National Reconciliation Week – In This Together
Dear Families
This week, our School recognised and acknowledged the significance of Reconciliation Week. Our journey as Australian citizens to be in this together gives focus to building relationships and understandings as communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories and cultures.
One year ago, we erected three flag poles on the ELC grounds. Each day, we proudly fly our flags, demonstrating our commitment to embedding the values of walking side-by-side in our daily practice. The ELC children can tell you the significance of the flags and why we fly them.
Our journey to become a reconciled nation means we all have a part to play. Educating our youngest citizens is key and, in 2017, we actively began this journey with Kaurna elder Tamaru. He has taught us so much about our land, culture and language. As a regular member of our community, Tamaru has not only worked closely with the children but also the adults. It is essential that the adults understand and demonstrate respect in their practice and find authentic ways to deliver this learning to our children and families.
With a daily Acknowledgement to Country said in both traditional language and our own language, we understand that our land is shared land, a land that has many stories to teach us, and a land that we have shared responsibility for. Tamaru guides our learning using the mother land as the teacher. For us, this is Ferguson Conservation Park, our neighbouring conservation park. It is also in our gardens where we grow native plants that are sustainable and useful for both eating and medicinal purposes. Tamaru has taught us so much!
We are proud to use our everyday practices to show the extended community how embedded Kaurna culture is in our ELC life. Making a short video gives visibility to the wider community of the understandings Tamaru has instilled in the ELC. Our educators place great value on this work and we are extremely honoured to be leading the way in this area as one of the first ELCs in the State to embed Kaurna culture into daily rituals.
We continue to travel on this journey and recognise the responsibility we hold, not only as the educators in children’s lives, but also as citizens of our land.
Kind regards
Kate Mount
Director of Early Learning
Important Dates
Tuesday June 16: New Parent Welcome Evening, 7pm
Monday 22 and Thursday 25 June: New Family Visits
Tuesday 23 – Thursday 25 June: ELC Class Photos
29 June – 20 July: Vacation Care
Tuesday 21 July: Term 3 Commences
ELC Student Photos
Our ELC group and individual photos will be held on Tuesday 23 – Thursday 25 June from 9am – 12 noon. Please ensure your child is wearing their ELC uniform on each of these days, as they will potentially appear in multiple class shots depending on the days they attend. Please also ensure your child’s hair is styled as neatly as possible.
Vacation Care Bookings
Vacation Care booking forms will be sent home over the coming weeks. You can also download the form here. Vacation Care bookings are required if you wish for your child to attend ELC outside of normal term bookings. Please see ELC staff if you have any questions regarding this.
Please note, Vacation Care commences on Monday 29 June, with Term 2 beginning on Tuesday 21 July
The Wodli: Culture, Sustainability and Resourcefulness
During Reconciliation Week, the ELC’s Ateliers have been set up with materials inspired by the Kaurna culture. Sticks, wire, fabric and native plants have been available for the children to create miniature traditional Kaurna shelters called ‘Wodli’.
The Wodli is a familiar presence in our everyday landscape – Ferguson Conservation Park – and the children are aware of its meaning and value, demonstrating respect and curiosity during their daily exploration.
Our Wodli creations have been an opportunity to make use of natural resources and stretch our creativity which are core values of the Kaurna culture. Tamaru has taught us to use what is available and respect our environment and we are actively sharing this learning with our community.
The children were challenged by the complexity of the Kaurna shelter and found creative solutions to make their Wodli balance.
“It’s not easy to make a Wodli.” – Holly
“The Kaurna people are very clever! – Zara
“It looks like Tamaru’s Wodli!” – Maddie A
The Wodli made by Tamaru in the Hallett Garden became an inspiration for the children. Creating a shelter with few natural materials enabled them to reflect on the endless possibilities of natural materials and supported their understanding of sustainability and Kaurna culture.
Caterina Pennestri
Art Educator/Atelierista
Mid-Year Receptions’ Orientation Morning
This week, our Mid-Year Receptions enjoyed their first school classroom experience at an orientation morning with their new teacher, Ms Zoe West. Zoe began her teaching career as a co-educator at the ELC and has spent the past few years teaching in various schools and locations including a role in London.
It is wonderful to have Zoe return to Stonyfell, and we look forward to seeing the girls continue to flourish as they begin Reception next month. For a taste of what they can expect, have a look at this video which captures daily life amongst our youngest Saints Girls:
Health Reminders
We thank our community for being so responsible with your children’s health. We continue to follow stringent hygiene and cleaning practices to ensure the health and wellbeing of our children and staff.
Please ensure you are communicating any health concerns to the ELC staff, and if your child is displaying any of the following symptoms, please keep them at home until they have been cleared by a medical practitioner.
- Sore throat
- Fever
- Cough
- Runny nose
Thank you for your support and cooperation.
How Can We Support You?
Although some changes have occurred to our arrival and departure system, we remind you that we are here to assist you. Please ensure that you pass on any important messages when dropping off or picking up your child.
We are enjoying the conversations we are having with families and encourage you to utilise our email system if you don’t get the chance to speak with us upon arrival or departure.
Please see our key teachers’ availability and contact details below:
Kate Mount:
Tuesday – Friday kmount@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Annabelle Redmond (Learning Community 1):
Monday – Friday aredmond@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Mel Angel (Learning Community 1):
Monday – Friday mangel@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Kirsty Porplycia (Learning Community 2):
Monday – Wednesday kporplycia@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Laura Reiters (Learning Community 2):
Monday – Friday lreiters@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
Nell Tierney (Learning Community 2):
Thursday and Friday ntierney@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
ELC Arrival Time
We have been so impressed with the independence of our children with the new foyer drop-off system. However, we have noticed that many families are arriving later with their children. This is impacting on their attendance at morning meetings which is a strategy to set up the children’s day for success. We ask that families please arrive by 9.15am to ensure our morning transitions are as smooth as possible.
来自黄老师的信息
澳大利亚和解周——在一起
家长朋友们你们好，
在过去的这一周，我们学校进一步认识到和解周的重要意义。我们作为澳大利亚公民一同参与到这一活动中去，并且深刻理解到对于建立关系以及重视土著和托雷斯海峡岛人民、历史以及他们文化社区的重大意义。
一年前，我们在ELC里竖立起了三面旗帜。每一天，我们十分骄傲地在ELC升起我们的旗帜，那代表了我们的承诺并将它致力于到每一天的实践工作中去。 我们ELC的小朋友们可以告诉你这些旗帜的重要意义以及为何我们悬挂这些旗帜。
从2017年，我们土著（Kaurna）老师Tamaru和我们一起积极开始了对土著文化的学习之旅。Tamaru教会了我们很多关于我们的土地、文化和语言的知识。Tamaru以土地为师，指导我们的学习。在日复一日的学习实践过程中，Tamaru不仅与孩子们密切合作，还和我们的老师们也紧密的合作在一起。重要的是，老师们在他们的实践中理解和表现出尊重，并找到方法把这种学习传递给我们的孩子和家庭。
我们通过用土著语言和我们自己的语言向国家致谢。我们明白我们的土地是共同的土地，这片土地有许多故事可以教给我们，这片土地是我们共同承担责任的土地。对我们来说，Ferguson公园是我们的邻居。在我们的社区花园中，我们种植具有可持续性和药用价值的本地植物。我们通过制作短片向我们广大社区展示这一具有感染力的学习过程。我们非常荣幸能在这一领域发挥领导作用，成为南澳首批将土著文化融入日常仪式的ELC之一。
我们会继续这个学习之旅并且认识到我们所肩负的责任，不仅作为孩子们生活里的教师，而更是作为这个土地的公民。
Emma works in Learning Community 2 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am – 5pm.
Staff Spotlight
Annabelle joined our teaching team in 2019 in her first year as a qualified teacher. It is wonderful to have such an enthusiastic and highly-skilled teacher on our team. Annabelle was the recipient of a position on the 2020 study tour to Reggio Emilia, and we are now hoping this trip will proceed next year so that Annabelle can represent the ELC and continue to deepen her understandings of the Reggio Emilia Educational Project.
What is your teaching background?
As I was completing my undergraduate degree in Development Studies in Sweden, I was lucky to have the opportunity to work in a forest-based preschool in a remote part of the south. This unique opportunity affirmed my passion for working with children, and upon my return to Australia, I enrolled in a Master of Early Childhood Education. Whilst undertaking this course, I began as a co-educator in the Stonyfell Room, and I was fortunate to move into a teaching role in Learning Community 1.
What makes the St Peter’s Girls’ ELC special?
Our Learning Community model makes our ELC special for many reasons, but particularly because it allows us to be with the same group of children for up to 18 months. This gives us time to get to know our children well, understand how they learn and interact within a group, their individual personalities, interests and strengths. Seeing their friendships grow with their peers over this time is one of my favourite parts of the job.
What does Reconciliation in the ELC mean to you?
Reconciliation from the perspective of a two or three year old is about learning to love and respect everyone in the community, which includes Aboriginal people, their culture and their language. We are so proud that our children are learning Kaurna language and culture beyond Reconciliation Week and throughout the entire year.
News from Learning Community 1
At the heart of Reconciliation is what we in early childhood education understand to be fundamental to life and learning: relationships. Continuing to focus on building respectful and empathic relationships between all Australians is the focus of Reconciliation Week around the country.
At the ELC, Reconciliation Week extends across the whole year. Kaurna language and cultural practices are part of our everyday. Many of our children are speaking confidently in Kaurna. They can ask and answer questions such as “How are you?”, and, “Hello, it’s good to see you.” This brings great joy to our friend and Kaurna elder Tamaru who visited during Reconciliation Week to engage us in different experiences that promote understanding and respect between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
We created experiences for the children to support this learning:
- In the Atelier, the children used a combination of sticks, wire, leaves and fabric to recreate the Wodli, a traditional Kaurna shelter.
- We gave focus to the colours of the Aboriginal flag in painting experiences.
- The skills the children have been developing in their daily clay work enabled them to begin making Kaurna symbols such as rainbow, person, star and clap sticks.
- We visited our Community Garden to study the bush foods that Tamaru planted with us last term; the children are learning the names and uses of the plants including Ruby Saltbush, Creeping Saltbush and Karkalla, and are becoming more familiar with them through observational drawing.
- We ventured into Ferguson Conservation Park to sit in the palti circle, touch Kaurna ‘yerta’ (the earth), explore the Wodlis that have been built there, and appreciate the beauty of our country.
Children are always our greatest hope for the future. By nurturing this love for Kaurna language and culture now, we can see a pathway towards our aspirations for genuine Reconciliation.
Mel Angel and Annabelle Redmond
Learning Community 1
News from Learning Community 2
‘Naa Marni, Marni Naa Pudni’
Hello, it’s good that you came.
Together, with the youngest citizens of our community and country, we are working to bring awareness to the importance of Reconciliation, recognising that Aboriginal people deserve our commitment in walking side-by-side with one another in a respectful relationship.
As we acknowledge Reconciliation Week, the children have been sharing their knowledge and understandings of Kaurna culture inspired by the teachings of our friend, Kaurna elder Tamaru.
“A Wodli is a home made by the Kaurna people.” – Emily
“Sitting in a palti circle is having a meeting together.” – Harriett
“We see ‘kulu’ (koala) in Ferguson Park.” – Alice
Last week, Tamaru shared his skills by creating a Wodli with the ELC friends. He explained that his people are very resourceful and sustainable in their thinking. Large branches are gathered from the ground to create a frame, and leaf-filled branches create shelter from the rain. In our explorations of Ferguson Conservation Park, we have been observing, investigating and building a Wodli using many dispositions for learning including persistence, curiosity and creativity. The children were mathematical in their thinking as they problem-solved to construct the shape to be stable and have enough space for friends to play in.
Through learning about Aboriginal culture and perspective, the children are developing values that foster respect and inclusivity in their daily lives.
Kirsty Porplycia, Nell Tierney and Laura Reiters
Learning Community 2
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 below.
Please 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
Accessing the ELC Learning Community Home Page
The ELC Learning Community Home Page is a dynamic online sharing space that invites you to participate in the communities’ learning as it happens. It provides a window into the children’s life at the ELC, as educators share documentation of intentional teaching, specialist lessons and spontaneous moments.
Accessing myLink for the first time:
- Visit https://mylink.stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au
- To set your password, click the link located below the sign in section
- Your user name was emailed to you upon your child’s commencement (see Helpdesk contact details below if you cannot source your user name)
- Enter your unique user name, click ‘Next’
- On the next screen, enter the security code that was sent to your mobile
- 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 the Learning Community 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)
If you have any issues accessing or navigating myLink, please contact the IT Helpdesk via helpdesk@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au or 8334 2227.
ELC’s Online Etiquette Policy:
Please note that the ELC Learning Community Home Page and ELC News contain images and videos 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.
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