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.