I can鈥檛 believe the term is nearly over! Writing this, I can hear the sounds of happy children playing together in the mild autumn sunshine. I am always amazed by the considerable progress that is made during 欧美AV 1 of a new year, beginning on the first day when new children (and families) nervously enter, not knowing what to expect, until now when we have all come together as a community of learners and the children are becoming increasingly curious and confident. I commend our excellent teachers and co-educators who have helped make this happen by building calm, caring and nurturing learning environments that support your children so they can thrive.
I am sure that many of you have been as shocked as I am following the recent media coverage of the poor standard of childcare provided in some parts of the 鈥榝or-profit鈥� sector. As a school, 欧美AV Grammar invests in your child鈥檚 education, which is reflected in our excellent education, care and learning environments. I greatly appreciate the positive feedback I constantly receive about our fabulous team of educators, how happy and settled children are here, and the positive changes families observe in their children鈥檚 wellbeing and learning when they start with us. If you have friends or family who may also be interested in learning about what our programs offer, please encourage them to make time for a tour with me, as 2026 places will be offered in early June.
A couple of weeks ago, the St Anne鈥檚 and Bairnsdale 欧美AVs were open for our 鈥楽tay and Play鈥� evenings. These were well attended, and many excited children enjoyed showing their families and 鈥榮pecial friends鈥� around their classrooms. The mandate of the night was for the grown-ups to get their hands dirty with lots of play activities such as pasting, sand play, puzzles, play-doh and more. Personal connections were also made as it allowed educators and families to mix and get to know each other.
Another important aspect of the evening was the chance to highlight the importance of learning in these early and most formative years. Play is, quite simply, your child鈥檚 鈥榳ork鈥�. As children explore, investigate, manipulate and adapt their thinking, they develop lifelong skills in their physical, social, emotional, communication and cognitive development. Caring adults who are actively present in the play with the child is vital. Engaging child-directed play also helps soothe children and builds concentration, self -regulation and well-being far more effectively than screen time.
Our Reception Groups have begun the 鈥楴eed to Read鈥� program which aims to build enjoyment and awareness of the process of communicating clearly and becoming literate. Each child and their family will be invited to carefully select a favourite story to bring to the class to read, supported by our 鈥榬eading mascots鈥� Cyrus the Cygnet and Josie the Joey. Next term the children will be choosing books to take home from our specially curated Reception home library. The books come with specific cues for families with relevant literacy concepts or ideas to extend learning.
Our Transition classes have been very excited to prepare their hats for our traditional end-of-term Easter Hat Parade. A great deal of effort goes into getting the hats ready and practising 鈥榖eing brave鈥� to parade in front of a very large audience. I hope you all were able to take capture some precious memories.
Enjoy your Easter break!
