Vacation Care July 2017

We have had a terrific vacation care period! We have played sports, explored museums, discovered creatures in the schools grounds and created and collaborated!!!

We started the holidays by switching on our scientific minds and learning about weird creatures from the lovely nerds at Mobile Science (Don't worry, they love being called a nerd). They had all the students engaged by comparing them to different creatures big and small, fast and slow. The students had a race and found their fastest runner who could run from one end of the SAC to the other in a quick fifteen seconds. The group were then shocked to find that a cheetah could cross that distance in only two! Our From this they had a go at drawing diagrams of different creatures. We also learnt about the star nosed mole that had an amazing ability to sense the smallest vibrations with its snout.

For the first week we had arcade games delivered to us to be spread out between the OSHC building and the SAC. We hire these every year, because with the cold wet weather we are driven indoors more often. We also encourage more arts and crafts, board games, reading and role playing games. But some students are here from seven thirty in the morning until six at night. It is nice to unwind and have a play with a mate. After some parents heard about the Daytona machine, they visited and compete against their kids. Confident that their experience with driving real cards was sufficient led to many being defeated by the kids who had had lots of practice!

Mid-week we took a lengthy bus ride to the Motor Museum at Birdwood. We had a ‘spot’ list of different things to look at on the way including unique road signs and livestock. While this was an absolute treat for the adults, Dianne and Tom being especially interested in their motor sports, it was also a great day for the kids. Over the years the Museum has developed to become a really engaging place for children. They spent time exploring the show rooms, racing Skalextric cars and building vehicles with lego. We were delighted to find a cut out of a young family that just happened to be the grandfather of one of our students.

On Thursday we put on our creative hats and made a range of puppets, from sock puppets to paper bags and finger puppets. The kids had fun creating and then making up games with them. Some people started to communicate only with their characters.

At the end of the week Animals Anonymous visited us with a group of their friends. We had the furry sugar glider, the scaly pythons, a stern looking tawny frog mouth and many more. The ladies introduced us to many creatures and taught us lots about them. They also worked as advocates for certain species who were becoming increasingly endangered. The bettong was a particular favourite of the kids. It seemed that many had never heard of them before. 

Although many may not be aware, OSHC is guided by ACECQA (Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority). They are currently conducting a survey of families to better understand the factors that you consider when choosing a service. This helped them focus their organisation on what matters to you, the family! Follow the link.

In the second week we braved the wild weather and headed to Victor Harbor. Here we were lucky enough that the rain stopped every time we needed to move between the bus and the building. We spent time exploring the Whale Centre, looking at animals and ships and all things nautical. The kids got to compare themselves with different penguins and find out who was taller. We then got to learn about penguins from our guides and made some paper plate penguins and snow globes.

Tuesday was our craft day and we focused on Clay! Our children got creative and made a whole range of objects. Some decided to make something practical like a plate or trinket box with lid, while others made images of their favourite things. We also had some children make tom boys and try to learn how to knit.

Mid-week we cooked up a storm in the kitchen. With everyone getting involved to chop or tear vegetables and prepare two soups. At lunch time we sat down together to enjoy minestrone soup and pumpkin soup with some handmade damper. We are always impressed with how many veggies the kids are willing to eat when they have had a hand in making the dish themselves.

At the end of the holidays we made mini succulent gardens. Check them out below.



On our final day we had Dwayne Nelson come to teacher us some basketball skills. He focused on the five basic skills of passing, dribbling, rebounding, shooting and defending. After learning some skills we got to verse each other and have a small game of 1 v 1.

While we have activities planned for each day, we always like to let children initiate their own activities from their interests. We had one group that went witchetty grub hunting, they spent close to an hour turning over rocks, digging with sticks and searching around the vegetable garden. We also had one student looking for a challenging craft project, she ended up constructing a bird cage and filling it with tissue paper birds.

We look forward to seeing you all back next week at school!

July 7th 2017

We have had an incredibly varied last week of term! We finished off on Friday with a cruisy night and some special food. We had nachos and our normal selection of fruit, plus a cone or bowl of ice cream with chocolate topping, sprinkles or fairy dust. Two of our older girls also treated us with some gooey chewy chocolate brownies. We also put Penguins of Madagascar on in the long room and relaxed in bean bags.

We spent some time preparing OSHC for vacation care next week. We will be having some old school arcade games set up in the long room and homework room. We have put together some different craft activities and trialed them this week. Puppets made out of socks, bags and pop-sticks are organised for the first week so we had a go at trying them ourselves. 

Please remember during vacation care to send your children to us with appropriate clothing for the activities of the day. Although some sandals and boots are trendy they are not always practical for running in the playground, walking on excursions or joining in our activities. Please send along a spare pair of sneakers and a rain jacket when possible.

Everyone was getting into the disco spirit this week. When we could we played Just Dance and watched some cool clips on youtube of different style of dance. We all tried to do the worm on Thursday night with most people flopping around on the floor with no resemblance to a worm whatsoever. 

Brandon and Sarah have donated some of their old card games to OSHC. We now have two editions of Adventure Time Card Wars and Magic the gathering to play. We have been encouraging card and board games that practise problem solving, literacy and communication skills. 

As we have been forced to be inside more often because of the season, with wet weather and less time outside because of the earlier sunsets, we have found ourselves reading more books, playing dominoes and verbal games like twenty questions and guess what I'm thinking. We have also had a chance to play cards games. Sarah taught a small group how to play spit in your eye; a game that requires speed and focus. Some of the older girls then taught us how to play Trumps.

Students have been using our water colour pencils to try and draw galaxy styled paintings. Here is some of their work.

We are getting ready to plant some seedlings in spring. We are getting an early start by trying to sprout some from seeds! All the kids have been loving spraying them with water and comparing which ones are growing quicker than the others. 

In the SAC badminton has been a favourite for the past few weeks. We have started setting challenges for students. So far eleven hits in a rally is our best score. 

Look forward to seeing you at vacation care next week! Check our previous posts for the program if you aren't sure what we are doing!

June 30th 2017

We have finally had a wet winter and been driven indoors by the unfavourable rain! We have spent a lot of time in the SAC and playing board games and card games.

In the SAC our young people have been playing badminton, soccer and basketball, all this activity has helped to keep them warm. We have some new sporting equipment including soccer balls, badminton rackets and footballs.

Indoors some children have been choosing to finish off homework, read a book or create something with recycled materials.

You may have noticed that there are herb gardens in raised beds next to OSHC. Next time you need some chives for your mash potato or some parsley for that minestrone soup, come grab a pair of scissors and help yourself. We are also sowing some flower seeds in the garden in time for a spring bloom, so keep an eye out for some colour. A group of girls found a new use for chives this week. We have swapped plastic straws for paper ones at OSHC because our straws weren’t environmentally friendly. The girls went one step further and used chives as straws! Apart from the slight onion taste, this was a great idea and worked a treat!

We have a few new items in OSHC this week. We have some extra Wii games and accessories. The new favourite is Mario Tennis! We also have some new books that are displayed in the book shelf next to Dianne’s desk. Some titles include: The Freak Street series, Marvel Super Hero series, The History of Video Games and Buzz Boy and Fly Guy. We often have children reading books at OSHC and not wanting to put them down. Feel free to ask a staff member if they can take the books home for the night or weekend.

Many people have fond memories of playing Monopoly, whilst others have equally unhappy memories of the game! This week the game has been resurrected. Some students have been unable to master the game without supervision and instead of been trading the properties or playing with the money in role playing.

Vacation Care bookings are filling up fast! With some nearly full and others over half, make sure you don’t miss out and get in fast. We have limited places for excursions and can only fit a maximum of forty-five children on ‘at-home days’. See below for the program. 

One of our excursions is to the Whale Centre at Victor Harbor. If you have small glass jars with lids please bring them into OSHC for a project we are doing at the centre.

We are now using Seesaw at OSHC and providing parents with access to view their children’s work. 

Seesaw is an online learning journal where children and staff can post pictures, videos, files and voice recordings of things that are happening at OSHC. Below our posts we write the outcomes aligned with the activities in accordance with My Time, Our Place. If you would like access, please leave your e-mail, name and children’s name on a slip of paper in the envelope on Dianne’s desk and we will send you the link as soon as possible.

Below is some of our children’s beautiful work this week including a short story!

 The Object of Life by H.M.

Bang! A strike of lightening hit the ground! There were no flames, and like magic Mrs. Orira had appeared. She stared around the open, empty space. The scene was a dark place with trees surrounding a mountain, where the eclipse took place, with clouds coming in all directions. It had snowed the night before, so you could see it on the trees and on the ground. You could see the steam from breathing floating in the air. You could feel the strong breeze, the icy rain and the rough bark of the trees. You could hear the loud wind, wolves howling every few minutes and yes it was quiet and peaceful being able to hear your foot steps in the snow and yourself breathing. You could taste the snow being blown into your mouth and the cold, cold rain.

As her eyes fell on the mountain she jumped in the air and yelled, “yes! I found it, after all these years, I found it! By the way, Mrs Orira is an animagus and can turn into an owl (and she is married to Mr Marinne who is also an animagus but can turn into a wolf). Mrs Orira has black short hair, and forget-me-not blue eyes, the same colour as her robe, with little black jewels as buttons. When she is an owl, she is a white snow owl, with forget-me-know eyes, a sharp beak and spots all over her back. She is from London, but now lives in a place unknown by most people. She does strange things, and is also kind, caring and considerate. She is also very protective, mysterious, can be sarcastic, but yet soft hearted.

As she slowly walked around the mountain she found a thin path only wide enough for one person. As she walked along she found herself in a sticky situation, a creature was blocking her way in front of her so she couldn’t pass (a weird creature).

“Who are you?” said the creature.

“I’m Mrs Orira and I have come to find the legend of the object of life. Oh and who are you? And why are you stopping me from passing?!”

“Well, my name is Bluto, and I’m a protective elf (a bit like Dobby from Harry Potter but a lot bigger, like eight times bigger) and I have come to stop you to keep the object of life safe”.

“Well if that’s the case then, I have to be on my way back home”.

As she was just out of sight by Bluto, she turned into an owl, and flew right over him, and he didn’t even notice. As she flew around the corner, she changed back, and went on her way. She had been walking for three or four hours now. She had lost track of time and it was starting to get dark, not the eclipse. It looked like time to find a little cave and sleep there the night. So she walked a little further and she found a cave to stop for the night. She made a fire with some twigs and just slept on the cold stone floor.

At dawn, she woke up and decided to set off by around ten in the morning. Mrs Orira found a secret passage towards the object of life (not one hundred percent sure that she was correct). Slowly walking down the dark passage with only one lit torch in hand (fire!) she could sense a trap. So she immediately stopped. A table rose in front of her, with five bottles on it. First a blue bottle, the shape of a rain drop, next was purple, in the shape of a swirly shell, the next was clear white, the shape of a cloud, the fourth was yellow and made to look like a lightning bolt, and last but not least was an acid green colour shaped like bubbles. Also there was a note that read:

One potion will help you get to the other side of the fire (to where the object of life is), another will take you through the fire back the way you came, another will make you appear where most people are unwanted, one will make you immediately feint and another will turn you into a slug.

Well, that’s a very hard combo she thought. “I feel it is the blue raindrop one, because water beats fire right?” she said aloud. So she drank it and closed her eyes and then opened them. She hadn’t feinted (obviously). She was still in the trap and she wasn’t any slower or smaller (lucky she wasn’t a slug). Then she noticed that the bottles had gone into the table and the table had gone into the floor. Then she noticed that where the bottle that she had chosen had been sitting, there was an arrow flashing, pointing towards the fire to go through to get to the object of life. As she slowly walked through the fire, she found herself in a room with a roof like a circus tent. In the middle of the room was a stand with the object of life on it. It was a cube with sticking out edges, the colour light blue, nearly white. Each side was navy blue with white symbols with the ways of life:

                                Wind, Water, Earth, Electricity, Fire and Love.

Mrs Orira knew she could not touch it, because it kept balancing all the ways of life in their world. Instead, she took a photo and took a deep breath as she looked around the room wondering how she was going to get out………..

To be continued.

  WEEK ONE

Monday 10/7/17– Friday 14/7/17

Monday 10th July Home Day – Mobile Science ‘Weird Creatures’ (1.30-2.30pm) Our favourite science ‘nerds’ are back with a new workshop ‘weird creatures’. We discover some amazing facts about some seriously weird creatures. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

Tuesday 11th July HOME day – It’s winter so that means … the games are back!!! We will have our traditional games for the week. Duel driver ‘Daytona’ racer in the SAC, pinball in the homework room and 3 x arcade games in the long room. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

Wednesday 12th July Excursion Day – National Motor Museum, Birdwood. We will leave OSHC at 9.15am and travel by bus to the Motor Museum at Birdwood. We will take part in the ‘Scaletric’ car racing activity and take a self- guided tour around the museum. We will be back at OSHC by 3pm. Please wear warm clothes, it can get really cold in Birdwood!  Please provide lots of snacks, lunch and a drink bottle.

Thursday 13th July  Home Day – puppet making   We will use – socks, felt, buttons, lace, ribbon, paper bags, fabric, glue, thread, markers and any other materials we can find to create our own puppets. In the afternoon we will make some puppet theatres and have a series of puppet shows … what will we make … animals, monsters, aliens, fairies???? Lunch will be provided, please bring lots of snacks.

Friday 14th july Home Day – ‘Animals Anonymous’ (10am) Animals Anonymous will present an interactive and education presentation which includes a crocodile, lizard, possum/sugar glider, snakes and more. The children will get a chance to touch each animal as we learn some interesting and important facts. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

wEEK TWO

Monday 17/7/17– Friday 21/7/17

Monday 17th July Excursion Day – Whale  Centre, Victor Harbor. We will leave OSHC at 9.15am and travel by bus to the Whale Centre at Victor Harbor. We will take part in an educational program and also explore the centre, learning about the whales that we can see during winter. We will be back at OSHC by 2pm. Please wear clothes and shoes appropriate for walking and the weather. Please provide lots of snacks, lunch and a drink bottle

Tuesday 18th July Home Day – Clay Beads, pendants, pots, sculptures, decorations, presents ???? The ideas are almost endless. We will have ‘normal’ clay, ‘air-dry’ clay and a variety of tools to help create amazing things. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

Wednesday 19th July Home Day – Winter cooking … Soup and Damper We will cook pumpkin soup and pasta and vegetable soup to eat for lunch. To dip in our soup we will make damper. All children will be encouraged to make and try the soup, please provide some ‘back up food’ just in case your child/children decides not to have any. Please provide lots of snacks,

Thursday 20th July Home Day – DIY succulent garden. Using jars/tins/pots, soil, ribbon for decoration, succulents, moss/coloured pebbles we will each make an individual mini garden to take home. Please bring lots of snacks and lunch.

Friday 21st July Home Day – Basket Ball clinic with Dwayne Our favourite original Adelaide 36er’s basketballer player Dwayne Nelson will teach the children some basic basketball skills whilst also teaching the value of being a good winner, loser, team player and always having fun. Please wear suitable clothes and shoes for Basketball. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

June 23rd 2017

Welcome back to the OSHC blog! I (Sarah) have been away on my final placement for university and have been unable to keep up the blog. But now everything is back to normal, time to get back to writing.

Vacation Care Program is now out. You can find a copy on Dianne’s desk or at the bottom of this post. Please fill it out and return it to one of our staff as soon as possible, as places fill up fast. If you are certain of the dates you need, you are welcome to message them to Dianne, but a booking form must still be returned before the holidays.

One of our excursions these holidays is to Victor Harbor Whale Centre. As part of their efforts to be environmentally conscious they have asked us to collect old jars for an activity. If you have any small jars with lids please bring them in! Thank you in advance.

This week we have been really busy. Wednesdays and Thursdays have been fully booked. If you know you need one of these days. Please let us know as early as possible so we can try fit you in. Likewise, because of the high need for these days, it is vital that parents let us know of cancellations. We cannot give students places at OSHC unless a cancellation is made. If we are not informed in a timely manner, fees are still applicable.

On Wednesday this week we baked cupcakes with two groups. One group made vanilla cupcakes and the other made egg-free chocolate cupcakes. Whenever we do baking at OSHC, we take the time to build up numeracy skills that have been learnt at school. Older students are challenged to read the recipe and try to follow the instructions on their own.

As you collect your children you may find random objects in various places throughout 

OSHC. This is because a group have been playing hide and seek with small objects, this has included plastic animals, parts of games or stuffed toys. See if you can spot the turtle that rides on the back of a cat.

As the slippery dip is ready for use, we need to clarify OSHC rules. Students are welcome to use the slide, but must ask for permission from one of our staff. This is because students are not visible when they go down the slide behind the hill.

We have bought new wool and needles for crafts this season. We are hoping to encourage enough people to knit 10x10 squares and sew them together to make a blanket like this: 

This week our staff had a meeting. The items on the agenda were:

·         ongoing child safety (slippery dip use)

·         Staffing arrangements (Three of our staff have completed uni and are working other           jobs)

·         An upcoming accreditation for the National Quality Framework at our service

·         Discussion of programming activities and routine

·         Parent access to Seesaw

This week we have lots of fun playing Adventure Time: Card Wars. This is different to the Fluxx card game. This one requires the players to use attributes of characters to fight each other and spend points to do so. Players need to calculate their options before they have their turn, they also need to think defensively.

We have been extremely lucky this cold season that it has been relatively dry. This has meant that we have been able to spend lots of time out on the playground and running around on the ovals. As students are here late at night and the temperature drops quite low, we only allow students to go outside after milo if they are wearing long sleeves or a jumper.

If you would like to view your child’s Seesaw posts, please write your name, your child’s name and your e-mail address on a slip of paper and hand to one of the staff.

We look forward to seeing you and your kids at OSHC this week.

WEEK ONE

Monday 10/7/17– Friday 14/7/17

Monday 10th July Home Day – Mobile Science ‘Weird Creatures’ (1.30-2.30pm) Our favourite science ‘nerds’ are back with a new workshop ‘weird creatures’. We discover some amazing facts about some seriously weird creatures. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

Tuesday 11th July HOME day – It’s winter so that means … the games are back!!! We will have our traditional games for the week. Duel driver ‘Daytona’ racer in the SAC, pinball in the homework room and 3 x arcade games in the long room. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

Wednesday 12th July Excursion Day – National Motor Museum, Birdwood. We will leave OSHC at 9.15am and travel by bus to the Motor Museum at Birdwood. We will take part in the ‘Scaletric’ car racing activity and take a self- guided tour around the museum. We will be back at OSHC by 3pm. Please wear warm clothes, it can get really cold in Birdwood!  Please provide lots of snacks, lunch and a drink bottle.

Thursday 13th July  Home Day – puppet making   We will use – socks, felt, buttons, lace, ribbon, paper bags, fabric, glue, thread, markers and any other materials we can find to create our own puppets. In the afternoon we will make some puppet theatres and have a series of puppet shows … what will we make … animals, monsters, aliens, fairies???? Lunch will be provided, please bring lots of snacks.

Friday 14th july Home Day – ‘Animals Anonymous’ (10am) Animals Anonymous will present an interactive and education presentation which includes a crocodile, lizard, possum/sugar glider, snakes and more. The children will get a chance to touch each animal as we learn some interesting and important facts. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

wEEK TWO

Monday 17/7/17– Friday 21/7/17

Monday 17th July Excursion Day – Whale  Centre, Victor Harbor. We will leave OSHC at 9.15am and travel by bus to the Whale Centre at Victor Harbor. We will take part in an educational program and also explore the centre, learning about the whales that we can see during winter. We will be back at OSHC by 2pm. Please wear clothes and shoes appropriate for walking and the weather. Please provide lots of snacks, lunch and a drink bottle

Tuesday 18th July Home Day – Clay Beads, pendants, pots, sculptures, decorations, presents ???? The ideas are almost endless. We will have ‘normal’ clay, ‘air-dry’ clay and a variety of tools to help create amazing things. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.

Wednesday 19th July Home Day – Winter cooking … Soup and Damper We will cook pumpkin soup and pasta and vegetable soup to eat for lunch. To dip in our soup we will make damper. All children will be encouraged to make and try the soup, please provide some ‘back up food’ just in case your child/children decides not to have any. Please provide lots of snacks,

Thursday 20th July Home Day – DIY succulent garden. Using jars/tins/pots, soil, ribbon for decoration, succulents, moss/coloured pebbles we will each make an individual mini garden to take home. Please bring lots of snacks and lunch.

Friday 21st July Home Day – Basket Ball clinic with Dwayne Our favourite original Adelaide 36er’s basketballer player Dwayne Nelson will teach the children some basic basketball skills whilst also teaching the value of being a good winner, loser, team player and always having fun. Please wear suitable clothes and shoes for Basketball. Please provide lots of snacks and lunch.