November 25th 2016

Please see the bottom of this post for a personal message from Dianne. 

Spring has finally arrived!  

With such beautiful weather we have spent most of our time outside.

Monday was a really interesting night. We started by challenging people to be blind folded and find their way around. But this soon evolved into a big discussion about being blind and other impairments. Many of the kids had lots of fun trying to navigate by feeling their way, but others soon became disgruntled and understood that blindness can be life long and would be very frustrating at different times.

In the SAC this week we have had a variety of sports plus lots of hula hoop practise. Each day someone brings a new trick to try out and teaches others. It is really cool to see their repertoire being added to.  

If you want to learn some new hula hoop tricks check this video out!

We had two baking nights this week. Both nights we had vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Normally we try to sneak in some fruit in the frosting or the cake! Both nights we had gluten-free and egg-free batches to accommodate for different student needs. We are finding it really interesting how using specialty ingredients change the end product.

It seems that loom bands are back again! We have had some great bracelets, rings, necklaces and whole hand master pieces! Aside from craft we have also had some great art work. Unfortunately we can’t show you their work because they used their own photos. But here is an example of what they were doing.

Later in the week we had some fun problem solving. We found money and sports equipment down a drain. This of course posed a fabulous challenge. Children designed different hooks, poles with sticky tape and other contraptions to retrieve the items. Meanwhile on the mini oval a group of girls started to teach themselves partner acrobatic tricks. These tricks take a lot of cooperation and team work through discussing movements and placements of bodies.

We have started having more and more children bring bikes, scooters and skateboards to OSHC in the afternoon. It is great to see people trading rides, and giving different things a go. A favourite conversation to hear is the different types of bikes that we see. Bmx, Mountain bikes and classic cruisers seem to be the most popular. We love talking about differences in shape, types of tyres, riding styles and the uses of each bike.

For our Pupil-free day we were so entertained with Maya’s musical routines that she taught to lots of students. It was complete with music, singing, dialogue and so much dancing to a song from Matilda. The children were so inspired that we just had to watch the film in the long room.

Outside we took advantage of the good vibes and just chilled out in hammocks and cubby houses that we made. Most of the time everyone spent time listening to show tunes and requests from the children. Unfortunately many ‘ear worms’ crept into the mix, with classics like What did the fox say, PPAP and Banana dance ‘Peel the banana’.

As a way of remembering such a fabulous year we have started a finger print tree, which we will add to over the next couple of weeks.

The January Vacation Care program is now available. Just a friendly reminder, priority goes to bookings where parents are working. If you want to book in for a fun day we can place you on a waiting list to ensure families that are truly in need get first priority.

 WEEK ONE

Monday 16/1/17– Friday 20/1/17

Monday 16th January Home Day  –  Summer cooking using seasonal fruits & vegetables (with Sarah) Using fruits and vegetables in season and with input and ideas from the children we will make – smoothies, icecream and juices. We will be enjoying our treats as we make them.                  Please bring lots of snacks and lunch.

Tuesday 17th January Excursion Day – Central Market (9-2) We will leave OSHC at 9am and travel by train and tram to the Central Market. At the market we will divide into smaller groups to explore. Each group will be tasked to find a food that no-one has tried before (last time we bought samphire, kangaroo fritz and lychees). We will return to OSHC by 2pm Please wear appropriate shoes for walking, bring some money ($10 max, no junk food/soft drink will be bought) and a bag to carry your belongings and purchases. Please provide snacks, lunch and a drink bottle.

Wednesday 18th January Home Day – Soccer Clinic with Damian (9-3) Damian will lead a clinic that teaches basic ball handling skills, soccer rules, the role of each position and end with a match. Lunch will be provided, please provide lots of snacks.

Thursday 19th January Home day – Stop go Animation (am) We will taking part in a computer animation workshop we will be using ipads and a stop-go animation program. The children will be using photos of themselves and placing them in a scenario (circus/jungle. The individual animation will be joined together to make a story that we will all watch on a big screen. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

Friday 20th January Home Day – Circus Elements (am) Scott from Circus Elements will be her to teach some basic circus skills – plate spinning, stilt walking and juggling. Please wear appropriate shoes and clothes for physical activity. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

wEEK TWO

Monday 23/1/17– Friday 27/1/17

Monday 23rd January Home Day – Basketball with Dwayne (pm) Our favourite ex 36’s basketball player Dwayne will involve the children in a clinic that introduces and teaches – ball skills, hand-eye coordination, accuracy, communication, team building and having fun. Please wear appropriate clothes and shoes for sport. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

Tuesday 24th January Home day – Pot plants Each child will get a pot to decorate and plant with a selection of herbs and flowers (parsley, chives, thyme, violas, coriander). We will talk about the different flowers and herbs. The children will take their miniature gardens home. Lunch will be provided, please provide lots of snacks.

Wednesday 25th January Excursion Day – Gorge Wildlife Park We will leave OSHC at 9am and travel by bus to Gorge Wildlife Park at Cudlee Creek. We will take part in a Koala patting and snake touching session. We will also explore the park – looking at dingoes, monkeys, eagles, camels, kangaroos and much more. We will be at OSHC by 3pm. Please wear clothes appropriate for the weather and walking. Please provide lots of snacks, lunch and a drink bottle.

Thursday 26th January Public Holiday No Vacation Care

Friday 27th jANUARY Home Day – Mobile Science ‘In your guts!’ (am) Our favourite nerds are back with a new show about the digestive system, expect some gross smells!! Please provide lots of snacks, lunch and a drink bottle.

Dear Parents,

 I will be on sick leave from Monday 28th November until the end of the year. While I'm away Sarah will be running things. Sarah will have the OSHC phone and be checking emails. We have had huge information sharing sessions..but... there maybe something   I forgot to pass on! So please be kind :) I will come and visit before Christmas during Vac Care but to those of you I don't see - have a lovely break, working with and caring for your children is a delight. See you next year,  Dianne xoxo

November 18th 2016

This week was wheels day at Eden Hills! We had lots of children riding scooters, bikes, skateboards and using roller blades. It was a great change for after school and was a wonderful way for many different people to share something in common. We also had a long-board, which is a very long skateboard which is for cruising and not tricks. Some young people had a go. Others just rolled around. But we all had fun.

Midweek we spent time baking cupcakes. We tried to cater for everyone by having egg-free, gluten-free and a normal batch. All had orange frosting which went down a treat. We like to use baking to teach numeracy, so sometimes we double batches, halve batches or work with odd cup measurements to use our problem solving skills.

As the weather warms up we are seeing different sports being practised. Cricket is starting to be popular, as well as tennis indoors. We have also retreated to the SAC more in the hotter days.

Don’t forget next Friday (the 25^th ) is a pupil free day. Please message Dianne if you need this day booked.

We had some great craft to help with imaginative play this week. A giant pirate ship was built for our two scallywag pirates.

After so much rain we are now experiencing some horrid heat! This means that we will be using sunscreen if we are outside. If your child needs something other than the Cancer Council Everyday can you please inform staff. 

Check out how washed out the school got!

Some kids have been having lots of fun taking photos lately. We have been talking about different angles and how they can make people look like giants if taken below of small mice if taken from above their heads. 

Here's some self-reflecting art!

On Friday we chilled with a movie and had a nice cool ice-block to relax.

Please see the December Vacation Care program below.

 WEEK ONE

Monday 19/12/16– Friday 23/10/16

Monday 19th December DIVIDED PROGRAM DAY Excursion Day – Op-shopping (over age 9 optional for interested people only)                                                            Strictly limited numbers We will leave just after 9am and travel by train to the Glenalta station and walk to the -Goodwill, RSPCA, Save the Children, Salvos and Red Cross op shops. We will then catch the train back from Coromandel Station. We will be back by 1.30/2pm. Please wear shoes for walking and weather appropriate clothes. Please bring a bag to carry your bargains in and a drink bottle … and money! Home Day – Cubbies, tents, hammocks Use the tarps and make a cubby, relax in a hammock, have a picnic lunch outside. Please bring snacks and lunch.

Tuesday 20th December At home day – xmas craft If you can craft it and it’s ‘xmasy’ we will be doing it … wrapping paper, cards, bonbons, xmas tree decorations J We will use – paper, paint, pastels, clay, ribbon, patty pans, glitter … lots of glitter! Please don’t wear anything precious J Please provide snacks and lunch.

Wednesday 21st December Excursion day – Xmas lunch at the Belair Hotel Priority given to working parents We will be leaving at 11.40am and catching the train to Glenalta station. The children will be having pre-ordered lunch and a play in the playground before catching the train back to oshc. We will back by 2,30pm. Please provide lots of snacks

Thursday 22nd December At home day – xmas cooking We will cook spuds, chocolate balls and white Christmas. These treats will be packaged up and taken home. Please provide snacks and lunch.

Friday 23rd December Half day 1.30pm closure Home Day – chill out, clean up! Let’s chill out and get ready for the holidays – drawing, tidying, reading, playing, eating, laughing, running, organising J Please provide snacks and lunch

November 11th

We've had another fun-filled week at OSHC! We had many children roller skating on the tiger turf, with the more experienced skaters helping out those who needed it. There was a bottle-flipping competition on the mini oval with some impressive moves being displayed, as well as jar colouring. One of Monday's highlights was the discovery of a mystery bug in the playground. It was large, brightly coloured and had wings, yet we were unsure as to exactly what kind of bug it was. We consulted our resident bug expert, who identified it to be a native wasp.

Tuesday included a gymnastics workshop on the mini oval, where participants were taught to do cartwheels and handstands by our experienced gymnasts. We also had basketball in the SAC, and many rounds of Flux and Battleship. Our Wii and computers were turned off - as they are every Tuesday - so the children came up with ways to entertain themselves.

We had lots of discussion on Wednesday about global politics, with the US Election being closely followed throughout the day. The children and staff spoke about the candidates and their policies, and whether they were the same as our own views and beliefs. The importance of respecting everyone's opinions, whether you agree or not, was also discussed and practiced.

Thursday saw more basketball and foosball games, and gymnastics practice. Some of the children used our craft supplies to construct weapons. These weapons were safe to use, and lots of fun was had with them. We continued these activities on Friday, as well as outside play, board games and art.

Friday was Remembrance Day. Lots of the children participated in activities during the day, and learnt about the meaning and significance of the day. One of the children, described the activities she did...

"On Remembrance Day, our Aunties, Grandpas and Grannies, friends, and our Dads and Mums came to school to remember the people that went to war. We took them on a tour to the playground and the spots where there is something that is built. We showed them around the school and made them poppies. We had a ceremony, which was about remembering the soldiers that went to the war."

WARNING- The 17^th of November is the start of FIRE Danger Season. In collaboration with the CFS, the Department for Education and Child Development has developed a policy that establishes a process for schools and pre-schools to be temporarily closed and school buses to be cancelled on days of 'catastrophic' bushfire weather conditions.

December Vacation Care is only short this year from the 19^th to the 23^rd and will be having an early finish at 1:30 pm. In January Vacation Care is back for two weeks before School goes back. These dates are the 16^th until the 27^th of January.

REMINDER- Priority for Vacation Care bookings will be given to working families. On days that are booked out, we will review the bookings and ensure that there is room for families who have no other option of care for their children. This may result in non-essential bookings being removed, in which case the family will be informed.

We continue 'The Story of OSHC' this week with some more photos. This person loves Pokémon, and chose to take some photos of her favourite book. She often reads this book at OSHC to learn more about Pokémon, which she really enjoys. Here are some of her photos...

November 4th

Please see the end of this post for important reminders and changes to policy.

After the sensational Strawberry Fair the school took a day to recover, by having a pupil free day. We spent the day creating with clay, ink and Plasticine.

We had such an amazing time at Strawberry Fair, OSHC took care of the drinks again this year. We couldn’t have chosen anywhere better on a hot day! We were so proud of seeing our children involved in the community, many of whom helped out at different stalls and did much more than was required of them. Our signs were designed by OSHC kids, our bread was loving buttered for the fairy bread. We knew this was done by kids as they didn't butter the crust!

E.D.C- ‘This was the best year. I think we raised the most money. The music was nice, there was French, Indian, Chinese and desserts. Everyone enjoyed the day. It was great to see people having a laugh, seeing some old friends and helping each other out.’

For the rest of the week we were back to normal routine. 

Tuesday was blessed with decent weather. A group made up monkey-bar routines while others perfected their long jump technique. We are now focusing on our speed as we approach the take off.

Wednesday was our science day, with bug collecting (entomology) and baking (chemistry). We baked Raspberry cupcakes with Orange frosting. We thought it was important to sneak in as many fruits as we could!

In the SAC we were really pleased to see a group, design and choreograph their own dance and perform it to staff and students. We are always pleased to see children sharing their interests.

Friday was beautiful! The weather, the mood and the behaviour was just beautiful. We even had enough staff that we had another cooking night. We baked muesli and honey slice with sultanas. It was crunchy and gooey in all the right ways. In the long room we chilled and watched Shaun the Sheep.

Reminder: Pupil Free day on November 25th 

Also was are still trying to remind students that there is no Pokemon trading at OSHC.  

Lately we have had many children climbing trees and the outside of playgrounds. If they are interested Blackwood Rec Centre run a parkour class on a Tuesdays: 

6:10 pm - 7:10 pm (8 -12 years old)

7:10 pm - 8:10 pm (13 -16 years old)

8:15 pm - 9:15 pm (16+ Intermediate )

OSHC's Mobile Phone Policy 

OSHC is extending  the school’s mobile phone policy. Children who collect their phones from the school office will need to place their phone’s in a box at OSHC and collect it when  they go home. We have become aware of Children accessing the internet and contacting others whilst at OSHC. If children need to contact parents OSHC can do this for them.

***Watch this space***

For December/January Vacation Care Program in next week's post

Bea has taken on the role of photographer this week and has added some photos to this blog to add to the 'Story of OSHC'. 

Gallery

October 28th

Last week we replanted some of our vegetable gardens. A group of children planted capsicum, chilli

s and tomatoes, all great summer veg. They also worked on cutting back the herbs, which we gave to parents for their cooking. We love teaching students about growing plants, they are always much more willing to eat some of what they grow!

We have noticed a big interest forming in vehicles, we think it might be due to Brandon and Tom’s love of motorbikes and Dianne’s never ending love of V8s. Because we have been asked so many questions, the adults have spent time demonstrating some functions of the vehicles and explaining how different things work.

In the SAC we have been working on different gymnastic skills. We’ve been using the cushioned mats, and working on cartwheels, flips, twists and more.

Monday October the 31^st is a pupil free day. So don’t forget to book in the kids for OSHC. We will be having a day of clay making. We have already had a couple of trial runs making bowls that were printed with ink.

We have been lucky to have the table-tennis set up in the SAC. While many weren’t sure of the rules, they soon developed their own. We love to see when this happens, because it normally means that they are discussing what is fair for everyone.

We are back working on long-jump! After many (MANY) requests we are back recording scores and video-taping efforts, so that they can be played back for learning.

We’ve been very pleased to see that students are starting to take advantage of our staff when doing homework. As some of you may know Damian, Maya and Sarah are all pre-service teachers and are at the end of their degrees. They love helping out with homework and enjoy practising their skills. We are asked to help with spelling words, research projects and reading, but we are quite apt at maths and other areas.

Lots of our children have been playing board games and card games recently. Yes. Fluxx is back!!!

Strawberry Fields For Ever!

We are all so excited for Strawberry Fair on Saturday the 29^th! OSHC is responsible for the cold drinks and are one of the Trail Bag stops. We would like to say a huge thank you to all the families and kids that helped us out, lugging big boxes of soft drinks, constructing the staff and helping to make signs. We were lucky to have some former Eden Hills Primary students come and visit and lend a hand. It is always lovely when people visit and we get to see what they are up to now.

A word from Tas:

On the 29^th of October we are having Strawberry Fair. There will be lots of strawberries…of course!

Well if you go down to the henna stall, they’re wicked artists and will be waiting for you there!

In the wild plant stall, there will be cool pet rocks and plants for you to buy and enjoy. Time to make your garden green!

Don’t forget to go to the dog hill, netball court and the buddy bench to see our amazing buskers perform. Bring some money; those acts are worth every dollar!

So come to the Strawberry Fair, from 9am until 3 pm and consider taking the train, parking is very cramped. See you there!

October 21st

We have had a lot of wet weather this week , so we spent lots of time inside and in the SAC. The foosball and pool tables have been extra popular this week, and we have been learning the rules of the games and all of the ways that we can play them. We have also been practicing how to be a gracious winner or loser, and that what matters most is that we have fun and get along with one another.

Our first rainy day began on Monday, so we had lots of activities happening indoors, including foosball and pool games, and making mandalas. We also played some episodes of Pokémon in the long room, which has been very popular. These Pokémon episodes had our staff feeling rather nostalgic, and took us back to when we used to watch them on TV before school! It has been great to share these memories with the children.

On Tuesday we got to use the SAC, where groups of children were making lip syncing music videos! They got a glimpse into what it is like to be a music video star or producer, and worked very well as a team to create a video that they are proud of. There was also some gymnastics practice happening in the SAC, where we watched some instructional videos to improve our skills, while thinking about each of our body parts and the role that they play in gymnastics. We also practiced basketball, and continued playing foosball and pool.

The weather on Wednesday was especially rainy and windy, but luckily we got to use the SAC after basketball practice! In there, we played some basketball and volleyball games, as well as practicing gymnastics using the mats. We remembered to always keep a growth mindset if we miss that goal or drop that ball – practice helps you grow! We watched some more episodes of Pokémon, continued playing foosball and pool, played Uno, and baked some chocolate chip biscuits with Sarah. Yum!

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

School holidays are just around the corner. Have you collected your Vacation Care program yet? Have a look at the picture below, come and collect one at OSHC, and see Dianne to make your bookings. But hurry, places are filling quickly!

INSERT VAC CARE PROGRAM

Pokémon has become extremely popular within the last few weeks, with children quickly building up their collection of Pokémon cards. This has been wonderful to see and a great talking point for all, but after having some issues with unfair trading of cards, we have decided to have a no trading policy at OSHC. Most children should be aware of this, but please remind your child/children about this new policy.

As always, the Wii and computers have been getting lots of use, especially with this week’s weather! We have a policy at OSHC that each child gets to play one turn, and watch one turn. After that, they must spend the rest of their time away from screens. We have this policy to teach children about sharing and taking turns, being considerate of others, and to ensure that they are spending lots of time socialising and interacting with their peers. Our ICT devices are for entertainment only and do not have much educational value, which is another reason why we limit the time each child spends on them.

On an exciting note, OSHC will soon be getting a brand new veranda! It is being built above the door that leads into the craft and kitchen area – have a look out for its progress when you visit us next! We are really looking forward to when our veranda is built, as it will give us an outdoor area to use even when it’s raining or very hot.