Hello everyone,

It’s been an eventful second week in preschool! On Monday, the children experienced the first canteen of the year. It was gorgeous to see their delight as they handled money to purchase food for morning tea and lunch. We also had our first music class with our new music teacher, Gemma. Those new to preschool are getting into the swing of group times, learning to be respectful of others and engage appropriately.

Tuesday was our first Buddies session. What we initially anticipated as an informal meeting turned into somewhat of a ceremony, with some preschool children choosing their buddies while everyone else enjoyed getting to know the school Elders.

On Wednesday, we had Spanish with Carolina, and on Thursday, craft with Vinnie. We’ve continued our Astronomy unit, which has naturally evolved into learning about volcanoes. This week, we focused mostly on stars.

On Friday, we introduced the children to ELLA Spanish on the iPads—a huge hit for everyone who had a turn!

A big thank you to everyone who attended Parent Information Night on Thursday. We hope you found it informative and gained greater insight not only into preschool but into Currambena as a whole.

That’s it for week two of the 2025 preschool year!

Love,
Lisa, Abi, and Katrina

Posted in Preschool news | Comments Off

We’ve just completed our first full week of school, and for many, making it through all five days is a huge milestone! We should all be proud of how well everyone is adjusting and thriving.

While our program is ongoing, we’ve wrapped up the initial phase of our “Learning to Learn” unit. On Monday, we kicked off our music lessons with a fun song about the weather.

This week, we also began our ‘station rotations,’ focusing on fine motor skills and coming up with playful words inspired by our favourite book, The Book with No Pictures. We had exciting discussions about what we want to learn, and we also had our first official sports lesson, where we practised two-handed passing. Throughout the term, we’ll be building on key skills and fundamental movements to help the students progress in both active play and sports.

Our workbooks are now ready to go! We created covers for them, and everyone is excited to start using them this week.

Wednesday was our Parent Information Evening. Keep an eye out for an email later this week with a summary of the evening’s topics, along with some wonderful resources to further support your child’s learning at home.

On Thursday, we had a blast at the park with Amelia’s class, climbing trees and swinging on the swing set.

Friday in Sustaining, the students got hands-on with jobs like cleaning the drains, helping in the library, and clearing leaves. We also celebrated Valentine’s Day with friendship-themed colouring and drawing. Despite the rain, we had a fantastic time playing both inside and outside the classroom.

A reminder that this coming Monday afternoon, we’ll be heading to the Lane Cove Library!

It’s been an amazing first two weeks, and we’re so excited for the adventures ahead!

With love,
Meg (and Sarah D)

Posted in Meg's Class | Comments Off

Hello everyone,

This week we started our first literacy rotations on Monday and Tuesday with the help of our lovely assistant teacher Faith. The children became familiar with the process of rotating between four 15 minute activities and sharing  ‘the sound space’ to support each other’s learning. Next week we will begin our more regular rotations including group reading, comprehension, our systematic phonics  textbook ‘Soundwaves’, weekend recounts, iPads, and sight words.

The group enjoyed their first music session of the year with our new teacher Gemma, and our first trip to the pool was an enjoyable success. Thanks to Dee and Michael for their support on our journey there and back!

On Thursday we were very lucky to join Sarah D in taking her Ladybirds to the ‘Secret Garden’ and enjoying the moment of beautiful weather.

On Friday, we were very lucky to receive a new set of tables and chairs, ordered late last year. Unfortunately, I did not have warning that they were set to arrive on Friday and now have the conundrum of repurposing or disposing of our old tables and chairs. If you would like to take any, please feel free! If you happen to know anyone or other businesses they may find use in them that would be fantastic. At the moment, they are taking up space in our classroom so the sooner we can pass them on the better.

Just a last reminder, we will be going to the library on Monday so please pack library bags.

Amelia x

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

From Jess:

There has been a lot of interest in building marble runs this week. The children discovered that the metre rulers have convenient slots through the middle, which allow marbles to travel effectively around the classroom. This has become a fun group activity that supports community building. Outside, in the sunshine, the children have also enjoyed mixing nature-based scents and sharing them with each other.

We learnt how to read large numbers this week with some children able to read numbers into the trillion! Once they learnt the trick, there was no stopping them…

We also started our class novel, “Blueback” by Tim WInton and shared our knowledge of figurative language. The language in the book is quite descriptive and the vocabulary can be difficult so the children are doing a great job of listening and engaging.

I’m very pleased with how the children are interacting and it’s been lovely to see new connections being made each day. Hopefully the little cold that went around the class has run its course and we have everyone feeling better next week.

From Susan:

On Tuesday this week, we charged up to the pool in record time and got lots of swimming time in. Special thanks to Jane, Oscar’s mum, for walking with us and assisting with some swimming instruction. We started in the lap pool with some floating assessments and progressed to demonstrating some lap swimming in any chosen stroke. We then moved to the leisure pool for some free play.  As the weeks progress we will practice some more safety skills, work on some stroke development and hopefully improve some stamina. Please remember to pack goggles, and it was wonderful to see so many practical shoes for walking up and getting dressed quickly to maximise time in the pool. Also, a reminder that we don’t get changed at the pool, so pack something to throw over a damp cossie for the walk back to school.

Thursday was action packed with measuring how far we could spit a sugar plum seed (with hygiene measures in place, of course) and introducing perimeter.  Elders started PIPs and the younger ones watched a video on poisonous plants and took some notes. We continued the ERICS and handwriting program and played a new game called backwards noughts and crosses.

Have a happy weekend

Jess and Susan

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Hello,

We’ve had another lovely but busy week burying our heads into trees. We collaged inside the outline of a tree and imagining ourselves (as this tree) wrote a few sentences on what we would be like. Using tape measures we measured the width of trees in the playground. Then with our understanding of DATA, we compared measurements and collated them into a column graph, and answered related questions on our findings. We read a story “Tree” by an Australian author, Claire Saxby. It tells the story of a 300-year-old Mountain Ash that exists in Victoria. We also began decorating a cardboard tree that stands in our room.

Unrelated to trees, for our first swimming session on Tuesday we got into the 25 metre pool and swam 2 x lengths. This gave me a good idea of all children’s swimming abilities. It would be soooo good for goggles to be brought each week to help support putting their face in the water without suffering the irritation of chlorine. Another first this week, was our music lesson with Gemma. The children had a lovely time getting to know her while creating musical patterns and writing musical notes.

On Monday, tomorrow, I will be away and Sarah D will be with the group. The children will be visiting Lane Cove library in the afternoon, so if your child is not yet a member then it would be great to quickly join them.

That’s us for week 2!

Love, Sarah

 

Posted in Sarah's Class | Comments Off

Hi again everyone.

This week we’ve worked on measuring length and perimeter in Maths and created treasure maps using coordinates. We looked at characters, setting and plot in our shared book, “Blueback” by Tim Winton, wrote a chapter summary, practised cursive writing and had our first trip to Lane Cove pool for the term. We would have also visited Lane Cove Library but the weather did not look too good on Monday afternoon after that incredible storm!

Our student teacher, Keeghan, from Southern Cross University, visited on Wednesday and she will start her six week prac with us on Monday. We hope she has a wonderful learning experience with us.

Discussion about camp in Week 6 has begun and next week we will have a meeting with all Year 4, 5 and 6 to explore the details. We will be at the Castle Mountain site owned by the Outdoor Adventure Company. It is on Webb’s Creek, one of the Hawkesbury River tributaries.

The whole school parent meeting on Wednesday evening was a great event. Thank you to all the parents who came along to our class discussion. I really enjoyed sharing all that information about our group with you and hearing something about how you found Currambena. Here is a brief summary for those of you who were unable to be there.

Introductions: Those present introduced themselves and spoke about how they first found Currambena and what keeps them here. I explained that I first found Currambena as a student teacher many years ago and loved the way Currambena values relationships and individuals.
Our Group: 5 boys and 13 girls, with an age range of 9 to 12 years. They are all settling in very well and some lovely mixed age relationships are developing already. Lots of inside games and activities are bringing them together well as a group.
Our week: Most days include a discussion time when we share information important to the day’s events or future plans. The wide range of learning needs is met by grouping children in different ways, always having multiple resources and levels of difficulty available in learning activities, offering choices and encouraging children to choose levels appropriate for them. We value challenge and expect there to be mistakes if we’re trying something new. We’re using three textbooks this year: spelling, Maths Mentals and handwriting. A list of MUST DO activities is generated and written on the board each week. These must be completed by Friday for children to be able to go to the shops to buy lunch (once they’re 10 years old). Children place completed work into coloured folders for marking and mistakes are corrected (“excellented”) with help as needed. On Fridays, each person in the group has a 1:1 chat with me during which I record their progress over the week, check that they’re reading at home and ask them some times tables questions.
Communicating: Please email or pop in for an informal chat if you have any concerns or comments or questions about anything relating to the class or your child. We can make time for an interview if there is something important to discuss. Jo Stevens (Emme’s mother) has offered to be our Parent Rep this year. She will set up a WhatsApp group for parents… Thanks Jo! I’ll send information home about camp in Week 6 very soon. I’ll also request parent help with driving to and from excursions at different times in the year, usually through the newsletter. Overall, the children are a delight and we are having lovely days so far! Thank you all for trusting them to our care!
Forms: all parents need to sign forms about exemptions so if you were not at the meeting, ask your child for these and return them to school asap please.

One last thing: we have had a case of nits in the class. Please be vigilant and treat as needed. Maybe do the conditioner and combing thing every wash just in case and encourage kids to keep long hair up each day.

Cheers,
Wendy

Posted in Wendy's Class | Comments Off

Hello everyone,

A warm welcome to all our new and returning preschool families! We’ve had a wonderful start to the year, with the preschool atmosphere feeling beautifully calm and relaxed, both inside and out.

Digital Management System Update
Thank you to everyone for your support as we explored onboarding preschool onto a CCMS. It was an incredibly stressful process, as the company we signed up with provided only YouTube tutorials and left many of our queries unanswered. After much consideration, we have decided to continue with our paper-based sign-in/out system. We believe this ensures better accountability and aligns more closely with the needs of preschool children. I have also been in contact with the Digital Hub team from the Department to explore other solutions that better reflect Currambena’s philosophy.

Settling into Preschool
For many children, the start of preschool is known as the “honeymoon period,” where they initially separate easily from parents. However, once they realise preschool is a regular part of their routine, they may become more reluctant to say goodbye. Every child settles in at their own pace, so please feel free to chat with us if you have any concerns.

Building Connections
Our Elders—children who have been in preschool for a year or longer—have been embracing their role in guiding and supporting new children as they settle in. We are also seeing new friendships forming and existing ones being re-established. Throughout the week, we’ve had many lovely visits from children in The Ladybirds, our first primary class, most of whom were in preschool last year.

Focus on Safety
We have been focusing on safety and feeling safe in preschool, using the SAFE series from the Office of the Children’s Guardian. Discussions have included the importance of asking before touching another person, as well as recognising and respecting personal boundaries.

Preschool Information Night
We warmly invite all preschool parents to our Preschool Information Night on Wednesday, 12h February 2025 from 6 to 8pm. The evening will begin on the decking, where all teachers will be introduced to families before we move into the preschool classroom. We will discuss the preschool year, how we document children’s learning, our curriculum, and the transition from preschool to primary at Currambena. Parents will also have the opportunity to ask questions and connect with one another. We encourage all families—both new and returning—to attend.

Looking forward to a fantastic year ahead!

Love,
Katrina, Lisa, and Abi

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

We’ve had a fantastic first week of school! This week, we began exploring the theme of “learning how to learn.” On Tuesday, we spent time familiarising ourselves with the school, enjoying free play in the top playground, and discovering the excitement of the swing—a big hit with everyone! We also created our own popsicle stick frames, featuring photos from our first day of school, which are now proudly displayed in our classroom.

On Wednesday, we ventured into Spanish and Craft, and we had fun designing our class banner, which is now hanging outside our classroom for all to see. Thursday with Sarah was filled with more crafting and lots of imaginative creations using cardboard and recyclables. We also held our first class meeting, where we discussed our class agreements, ensuring a positive and cooperative environment.

Finally, we wrapped up the week with our very first Free Friday! The children had a blast climbing in the treehouses, playing in the top playground, and making even more crafty creations in the art room.

A huge thank you to all the families for your support this week in helping your little ones transition smoothly into primary school! We are so excited for what’s to come next week.
Looking forward to seeing everyone then!

With love,
Meg (and Sarah)

Posted in Meg's Class | Comments Off

Welcome back everyone!

What a lovely first week with our beautiful new class in our fantastically large classroom! The children have been loving getting to know their class pets that have followed me from my previous classroom. We have a beautiful ecosystem maintained by guppies, catfish, shrimp, and an angelfish. The energy in the group has been very high but amazingly harmonious so early into the year.

This week we had our first class meeting, Spanish lesson and craft session and started looking into some of our maths content for the term. We started our unit on reptiles, however the children were very tired from their first week back, so we will continue this in closer detail next week.

Next Monday, the children will have their first music session with Gemma and we will start our structured phonics program and literacy stations. Don’t forget, we will be going swimming next Tuesday afternoon so make sure the children are packed and with their swimmers on before they come to school.

Amelia

 

 

 

Posted in Amelia's Class | Comments Off

Welcome back everyone!

It was soooooo lovely to see all the children on Tuesday morning and get well and truly into our timetable and routine. The group is gorgeous and already starting to become a little community. We’ve packed a lot into our first week: On our first day we named & labelled our lockers, book boxes and work books. We started our English/Science unit on the Earth and looked at the effects of deforestation through the Dr Seuss book “The Lorax”. From this, the children voted that our class name be called after the character and name of the book. So, we are officially (for this term) “The Lorax’s”. We watched a short video on the importance of trees and all the things they provide. I reminded the children about our school recycling and the colour coded bins we have and what goes into them. We created a wall display, named a new black fish in our tank and established tidy-up jobs and all that needs doing.

On Wednesday, it was lovely to see Carolina (for Spanish) and Crafty return. We had a VERY long class meeting which included discussing and making some class agreements. Thursday, we started the day writing some of the benefits trees have on our environment. I handed out Handwriting books which the children got into with gusto, and they did some colouring in and silent reading to themselves. Thursday afternoons is our class craft time, so the children finished the day with Crafty.

On Monday, we have our first music lesson with Gemma, our new music teacher. Tuesday, we start back at swimming. This will happen in the mornings now, and we will go with Wendy’s group to the pool, leaving at approx 9:40 am. The children will need to wear their swimmers to school and bring all the usual gear. They will then get changed when we get back to school.

I will look forward to seeing as many of you that can make it next Wednesday night for our Parent/Teacher night, kicking off at 6:00 pm sharp! I’ll talk more about our class timetable and routines then.

Love, Sarah

 

 

Posted in Sarah's Class | Comments Off