embedding sustainable practice in the children’s daily rituals is a priority we want to maintain and support as a pivotal value for the present and future of our children.
Please see our Canvas page for more photographs and details of our learning journey.
Nell Tierney and Leanne Williams