Our Quality Improvement Plan continues on with two major goals crossing over from our last QIP cycle... Our new cycle runs from April 2020 - April 2021! |
|
|
COVID-19 Update! We are so relieved that we have had no diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in Tasmania for 14 days! At Little Bee, we continue to carefully follow all COVID-19 health and safety measures. However, we will no longer be issuing a COVID-19 Weekly Update letter to families. In the future, if the need for a weekly update letter is required, we will certainly start them up again. We cross all of our fingers and toes that we can avoid a second wave! |
|
|
We have been providing regular information on our first goal; which is: "the development of our Little Bee RAP". Firstly, were excited to begin Reconciliation Week Celebrations on Wednesday 27th June with a few exciting initiatives. Lee-Anne Goodwin, Aboriginal Elder and Mila's Grandmother (from Bumble Bees) gave us her blessing to use a piece of her beautiful art work to display with our Centre 'Acknowledgement of Country'. The beautiful painting is from Lee-Anne's children's picture book called: 'A little Imp and a great Escape'. Lee-Anne gifted her book to us in 2019 during a centre visit. This is displayed in the front entrance of each centre. We hope that in the future we can place the art work on a larger canvas and include some of the children's art works for display also. Secondly, each room at Little Bee Airport and at Little Bee Howrah have been working with the children to develop our own 'Acknowledgement of Country'. The children are enjoying this immensely, please look out for our video recordings, which will be posted to our Facebook group pages on Friday 5th June! |
|
|
Our second goal has been all about; "Embedding gratitude into our practice". Teams have been implementing and immersing the practice of gratitude within our everyday routines and programs at Little Bee for some time now. Research has shown us that when practising gratitude within our Community, it will enhance the overall well-being of our entire Little Bee Community. Some of the ways we continue to embed ‘Gratitude’ into our daily practice is by: - Creating a positive early childhood Community at Little Bee through the creation of team gratitude goals.
- Creating special areas for either collaboration and/or rest, such as; the use of essential 'Doterra' oils that we burn throughout the day, candles and other materials for calming the mind and allowing time to be together in a relaxed atmosphere.
- Providing opportunities for children to practice kindness; serving each other at meal times and setting the table for each other is one of the ways we do this.
- Daily gratitude ‘huddles’; including appreciation boards, songs, games and activities.
- Teaching and modelling children skills for good social and emotional development.
- Creating opportunities for families and special persons to become involved in Little Bee life, for example: our gratitude mascots (currently on hold due to COVID-19 safety measures).
- Creating 'Gratitude as the 6th outcome". We designed and now implement 'gratitude outcomes' in our project work (to compliment the other 5 outcomes in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).
|
|
|
COVID-19 Protocol for all essential visitors to the premises Hopefully you would have received our COVID-12 update early last week and our 'Protocol for all essential visitors to the premises'. We thank all families for their support in returning these quickly, and for any of your feedback as we work towards a long term plan for keeping the Little Bee community safe. We would like to clarify point 7 of the protocol. Point 7 reads: 'If you have been in contact with someone who has a confirmed case of Covid-19, you must not enter the service until you have satisfied the Public Health Guidelines and directions regarding testing and/or quarantine arrangements'. The only exception to this is for people who are employed in the health care sector. If you have been in contact with a patient who has a confirmed case of COVID-19 and you are following all mandated guidelines for your workplace (e.g. PPE) then you are still able to attend the service, as required. Any questions, please contact Emily (62485994), thank you. |
|
|
Give Me 5 for Kids fundraiser “Give Me 5 for Kids is Southern Cross Austereo’s national fundraiser which has been supporting and raising funds for local children’s hospital wards across regional Australia for over 20 years. Beginning in the mid-'90s as a simple coin drive from the Central Coast region, this annual charity drive has since raised almost $20 million nationally, and benefited over 40 children’s hospital wards”. Each June, our local radio and television networks get behind the cause by holding local fundraising events. The public continue to raise funds annually for our local children’s hospital wards, and make a real difference to the lives of sick local children. At Little Bee, Give me 5 for Kids is something we hold very close to our hearts, as so many children in the Little Bee Community have spent time in the children’s ward, especially at the Royal Hobart Hospital. We are hoping to raise some money throughout June via our Pyjama Week. This will be run from Monday 15th June - Friday 19th June! Please bring along a gold coin donation to support this worthy cause and we encourage all children and educators to wear your PJ's to Little Bee during this week! |
|
|
KidsXap Information! Have you downloaded the KidsXap Guardian App yet? The App is a fabulous tool to view your itemised family statements (which include recorded absent days) and invoices, as well as manage your families contact details, authorised nominees etc. The App is free to download and available through the App store. If you need assistance with this, please ask. |
|
|
What's been happening at Little Bee ..... Howrah The month of May has seen many of our children here at Little Bee Howrah hone their "tradie" skills. The opportunity to develop many useful skills is presented when children interact with real tools and equipment. The ability to judge risk and manage situations that require judgement and problem solving, to name but two. Research affirms this and can be seen in the article called: “Where is the Risk? Why Children Should use Knives”, ‘How We Montessori’ This article says that: “Children need to learn new skills, real life skills. Once they are capable in one area they will have the confidence to work and excel in other areas. When they complete real work there is a powerful sense of accomplishment which can build the child's sense of self. Children also need to feel trusted, in turn they can begin to trust themselves and trust those around them. They then too begin to believe in themselves and see what they are truly capable of.” |
|
|
Airport Baby Bees As we continue through the month of May, we have offered the children more opportunities to learn, explore and investigate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. Using ochre for art and incorporating mud play for the children to investigate has given every child a greater opportunity to connect with the land. Ochre is a valuable and versatile cultural resource. It holds depth of meaning for Aboriginal people and is a physical representation of a spiritual connection. The contemporary use of ochre demonstrates the ongoing significance of ochre as a cultural resource. We have also been exploring the sandpit with natural items and materials, as we are hoping the children will start to parallel play alongside each other. Babies are natural investigators. Fueled by curiosity, they use their senses to learn about the world. With brains wired to notice and categorize details, babies want to see, hear, feel, and taste firsthand. Allison Gopnik (1998) refers to this as “lantern consciousness, a vivid panoramic illumination of what is everyday.” With this in mind, we plan for the future by having the natural materials on offer to the children.
“Natural materials; such as bark, feathers and leaves, can be used in a wide range of ways in playtime to promote wonder and curiosity while learning. As children explore and collect natural materials, they are able to actively investigate scientific concepts, while being imaginative and creative” (earlyyearscount.gov.au). Honey Bees In Honey Bee's this month we continue our journey exploring, investigating and furthering our knowledge on how to make colour through natural materials; as well as looking at the and the history of colour making. We used fruit and vegetables leftovers, dried flowers, and ochre to make paint. We used a mortar and pestle to crush the materials up and this became our paint! We also have been adventuring outside to the chickens and our veggie patch, exploring the surrounding gardens. We have been using the shovels to dig in the dirt and prepare our gardens to plant some more vegetables. We also have been able to sample some of our very own strawberries, straight from the garden. The children have participated in many artworks: rainbow sponge painting, cling wrap sensory artwork, and painting on cardboard. It has been a quiet month and we are missing some of our little friends in Honey Bees, we will see you all back soon! |
|
|
Bumble Bees In the Bumble Bee Room, we have had a very exciting month in May! We have had two new members join our team, welcoming two blue tongue lizards named Jedi and JJ (Jedi Jr)! Both the children and educators are very happy to have some new additions to our learning space. Having the Lizards in the room has many benefits; for example: interacting with animals can help children to work on their social skills, in a low pressure environment. In addition, spending time with animals can support children to develop a strong sense of empathy. Of course, understanding others’ feelings is a vital skill to learn. As we learn more about Jedi and JJ's habitat and feeding habits, we are developing a greater understanding of the world we live in. We have also been taking a deeper look into nature by taking daily trips to the garden to dig in our veggie patch and delighting in the new flavours of our produce; such as, parsley and oregano, strawberries, carrots and tomatoes. We are looking forward to more veggies being ready to taste and to also use in our cooking, as the seasons change. We have been learning about the differences in foods; both bush tucker and foods bought at the shops as we share books together. One of our favourite stories is called: “Mirrors”. It shows the comparison in the lives of a child from a North African village to that of a child living in Sydney, Australia. We see differences and similarities in both the cooking and preparation of food and also day to day living. We are very excited that some of our friends are coming back to Little Bee and we are looking forward to seeing more friends soon! We loved our "zoom meetings" and keeping in touch with our friends from afar during May. Busy Bees During the month of May we have had the opportunity to plant, care for and watch our herbs grow. We all chose if we would like to grow parsley or chives, and we loved getting our hands in the dirt, watching them develop, watering and taking the plants out into the sunlight. The plants inspired many conversations, from the feeling of the leaves and the dirt between our fingers to problem solving and expressing concern when the plants weren't thriving. We have continued with our storytelling through paint, using natural resources e.g. sticks and dry leaves as brushes. We used native animal figures to print animal tracks, the Kangaroo and Wombat were the most popular choices. We have had an wonderful time role-playing and building social connections through creating scenarios and characters with the "dress ups" that Katie has recently donated - thank-you Katie! With the end of the month we say good-bye to Autumn. We have been talking about the seasons and what differences we can see in the environment throughout the seasons. The children created some amazing art utilising dry leaves. We hope you will see your child's art work displayed in our room! Queen Bees What a productive and fun time we have been having this month in the Queen Bee room. We have been expanding our knowledge and understanding of cultural identity through creative expression. This has seen us add a reception and x ray area to our native animal rescue centre. The children’s interest in x rays have seen us explore the Aboriginal style of x ray painting. We looked at pictures and watched a video looking at this Aboriginal painting technique. We then discussed how we can create x ray paintings by drawing the outside body or outline of the Native animal and then draw its insides, the bones and organs that an x ray would reveal. We started on chalk boards with chalk and then black paper with white paint. The children have really embraced this Aboriginal style of painting and we even drew x ray pictures outside on the rocks. The children have also had the chance to experience some cooking. We have looked at the different styles and environments that we prepare food in from around the world, looking at the things different cultures eat. We cooked on an open fire, reflecting on our Aboriginal culture and how they would have prepared their food. Discussion on what they would have eaten and how they would hunt for their food. The children shared lots of their own stories on family camping trips and how they prepared their fire. We then used a barbecue again sparking the children's stories about their home cultures. The Aboriginal culture has shone during our experiences; as we looked at the preparation and preparing of food and the story telling the children have shared. Queen Bees have enjoyed sharing their day with the "zoom sessions" we have had twice a week. We have loved seeing and keeping in touch with our friends isolating at home. We have welcomed many of our friends back from their period of isolation and it is wonderful to have them with us again in the Queen Bee room. |
|
|
Child Care Subsidy Update Reminder The Government Early Childhood Education and Care relief package is for families to access free education and care until the 28th of June 2020. All families who were claiming child care subsidy prior to the 6th of April, 2020 should have received correspondence from Centrelink to update their income for the 2020/2021 financial year. Please ensure you do this as soon as you can, so your child care subsidy is not cancelled. We do not want to see families paying full fees from the 29th of June 2020, which could happen if you do not completed your income update in time, unfortunately Centrelink can take up to six weeks to process any changes you submit. |
|
|
Warm Clothes Please... The cold weather is here!! But, we still love to get outside! Please assist us by packing extra warm named clothes. Families are welcome to provide gumboots for the children to wear outside and slippers for inside if they would like, Thanks. Naming Belongings – Please remember to name your children’s clothes, drink bottles, lunch boxes (Howrah) and any other personal items. Family information trays – Please check your family information tray each week, we are often popping things in such as; centre correspondence, art work and small items which have been left behind. |
|
|
We have a duty of care to all our Little Bee children to ensure families are provided with current information regarding car seat safety. All children must be safely fastened in the correct child car seat for their age and size. A child who is properly secured in an approved child car seat is less likely to be injured or killed in a car crash than one who is not. Up to 6 months Approved rear facing child car seat. 6 months to 4 years Approved rear or forward facing child car seat. 4+ years Approved forward facing child car seat or booster seat. 145 cm or taller Suggested minimum height to use adult lap-sash seat belt. National child restraint laws: - Children up to the age of six months must be secured in an approved rearward facing restraint
- Children aged from six months old but under four years old must be secured in either a rear or forward facing approved child restraint with an inbuilt harness
- Children under four years old cannot travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows
- Children aged from four years old but under seven years old must be secured in a forward facing approved child restraint with an inbuilt harness or an approved booster seat
- Children aged from four years old but under seven years old cannot travel in the front seat of a vehicle with two or more rows, unless all other back seats are occupied by children younger than seven years in an approved child restraint or booster seat
- Children aged from seven years old to 16 years old must continue to use a correctly fitted care seat or seat belt depending on their size.
- Children in booster seats must be restrained by a suitable lap and sash type approved seatbelt that is properly adjusted and fastened, or by a suitable approved child safety harness that is properly adjusted and fastened.
- If your child is too small for the child restraint specified for their age, they should be kept in their current child restraint until it is safe for them to move to the next level.
If you don’t have your child in a correctly fitted car seat, it could cost you 3 demerit points and a $350 fine. Your car seat must meet the Australian Standards. This means it will have the AS/NZS 1754 code on the label. |
|
|
Kindergarten in 2021 Is your child off to school next year?? Is your child off to school next year?? If you have not made contact with your chosen kindergarten Most schools have already started the process. Time will tell if pre-kinder sessions will be open back up towards the end of the year, hopefully the COVID -19 crisis will be ended and these sessions will again be offered, as they are helpful in supporting children and families to get to know their child’s school for 2021 and begin to learn some of the exciting things Kindergarten offers. Once you have completed your enrolment forms, the school will then be able to contact you to advise you of their future plans for the running pre-kinder sessions. |
|
|
School Holidays are fast approaching It is almost the end of the second school term (Saturday the 4th of July). With the borders still closed, we are sadly unable to take a holiday outside of Tassie! If you are lucky enough to be heading away to somewhere within the apple isle during school holidays, please let us know. This assists us with rostering (and also meals at Little Bee Airport). Thank you. |
|
|
Seeking Feedback on our communication methods... We are seeking family feedback regarding our methods of communication and would like to find out what best suits the needs of our families. We hope to provide a quick and simple survey that shows your overall satisfaction with our communication of information and evaluate how consistent we are in meeting your service expectations! If you would not mind taking a few minutes of your time to fill in our survey that would be amazing! Please click on the 'Communication Google Form' link attached. Your comments are greatly valued and will assist us in improving the overall quality of our future service. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhp36mwftbHm9N0XI4COsHrilxybpHgYq9O3jo1HlYDCMRmA/viewform?usp=sf_link |
|
|
Fee Increases: Very shortly you will receive some information (via email through our KidsXap software) regarding a fee increase for our service from July 2020. New fees effective from Monday 6th July 2020: Little Bee Airport Baby, Honey and Bumble Bee Rooms - $107 per day Busy and Queen Bee Rooms - $105 per day Little Bee Howrah Children’s 2 – 3 years - $105 per day Children 3 – 5 years - $103 per day We are pleased to inform families our hourly rate still falls well under the Child Care Subsidy hourly rate cap of $11.98, which ensures families still receive the maximum Child Care subsidy for their assessed percentage. Therefore, if you receive Child Care Subsidy your fees will not increase the full $4 per day as some of this cost will be covered by the Government. For example if your child is in Queen Bees and you receive 55% subsidy we calculate your fee to increase by $1.91 per day or if your child is in Queen Bees and you receive 85% subsidy your fees will increase by 72 cents per day. If you would like to find out your exact increase please follow the links to the Child Care Subsidy calculator under the 'Fee info' tab on our website www.littlebee.net.au. As always we thank you for your support, please contact Emily on 62485994 if you have any further questions. |
|
|
Information for review We are currently reviewing the following policies and/or procedures: 2.27 - Risk and Adventure 3.1- Plants and Vegetation 3.2- Potentially Dangerous Products 3.3– Environmental sustainability and recycling 4.1 – Staffing and continuity of care 4.2 - Staff with their own children in care 4.3 – Induction 4.4 — Recruitment If you would like to have input reviewing these documents, it would be greatly appreciated, just let us know and we will forward copies to you. Please compose any suggestions you would like to make and place them, either in the suggestions box (at reception) or via email to: littlebee@littlebee.net.au Information for families These are the links we are promoting this month: Other readings can be found on the internet from recognised sites such as: www.kidsafe.com.au, www.rch.org.au, www.acecqa.gov.au, www.deewr.gov.au and www.kidswithasthma.com.au, www.healthinsite.gov.au Opportunities for Family Involvement Our next professional learning session will be held on Tuesday 27th June, online from home. The educators will watch an online presentation, facilitated by Jessica Staines called: 'Embedding Aboriginal perspectives in Early Childhood Curriculum' if you are interested in also logging in, please let us know. All families are invited to join our Family and Friends Committee, your ideas and opinions are greatly valued and appreciated. Families are also welcome to participate daily in Workplace health and safety checks and/or compliance reviews. Please see Emily if you are interested. |
|
|
We acknowledge and pay respect to the Elders past, present and future, the Traditional Custodians of Lutruwita (Tasmania) and pay homage to the traditional owners of the land our centres stand on, the Moomairemener people. |
|
|
* This email is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above and may contain information that is confidential and privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please immediately notify Little Bee by email or phoning (03) 62485994 and delete this original message. |
|
|
|
|