September 5th

As the writer of this blog was away for the end of last week, the post has been delayed. So we are combining two weeks into one! Sorry for the wait!

Last week we once again recorded long jump scores. With such a focus on scores, children have noticed that after training and practice they went from improving in leaps and bounds (pun intended) to only slightly improving or plateauing.

Something that you may not know is on Tuesdays we have a technology free day. This means we have an evening that we encourage more physical activity, imaginative play and interactive games, board/card games, table top sports and building and creating with recycled materials.

Last Wednesday we had a fake Friday and watched The Incredibles, because the weather was wretched. Others played lots of games, noses were buried in books and we started a new survey. The staff has been discussing adding an education TV night. We would choose to watch documentaries and shows that talk about particular topics like history or different cultures around the world. If parents have any suggestions for suitable shows, please let staff know. As for the kids, they can come have their say on our survey!

This week we have had really great displays of creative thinking. Whenever the weather is horrible, we get stuck inside. When we don’t have the SAC at our disposal this can sometimes mean we have 45 students and 4 adults all inside OSHC. When this happens, it is great to see some creative thinking, people trying to solve the issue of cramped space, having too much energy to spend or just wanting some great entertainment. This week we saw a lot of tabletop games developed, like shooting hoops with plastic pots. Others decided to study photos and improve their realistic drawing skills. While some just played with ordinary items to try make something beautiful.

On Friday we had a pupil-free day. After the Olympics, lots of children continued to discuss different sports and were really interested in being competitive. So we organised races, practised long-jump, built obstacle courses and played lots of sports. We even shared some of our favourite videos on youtube. Damian was also kind enough to bring in his foosball and hockey tabletop game for the kids to use. Thank Damian!

We were also very lucky with the warm weather to find a scaly friend enjoying the warm stones around OSHC’s front door. This sparked so much interest with the kids, who followed its movements and fed it banana. Also the mother bird in the tree next to OSHC was having worms collected for it to feed to its chicks.

We realise this pupil-free day has snuck up on people. So get your calendars out! The next one is on October 31^st after vacation care.

Lately we have had higher numbers booked into week nights. With Monday and Wednesday being booked out we are unable to take casual bookings. Unfortunately though, we have had increasing numbers of people not informing us of cancellations. This means that other families are missing out because we cannot inform them early enough that we have a place for their children. Please help us to help others. If your child is absent, without us being informed, full fees apply.

August 19th

Aug 19

We started the week by timing children’s best running score on the tiger turf up and back. Through the next couple of weeks we will record a few more times and see who can improve their score. We have liked seeing people focussed on improving their score instead of just trying to beat other people.

On Monday, a small group set up an obstacle course using cones and hula hoops. Competitors were asked to zig-zag through the cones, leap from hoop to hoop, climb up the spider, drop down, fly across the flying fox, negotiate their way down the hill then sprint to the finish line. Our best time was an amazing 44 seconds.

On the oval we continued to have people trying their best in the long jump. An interesting fact is that the long jump world record is still held by Bob Beamon from 1968 with a whopping 8.9 metres. See the video here. Our best was an impressive 3.1 metres.

For parts of the week we have kept the long-room shut off as we wanted to encourage some physical activity while the weather has been warm enough.

Tuesday was a success! It didn’t manage to rain until 6pm when we were all going home. We celebrated the weather by spending all our time outside. The long-room was closed again and had no wii or computers. We recorded our best running times on the tiger turf again with some new best times.

In the SAC we brought out the blue mats. Some used them to relax, others used them to do gymnastics and some just used them to squash each other. We also had painting and making inside, with some houses being made, complete with furniture, separate rooms and designer kitchen.

Wednesday we were at the long-jump pit again. This time our best distance was from our OSHC educator Damian who got a 3.3m score, almost jumping clear across the pit. The best young person’s score was a whopping 3.2m.

Thursday was spent in the SAC and indoors while it rained. Indoors we constructed vehicles and building out of recycled boxes, while others drew and coloured. Fluxx was brought out again with lots of new players trying it out. This game gets very exciting at times and demands players use their problem solving skills. This means it gets noisy with lots of heated debates about the meaning of rules. But we see this as another learning experience, where players must critically analyse rules, argue fairly with reasoning and remain polite all the while.

Friday we had a small amount of time in the SAC, stole little moments in between wet weather and spent a lot of time indoors. We watched Pokémon on the TV (because Pokemon is very in right now if you hadn’t noticed!). We also drew Pokémon, we traced Pokémon, we coloured Pokémon, we traded Pokémon, we talked about Pokémon, argued about Pokémon and even pretended to be Pokémon!

Some children at school were involved with raising money for World Vision with the eight hour famine. Here is some reflections from two girls on their experience today.

What is the eight hour famine?

Aurelia: A fund raiser to raise money for people that don’t have enough money to buy food clothes and get medical care.   

Milla: It is where you eat barely any food to raise money for World Vision that helps people in need. We didn’t eat food because so we knew how it was to be a person who was starving.

What did you have to do?

Aurelia: We had to collect money. Then we started not eating and doing whatever else we gave up at 8am and then stop at 4pm. At 10am we got a barley sugar, at 1pm we got a cup of rice and at 2pm we got another barley sugar.

Milla: I had to eat barely any food, not talk and collect money. We did this for poor people in countries who were starving to death and didn’t have enough money for medical care and clothes.

How did you feel about it?

Aurelia: It was hard and felt good about it because I was helping people that didn’t have food. I now feel sorry for people without food.

Milla: I felt good, because I was doing something to help the world, it will change lives. The money will go to World Vision who will go over to poor countries and build schools, makes sustainable food supplies and give people health care and medicine.

What do you think now?

Aurelia: I think I will be more thoughtful to people that don’t have as much food and I will try not to be wasteful.

Milla: It is not as easy as it seems. Talking is something you do every day, so not replying automatically is really hard.

August 12th

While the Olympics have been on television, our children have been more attracted to having a go at different sporting events. We have seen lots of gymnastics happening in the SAC, long-jump out on the big oval and a myriad of different team sports.

On Monday we had a large group trying long-jump, with the best score being 3.1m held by two and the second place at 3 metres. Along with individual sports such as gymnastics and races, groups were seen playing tennis, badminton, footy, soccer and basketball.

In the SAC  you could see an incredibly social mood, with lots of groups together sharing. Whether they were sitting together and relaxing or shooting hoops and chatting about the day, everyone was conversing.

We had a group sit together and read Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl has been particularly popular at the moment due to the release of BFG. Our Dahl collection sits in the racks next to the Wii if ever the kids want to sit and read!

On Wednesday the focus was more on creating and constructing with the long room being transformed into a village with werewolves on the prowl and frightened villagers! Others made cardboard houses for paper people, complete with furniture. Hilariously, the houses always seem to be void of a laundry! The end of the day was spent with many bodies draped around the room with book in hand.

Thursday became a mixture of the week with cubby houses built again, gymnastics in the SAC and basketball being the sport of the day! We also harvested a lot of herbs from our OSHC garden, collecting mint, thyme, parsley, coriander and chives to give to parents.

Friday we watched Epic in the long-room, while others enjoyed the kind weather and explored and experimented in the playground. We find that the Olympics tend to pique kids’ interest and tend to explore what their bodies can do. We see many more flips on the monkey bars, people racing and trying to do their best and generally children try out more sports.

August 5th

Sometimes we have days when it is difficult to interest the kids in things other than the Wii or the computers. This certainly was not one of those weeks. The majority of children have spent their time involved in physical activity, make-believe play and creative activities.

On Monday, on the tiger turf many people came and tried badminton, whether it was a minute or thirty, lots of children had a go, in some cases finding it was more difficult than they expected. But soon they got the hang of it, realising the shuttle didn't do the same as a tennis ball. 

The homework room was converted into a shanty town, with every piece of furniture, waffle block or toy being used to make walls or ceilings. When kids are creating things like this, it is interesting to see how resourceful they can be. Anything can be used in some way or other.

In the long room we watched Brave, as it was too cold to be outside and we didn’t have much time in the SAC. Plus, sometimes it is nice just to relax and switch off after a long day!

Tuesday was very similar to Monday with a repeat of badminton, waffle block houses and games outside. We had time in the SAC that night and had a great time with the big blue floor mats. Some used them as bread to make people sandwiches. Others practised different gymnastic movements and developed routines and some just had a lay down.

Often we find children will look at things in a completely new way. Wednesday we found children jumping from the outside edge of the playground. When we questioned them about what they were doing, they said, ‘we are doing parkour’. So of course the playground evolved into something completely new, with children jumping, tumbling and leaping like they hadn’t before. New challenges presented themselves. How far can they leap, how can they tumble and fall so it doesn’t hurt, how can they change their bodies to leap over or through shapes.

Thursday, we had another city of waffle blocks, tables and blankets made in the long room. Although it was dry outside, the playground was completely void of children and games as it was bitterly cold. Instead many stayed in the SAC which was filled with people relaxing on cushioned mats, playing ball games and others playing make-believe!

 Ghost Busters review by Will

It was about ghosts and there was a big giant marshmallow man. The marshmallow man is huge. He wrecked the houses and the city. The main characters had guns and they got the marshmallow man in the portal. The marshmallow man grabbed one of the main characters and dragged them into the portal.  

People should watch this movie because it is good, some ghosts are good but some are scary. It is a little bit scary, when it is not scary it is funny as well.

5/5 stars

Scribble bug has been a popular game both in the afternoons and in the mornings before school. This game asks people to draw sections of a body in different themes and then pass it on to someone else to complete the picture. Here’s what we’ve been doing:

Domino and Shape Art