Blog

This week on Harmony Day our Educators throughout the centre arranged some craft and play activities using the colour orange. 

Children also reflected on what it was to belong and the many different cultures that make up our community. 

"If you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise
If you go down in the woods today, you'd better go in disguise
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic"

Recently our Northgate Centre hosted a Teddy Bears Picnic, our children enjoyed an incursion from Dance Along and then an alfresco afternoon tea with their favourite teddies! 

At our Centres we take the integration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture  seriously. 

Each Centre has their own committee dedicated to ensuring sourcing information and embedding indigenous culture into every day practice. 

A song was created to allow each room the opportunity to discuss the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and to bring together the Centre. 

Every Morning at 9.00am you will find each room singing the song and using the AUSLAN sign language that is incorporated. 

This is a fun and active way to build the children's understanding of culture and diversity. 

Both Northgate and Greenwith Centres have a strong stance on sustainability, each centre has their own "Green Team" that ensures that this is instilled into everyday practice. 

Today, June 5th, is World Environment Day and the Northgate centre has been busy creating art, sensory displays, visual displays, reading books and reminding children in general that the future state of the world is reliant on each generation looking after what we have left and trying to improve upon the damage that has already been done. 

Our Kindy room focused on Animals and Habitat, creating sensory displays and explaining that large areas of habitat are being destroyed or becoming smaller due to deforestation, pollution or global warming and  explaining areas in which we can help stop that. 

Our Pre School room discussed the importance of the humble, hard working Bee and how it helps to pollinate, not only flowers, but various crops for people to eat. 

Mini Toddlers have read books like "Change Starts with Us" which depicts small things that we can do that will make a big difference to the world. 

It is good to remember that what we instill in our children now will carry through their lives, even the smallest hands can change the world! 

While our centre has Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture embedded into everyday practices and teaching, this week we have had a special focus. 

Children have been using their art and craft skills to make flags, paint boomerangs and create signs. 

Educators have participated by wearing indigenous themed tops and creating play spaces using aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources such as puzzles, books, dolls and cushions. 

As a country it is important to recognise our heritage and help pave the way to a future with better understanding and less prejudice. 

Christmas Season has well and truly hit our Northgate Centre! 

We had a little helper arrive on the 2nd of December and the children have named him "Bluey". 

Bluey, while keeping an eye on all the children to make sure they all stay on the Nice list, has been up to mischief himself - every morning our families are coming in to search for Bluey and see what he has gotten himself into overnight, Administration staff are loving hearing the excited calls of the children as they locate Bluey and laugh as they see his antics!

Each Centre has been decorated and Christmas Parties are being enjoyed throughout, it's a wonderful time of year. 

With the count down to the big day getting shorter and shorter, we can't wait to see what Bluey gets up to next! 

Stay tuned....

Our Educators and children have been exploring Indian culture throughout this week, in celebration of Diwali. Diwali, known as the "festival of lights", coincides with the Hindu New Year, which celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.

The children have been involved in making Diya (candle holders), fireworks paintings, being shown Rangoli (floor art using coloured sand), making ladoo (an Indian sweet) and being shown Indian traditional dress and dance.

We were also lucky to have one of our Kindergarten parents come in and talk about Indian culture and Diwali.

We would like to acknowledge all Educators for educating themselves about this special Indian celebration and passing that on to the children in their room. And we are very thankful to Navneet and Monika for sharing so much of their culture with the children and bringing various items from home to share.

We have also noted how much our parents have loved seeing the signs, candles, lights, Rangoli and Toran throughout the Centre. We strive to include and celebrate the cultures of all of those around us, especially those of Northgate Child Care Centre & Kindergarten.

Happy Diwali

Spring has definitely sprung here at Northgate! - The sun is shining, the birds are singing and we are planting! 

All of our rooms are collecting the Woolworths seeds and growing various plants. Some rooms are focusing on vegetables and some on herbs,  some of the rooms are collecting them all, but ALL of the children are enjoying the process! 

Planting the seeds allows the children see the growth cycle of plants from start to finish, help gain the responsibility of caring for the plant and nurturing it to keep it alive, and (hopefully) at the end provides them with produce to try or a beautiful flower to admire. 

How's your garden going? Spending time in the garden, planting, weeding, watering or digging not only gives you the benefit of fresh air and sunshine, but also enables you to discuss the natural environment, how everything contributes to each other and discover and name plants and bugs. Often what we see as chores is still a learning adventure for children! 

Happy Spring! 

Did you know that this week is Child Protection Week? 

A part of being compliant as an Educator is undergoing Child Safe Environments training every 2 years to stay on top of any changes in processes or legislations.

All Educators are Mandatory Reporters. The Health and Safety of our Children is Paramount, children need to feel safe, loved, heard and valued in order for them to thrive. 

We believe that Parents, Families, Educators and the wider community play a very important part in making children feel safe and providing them an environment in which they can flourish. 

We have attached a link below to the NAPCAN website with some more information and tips for playing your part! 

 https:///www.napcan.org.au/tips-for-playing-your-part/#1554176320926-cc9eb4f8-e1da

Last week our centres enjoyed celebrating Book Week 2019 with the theme "reading is my secret power"

Children and Educators alike had great fun dressing up as their favourite characters, introducing new books and participating in story telling. 

It was lovely to see so many people participate throughout the week, thank you to all our families. 

WOW! What a busy few months we have had at our centres! 

In the last couple of months we have had our first Movie and Games Night at our Northgate centre, where children stayed from 6.30-9.30pm and enjoyed some treats, some board games, some pass the parcel and a movie. It was a great fun night, a big success all around and something that we will look at providing again in the future. 

Both centres participated in Pyjama Week where Staff, Educators and Children were able to come to care in their pyjamas and slippers which was lovely and cosy given the cold weather! This year instead of a gold coin donation, people donated new pyjama sets to go to the St Vincent de Paul Women's and Children's Crisis Centre. Once again we would like to thank all our families and community for participating and donating to help provide for those fleeing domestic violence and other situations having to leave their homes with nothing. I am sure that all our donations will be appreciated! 

We have just wrapped up photo week here at Northgate and so far all of our families have been very happy with their packages, with such photogenic children - how could they not be?! We would like to give a shout out to Jade Kearns  at Jade Kearns Photography for doing such a great job and working so well with all of our children. Jade really does capture their happy faces beautifully. 

Already working into the second half of the year we are only going to get busier! Already we are planning out Book Week next week 19th -23rd August with the theme "Reading is my secret power" and classes will have activities and dress up days planned throughout the week. Next to come will be Educator's Day in September then it will be almost time to start planning the fundraising and Christmas shows! 

We are so looking forward to the rest of the year and we hope that you can join us! 

At our Northgate Centre we have been celebrating Mothers day all week! 

While each room has had their own special crafts and activities going so that the children have something special to give their mother figure on Sunday, our Pre School room has also been holding a daily Afternoon Tea for children and their Mothers! 

Check out our FaceBook page for more pictures! https://www.facebook.com/Northgate-Child-Care-Centre-Kindergarten-126987437695270/?ref=bookmarks

Yesterday our Northgate Centre was visited by Easter Bunny himself while our Greenwith Centre enjoyed an Easter magic show! 

If the children were not excited about Easter before hand, they certainly are now. 

We hope that all our families have a happy and safe Easter break, we look forward to hearing stories of bunnies and egg hunts next week! 

Today we celebrated Harmony Day. We invited our families to send their children dressed in Orange or cultural dress. Educators joined in with this theme and also held a morning tea with different foods from around the world! 
Did you know that Harmony Day uses Orange as traditionally it signifies social communication and meaningful conversations? 
We hope that your Harmony Day was as enjoyable as ours!

Yesterday our Northgate Centre had a visit from Moriya who provided us with a great show full of music and dance. 

The children were enthralled as they watched him play the digeridoo, making the sounds of Kangaroos bouncing and Kookaburras Laughing. Moriya also played us the Jew's Harp and showed us the different sounds it could make and then the African Thumb Piano which made sounds like the rain. 

Children and Educators had so much fun dancing and bounding like Kangaroos while Moriya played his instruments and explained the different sounds and techniques used for each. 

Thank you Moriya for a fabulous show! 

We have just finished updating our information and upgrading our website - We are officially LIVE! 

We hope that all our families and visitors find our website user friendly and informative, we have lots of extra information and booklets that you can download to help with the process of choosing a Centre and settling into care. 

At Northgate & Greenwith Childcare Centre & Kindergartens we are continually working toward improving our Centre's and how we bring information to our existing and prospective families! 

We thank you in advance for your patience while fixing any technical glitches that may occur. 

Your Friendly Admin Team

As our Christmas parties draw to a close and the wind down to Christmas Day approaches, we would like to thank all our families for their support during the year and also for the lovely words and gifts received by Educators and Staff.

It is always hard to say goodbye to our children that we have watched grow over the years, but we wish you all the best in your big school adventures for next year! To our new families we look forward to welcoming you and ensuring that you have a smooth transition into care at our centres.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year. 

On Wednesday 10th October 2018 Northgate Childcare Centre & Kindergarten hosted a Dress Like A Pirate Day to coincide with Loud Shirt Day and raise money for Cora Barclay Centre. 

We are proud to announce that we raised a grand total of $208.00! 

Thank you to all our Educators, Children and Families who participated.

In July 2018 there will be a nationwide change to the way child care subsidies are determined. 

Please visit www.education.gov.au/sites/education/files/chcare/est/index.html to use the estimate calculator and see how this may affect you.

more information regarding the change can be found at www.education.gov.au/childcarepackage 

We will have more information and help available at the centre as we draw closer to the end of financial year. 

Wednesday 6th September 2017 was Early Childhood Educator Day. Our centres celebrated by having a morning tea and lunch for our Educators and giving each one a Certificate of Appreciation. 

As a fun activity on the day each of our rooms were assigned a colour and the Educators and children invited to wear their colour to create a rainbow throughout the centre. 

We also created a "thank you" tree in the foyer which, as you can see in our photo, the children enjoyed decorating with their leaves and flowers of thanks.

We hope that all the Early Childhood Educators enjoyed their day of recognition - you are appreciated! 

~"It takes a big heart, to shape little minds"~

On Wednesday the 9th August 2017 our Northgate and Greenwith centres hosted a "Healthy Breakfast and Pyjama Day". Children were offered healthy breakfast options such as cereal, toast and pikelets and enjoyed a day of learning and play in their favourite Pyjamas. As you can see in our photo of Northgate Educators, we also enjoyed a day of comfort in our PJ's much to the delight of the children. 

We had great participation across both centres and with gold coin donations Greenwith raised $140.00 and Northgate $212.00 a grand total of $352.00 with all proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House. 

Thank you to all our families for making our Healthy Breakfast and Pyjama Day a success! 

On Friday April 7th we had our first Sleepover fundraising event for our Northgate Centre, and it was hit!

Preschool and Kindergarten Families were given two time options to choose from; 6.30pm to 9.00pm, or 6.30pm to 9.30am

After being dropped off, the children excitably played with each other and engaged in activities about the room, including decorating fairy wands. The children also had a load of fun with glow sticks and glow masks. For dinner, the children were spoilt with pizza, followed by ice-cream, cookies and milo for dessert. The children then settled in to watch The Trolls movie, during which we saw our night session children head home. Our sleepover children were tucked into bed, and all fast alseep by 9.30pm. The children rose in the morning just before 7am, after a wonderful nights sleep. They all enjoyed some breakfast together before getting ready to greet their parents and tell them all about their adventure.

Thank you to the parents for entrusting us to care for your children for the night, we all had the best time. We hope you enjoyed some down time, knowing they were being cared for by familiar Educators.

Big thanks to the Educators and Management who volunteered their time, in particular those who pulled an "all nighter" to be on hand for the children.

Our next Sleepover will be held for our Greenwith centre, date to be advised.

Yesterday at 10.30am the Kindergarten and Pre Kindy children were lucky enough to receive an educational visit from the Metropolitan Fire Service! 

The children learned about Fire safety and had a wonderful time engaging in practical experiences. 

Recently we applied to renew our status as a sun smart centre; we are happy to announce that we have now been approved for a further 3 years and are proud to inform you that Julie from the Sun Smart Team informed us "You have the best demonstration of teaching methods and attention to the details that I have seen in my three years of doing this job." 

As the hot weather approaches we recommend everyone downloads the sun smart UV app, it is easy to use and helps us stay aware of UV levels. It is important to remember that is is not only the temperature but the UV levels that can cause damage to skin, even on cold and cloudy days! 

Happy New Year to all our Families! 

A lot has happened at our Northgate Centre in the lead up to the New Year including a completely remodelled garden area for our Tiny Tots and Mini Toddlers! Our play area has been transformed into a much more usable space including a covered sand pit, a walking bridge and a paved riding track, our garden has been lined with new plants and play safe and looks amazing - Our babies have been having a great time in their new play area.

Both Centres are looking forward to a fun new year filled with lots of activities for the children to enjoy. There will be a few changes to our standard fundraising activities this year for you to look out for, but don't be alarmed - we'll be keeping up with our old favourites like Kytons! 

We hope that you all had a great Christmas, New Year break. Please remember our Educators are always happy to speak with families regarding any concerns or suggestions that they may have, and that all suggestions submitted to the office in writing will be brought up at our management meetings for discussion! 

On Saturday 3rd of December our two centres joined together to celebrate the season at the National Wine Centre. 

It's always great fun to mix with our sister centres and for all the Educators and Staff to relax and catch up outside of the work environment. 

A wonderful time was had by all and we would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our families a Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year! 

The Adelaide Pageant has officially been run and Santa is in town! 

Our Children (and Educators) have been enjoying making crafts and decorating their rooms with all things Christmas! 

Let the Count Down Begin - 41 days until Christmas!! 

Today our Children in Pre Kindy 2 made poppies in honour of remembrance day. 

"FOR THE FALLEN

Poem by Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943), published in The Times newspaper on 21^st September 1914

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain."

On Friday the 21st October the centre celebrated Loud Shirt Day in support of the Cora Barclay Centre. 

The staff and children enjoyed a range of activities throughout the week leading up to Loud Shirt day such as biscuit making, colouring competitions and a sausage sizzzles. 

As you can see from our photo our staff really got into the spirit! We raised a total of $415.00

Today Pre Kindy 2 had a Special Guest come in to teach us some Taekwondo Skills- Jackson's older sister Claudia!

Claudia taught the children some stretches, some squats, some stances and also how to count 1-5 in Korean, say good morning and thank you. 

The children thoroughly enjoyed their lesson.

 Thank you Claudia for coming to visit us!

After yesterdays power failure, many of us got up this morning and continued on to school and work as usual. Weather and News reports are suggesting that we are due to be hit again with strong wind gusts and heavy rain from 3 pm. 

Please remain vigilant on the roads during school/childcare pick ups. Poor visibility and current road conditions can make for a long journey, remember to hold onto your children to and from your car,  keep a safe distance from the cars in front, reduce speed when necessary, keep your lights on and be careful at intersections that have lost power! 

Stay Safe Adelaide! 

Finally the sun has realised it's spring! Our Kindy children ate their snack outside today to bask in the sunshine, we hope you got to enjoy some too! 

Today our kindy Children started their very first worm farm!

Spring is a great time to get children interested and invested in their outdoor environment. Planting quick to grow plants, herbs and vegetables is a great place to start and what better way to keep these fertilised than with your very own worm farm!

Worm farms are a great way for pre-schoolers to learn about composting from start to finish, how the scraps in the kitchen can be re used instead of thrown into the bin, feed the worms who in turn produce great fertiliser for the garden both liquid and soil.

We have attached a link to a step by step guide on putting together a worm farm. (Worm farms can be purchased from most hardware stores or you could have a go at making one yourself!) 

Instilling awareness about the environment and how to care for it at a young age is a great investment in all of our futures! 

http://www.foodwise.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Worms-ONLINE-1.pdf  

Anyone with small children can probably understand the stab of fear you feel in the pit of the stomach when you realise you simply have to go to the shop/grocery store etc and you just know that your little one is really not up for it today – that a meltdown is inevitable.  

Some children just don’t like shopping, some are tired, some are bored, and some want everything and don’t like the word no. Whatever the reason when your child has a full on, lie on the floor screaming/yelling episode in public, it can be very stressful for both parents and the child.

Sometimes the hardest part of it is learning to ignore the looks of disapproval or sympathy and sometimes even “friendly, helpful advice” (“maybe he need’s his nappy changed?”) from onlookers that we get as parents.

A couple of us here at Northgate have recently been to some “Positive Parenting” seminars, based on dealing with such episodes and general behavioural issues aimed at both parents and carers. I have attached a link to Positive Parenting Approaches on the Zero to Three Website for anyone who cares to take a look.

It has tips on dealing with not only the dreaded shop, but how to deal with toddlers irrational behaviour (“I want the red bowl”), time outs – helpful or harmful and how to deal with your own emotions.

Parenting is a tough gig – but the rewards are endless! Happy Parenting!

https:///www.zerotothree.org/parenting/positive-parenting-approaches

The days are getting longer and the sun is getting warmer, we are having less rain and more outdoor play.  What better way to spend a sunny afternoon than with a picnic at a park – and what an abundance of parks Adelaide has!

So many wide open spaces now complete with toddler parks and older sections that have been revamped and completed with picnic benches and barbeques, it’s the perfect way to spend a family Sunday. Many parks of course are free of charge but if you want to splash out, visit the Adelaide Zoo and have a play on the new mega nature playground during lunch before visiting the animals – if you can tear the children away!

We have attached a link to the South Australia website “best parks, play spaces and picnic spots” to give you some ideas or new places to visit.

Enjoy some sunshine!

http://southaustralia.com/en/things-to-do/family-activities/parks-and-picnic-spots

The children at our centres have been having a ball this Book Week.... And as you can see - so have the staff! 

With planned activities, themes and dress up days throughout each centre there hasn't been a dull moment - why just this morning I saw Mario run through our Kindy room and Northgate Preschool has been taken over by Pirates! Maybe we should phone Greenwith where it looks like all our super heroes are residing.... 

We hope that your children are enjoying the week as much as we are, and remember: 

" Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read" - Marilyn Jagger Adams

Over the weekend a contingency of eight staff, including management and Educators, attended the Australian Child Care Alliance Conference in Melbourne, "where the learning happens". Various workshops were attended including a panel discussion focusing on the current and future trends in the child care sector. It was extremely interesting to listen to the expertise of renowned professionals such as Dr. Michael Carr-Greg, Professor Frank Oberklaid and Dr. Anne Kennedy. 

Collectively, we were all inspired and now richer in knowledge to deliver the best possible outcomes for the children and families of both our centres. 

"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for Children, Play is serious Learning. Play is really the work of childhood"  - Fred Rodgers

Remember as a child being sent out to play in the morning and not coming home until you were hungry (and usually with a few friends in tow!), when trees were fortresses, dogs became dragons and holding a stick provided so many possibilities - a Knight, a Superhero, a Princess with a sceptre, a teacher with a pointer?

Somewhere, some how as we grow up we seem to forget the endless possibilities our natural environment can provide for our children, where they see a possible tree house, we see a danger of falling, where they see a creek, we see wet dirty clothes.... While times have changed since our childhood and even more since our parents childhood and it is generally less safe to send children out on their own, we need to find a balance between our fear of breakages and scrapes and dirty clothes and the sheer joy of uninhibited imaginative outdoor play, which is so essential in a child's development. 

We have provided a link to the Nature Play SA website to provide some ideas on how to transform your outdoor area, or places to visit with your children, upcoming events and parks of the month. Rug up and don't let the cooler weather stop you - remember how much fun it was to splash in puddles and slide on wet grass? I bet you don't remember feeling cold!

Happy Playing! 

https:///natureplaysa.org.au/

Today My First Circus visited Northgate Childcare Centre & Kindergarten to entertain our children from Preschool and Kindy. 

It was a fabulous show using puppets, a live bird and a guinea pig that popped out of a balloon,magic and much more. Here at reception we have enjoyed hearing the children telling their parents all about it on the way home! 

Did you know that each of our Centres have their own Facebook Page? 

We update with events at the centres, handy hints on holiday fun and activities, and funny quotes to get you through the days! Check out the links below and give us a like!

Northgate: https://nb-no.facebook.com/Northgate-Child-Care-Centre-Kindergarten-126987437695270/?ref=py_c

Greenwith: https:///www.facebook.com/Greenwith-Child-Care-Centre-Kindergarten-137805029945761/

The centre today has stopped serving Rockmelon until further notice due to news stories unveiling a link between the fruit and salmonella. 

It states that people more at risk are pregnant ladies, infants/young children and the elderly. 

Please see below link for more information. 

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/dont-eat-rockmelon-for-now-after-salmonella-outbreak-found-sa-health-authorities-warn/news-story/284ffe689620d625c6ad002b76b903e0/

On Thursday 21st July Northgate was lucky enough to have a visit from Sniffer Dog Elly and her Police Handler Matt. 

The children were very excited to see Elly, who had impeccable manners, and were able to ask Police Officer Matt about all the special things she could do. 

Thanks so much for the visit! 

We would like to thank everyone at our Centres for their participation in our Australia's Biggest Morning Tea & Cupcake Day Fundraisers.

Greenwith raised a great $72.70 and Northgate a whopping $366.40!

That is a fabulous total of $439.10 that we can donate to the Cancer Council - Great work everyone!! 

Management and Administration have been working on our new website for several months in order to give a modern up to date look and provide our new and existing families with easy access information suitable to computer and mobile use. 

With our new site you now have access to printable forms, frequently asked questions and a gallery of photos from around each centre. We would also like to thank the families who gave permission to use their children's photos for our site, as what better way to show off our centre than with our smiling, happy children at play! 

We hope that you enjoy the new site and find it user friendly - if you think of anything we may have missed or have any problems please see staff in the office, we would love to hear your feedback!