Monday, 30 January 2023

Welcome to Kindy 2023

 Dear Kindy Parents and families, 


The special time in your child's life is finally here.. Kindy here we come! 

Kindy Red will also be known as our class totem name Djiljit (Djiljit is a traditional Wadandi word meaning 'fish')  begins Wednesday the 1st of February. Doors open at 8.45am. 

Kindy blue will be known as our class totem  name Binga ( Binga is a traditional Wadandi word meaning saltbush) begins Thursday the 2nd of February. 

Hi my name is Miss Katie Horrocks. I  will be your child's classroom teacher. I have been at this beautiful school for 12 years and there is no other place than Dunsborough I want to call home.  I love the beach, my border collie puppy and doing exercise. I play community sport and I'm a bit of an Eagles football fan. I have one coffee a day and that's all I need ( I drink mocha's for that extra leap in my day hint hint :). My seven niece and nephews keep me very busy outside work but spending time with family and friends is very important to me. I am one big kid myself and I hope that every child that enters my room bounces off my happy and vibrant energy. 
It is with great excitement that we welcome you and your child to Kindergarten for 2023. We are looking forward to a happy and fun filled year of new learning and exploring. I hope you all had a relaxing holiday enjoying the summer weather and making precious family memories. I am looking forward to getting to know your gorgeous children and working with you very soon. 



Dear Kindy kid- 

“You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!” 

  • School begins for you child on Wednesday the 1st of February for Kindy Red. Thursday the 2nd of February for Kindy Blue. Children are beginning with a full day from 8.45am-3pm. A Half day is also an option if you think your child needs this to begin with. 
  • Please hang your child's bag on the hooks on the outside veranda next to their name. Its always a great idea if the child does all their jobs for themselves. Child can bring in with them their:
  • - Hat
    -Drink bottle 
    -Fruit container. Lunch box will stay in their bag. 
    These belongings will be going into their own name tray. Just a reminder that every item must be labelled. 
  • Please pack a small lunch box with morning tea in it. (Fruit, crackers, cheese etc) and a larger separate lunch box with their main lunch in it for their full day. Clearly label both lunch boxes with your child's name.  Please note we are a nut allergy friendly school. Please do not pack nuts or any nut butters.  Students are not allowed to share their food. 
  • Each child must have a water bottle.  Please label it. Place the water bottle on the shelf inside. 
  • We suggest that you pack a spare set of underwear and pants in case of toileting or water play accidents.  Leave these in the bottom of the school bag. 
  • Each child will require a SMALL pillow for rest time.  A small 'cot' pillow will be perfect. 
  • A communications diary will be placed on the drawers near the entrance door.  If you are not picking up your child please write in the book to tell us who will be. Any children on bus or pick up lane must also be entered into the communication diary. If your plans change during the day then please ring the office and leave a message. 
  •  Dismissal is 3pm.  If you get held up please ring the office to inform them. If you have any urgent communications please email Miss Horrocks  at katie.horrocks@cewa.edu.au.

The first day of Kindy can be quite over -whelming for most children and it is absolutely normal behaviour for your child to have separation anxiety. Please remember that if you are calm and confident then your child will follow your cues. Please keep your child calm and happy before school and try not to be late as this is unsettling for little people. When you arrive show your child where their drawer is, where their water bottle is and where they should hang them. Bring them up to the teachers to say hello and introduce yourselves. Once this is done find a play station to work at.  There will be books to read, games to play and drawing to do. We understand tears are normal and if by any chance your child is distressed after their parents have left, a call will be made home as soon as we can.

I hope you can trust us that your child is in safe and loving hands. All children will need a little time to adjust to this new environment, which is going to be just so busy with play and fun learning with new friends. 

If you are worried about separation anxiety then this video by Maggie Dent may be of help. 
Click Here.

Teachers in Kindy 

Teacher.  Miss Horrocks Monday - Friday.
Education Assistants.  Mrs Huxtable and Mrs Beatty Monday-Tuesday
                                    Mrs Huxtable and Mrs Spencer Wednesday-Friday   

We look forward to meeting you all on  Wednesday and Thursday!

Kind regards,

Miss Horrocks and KIndy Staff. 

Thursday, 11 August 2022

Term 3 events

 WEEK 6

Kindy Blue excursion redo:  Tuesday the 23rd of August if weather premits. Please wear socks and shoes, hat and bring a rain jacket. We will depart school at 9.30am on a bus. Packed Lunch and recess as per usual. 


Week 6

BOOK WEEK Dress up: Kindy Red is on Wednesday the 24th of August ( optional). Children can wear their favourite book characters to school.   

Whole school  Book Week dress up day is on Thursday the 25th of  August  for Kindy Blue. 


Week 6  

PUPIL FREE DAY: Friday the 26th of August. Stay tune for an updated calendar sent by email as Kindy Red will be having an extra Monday on the 29th of August due to this unexpected PFD. My apologies for the inconvenience of this change. 



Week  7 

SPORTS CARNIVAL:  Friday the 16th of September. Kindy Red will be running a race at 9am. Kindy Blue are very welcome to come with parents to run in the race also. Please be here by 8.50am. Then Kindy Red head back to class.  

Ask your child and hopefully they will tell you what sports colour to wear   ( or come and see me).


Thank you. 

Miss Horrocks. 



Tuesday, 19 July 2022

Kaya, Welcome to Term Three

 Kaya everyone!

Just informing parents of some new experiences and daily routines to Kindy this Term.


Firstly,

The children get to take home a storybook. 

Your child will get a reading Comprehension bag that contains a book and a sheet of questions. These questions are specifically designed to encourage your childs comprehension. Over the 10 days you have it please read the book to your child and ask them the questions maybe on the second read.  Please don't mark the question sheet. 

Books are distributed each Wednesday/Thursday and need to be returned the next Monday you come to Kindy (so you have books for 10 days) 

As the trolley box is in the classroom the books can be returned any day, as long as it is on or before the Monday 

Each week books are rotated to a pre determined schedule.  If more than 2 packs are not returned   in a particular week the class does not get any PLD bags for that week. 

If you know your child will not be at school (eg on extended leave/holiday) please let the teacher know and do not take a package. 

If your child is sick please try to return the pack - eg with a friend or a sibling. 

The pack needs to be returned even if it has not been read/finished. 

Each Tuesday I check the returned books  - if yours isn’t there  you will get an SMS message from myself (Mary-lee Kemp).  If you get a message you need to return the pack to the teacher before school the next day, Wednesday. 

If you notice anything wrong with the package ( eg pages missing, ripped.  Question sheet scribbled on,) please write a note and leave it inside the package so I can see it when returning it. 

If pack is overdue more than 2 weeks you will receive an account  - each pack costs $20-25. 

Thank you for your co-operation – if everyone does the right thing the program should run seamlessly. 

From Mary-Lee Kemp the librarian. 


Enjoy this story time together and remember to look after them. 




Next is Show and tell time-



The time has come for our favourite activity... NEWS time. Each child will have a go at telling or showing some news. Each child will have a chosen day which is on a fortnightly cycle ( every second week). The  chosen day will remain the same throughout the term. I will send messages out the first few rounds to get parents use to this schedule. It will begin Week 2 on Tuesdays - Fridays. 

e.g Your child may be on  Weeks  2   4  6  8    or  

                                           Weeks  3 5  7  9.   This means they will have four goes each before the end of term. 


Please help your child come up with three bits of information about their object- based news or their event-based news.
eg.   When Where What Who 

        When Where What Who colour parts etc.

This is an elephant
I got it from K mart
it is grey
It has a trunk and four legs. It can walk and play in the jungle.

Your child might need a post stick note with some information on it sent in with their news to help support their memory. It's always a good idea to bring in the item in a library bag or a coles bag. 

Please no toy weapons, beanie boos or electronics ( they become a bit distracting). 


Thank you. 

Miss Horrocks.  




























Sunday, 12 June 2022

Keeping safe: Body parts

 KEEPING SAFE

This week on their chosen Monday,  the Kindies will be learning Protective behaviours through the program Keeping Safe. Over the next few weeks, we will be talking to the children about:

Children need to learn (at an age and developmentally appropriate level):

• the concept of personal space and how this is different for different people
• correct anatomical names of sexual body parts
• the whole body is private 
• appropriate and inappropriate touching. No one has the right to touch any part of our body without permission. 

From the head down to my toes. I say what goes. 


Over the next few weeks on your child's Monday, the  class will be taking part in the Keeping Safe lesson about personal space and body parts. We will be reading stories and emphasising the fact that all parts of their body are private. I understand that the children may laugh and giggle when we talk about the anatomical names, but this is important for every child to know.

Recent research shows that knowing the anatomically correct language terms enhances children’s body image, self-confidence, and openness. 

This is in conjunction with the Child Protection Curriculum which has been mandated in all schools in Western Australia.

Please find the lesson outline below if you feel you need to discuss this with your child after their Monday. 

Obviously in Kindy we don't label the body parts like the older students, but I use a  doll to show and explain the parts of the body during a mat session followed by an appropriate story. 


If you have any quires don't hesitate to come in and see me.

Miss Horrocks. 


Sunday, 22 May 2022

Parent meeting

 Dear Parents,

This year as a whole school strategy we have an online system to sign in for your parent/teacher meeting.  This will be sent to you via a link electronically in the next few days for  Kindy Red and  Kindy Blue. 

The timetable will be sent to each email as a word document. You just have to type in your family name into a time slot and it will save automatically. 

If you have any dramas just come in to speak with me. Sometimes it works better on a laptop rather than a phone.  

Kindy Blue's progress interviews will be held in Week 6 across the entire week except Friday, starting with Monday the 30th of May. Please put your surname in the time slot that suits you. 

Kindy Red's will be across the entire week, beginning with Tuesday the 7th of June. 


Please let me know if you cannot make it for any reason and we can try and reschedule. 


The table looks like this:


Please only one name per time slot and then they cannot be changed unless you need to re-schedule. Come into Kindy on your allocated time and I have allowed 20 minutes for each meeting.These interviews are just so I can inform parents of their child’s progress and achievements in Kindy and if there is anything else we can do together to further their growth and development.


 Looking forward to our catchups after a busy Term 1 and Term 2 settling into school life.


Kind regards,

Miss Horrocks 

Tuesday, 17 May 2022

Mother's day in Kindy Red

                                                  Skidamarink-a-dink a-dink

Skidamarink-a-doo

I love you

Skidamarink-a-dink a-dink

Skidamarink-a-doo

I love you

I love you in the morning

And in the afternoon

I love you in the evening

And underneath the moon

Oh, Skidamarink-a-dink a-dink

Skidamarink-a-doo

I love you


Photo booth time:








































Nails



STAGE TIME 













Massage 



Jewellery making 


NAILS 






FANCY SUNGLASSES











THANK YOU MUMS AND NANNAS FOR SHARING THIS CELEBRATION WITH US!

Here's a kiss and a hug for you, 
Thank you Mummies for all you do.
Happy Mother's day
Happy Mother's day.
Happy Mother's day 
I LOVE YOU.