Campbell House News
Special Request for Dog Owners
Parents are respectfully advised that dogs are not to be brought onto School grounds at any time.
We have many students who suffer sever allergies and reactions to dogs (fur/saliva).
Whilst we understand that walking the family dog to School is an ideal activity, please ensure they are not brought anywhere into the School grounds.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Connecting with Community to Extend our Learning
Our Early Learning programs are supplemented by opportunities for the children to participate in incursions and excursions. Throughout the year a selection of experiences are planned both within the ELC and out in the wider community. There are times when we invite an expert to come in to the centre to implement a workshop with the children where they share their knowledge or resources. This may be a music or drama experience, a workshop on reptiles or Australian animals, or a creative opportunity. There are also times when the children venture outside of the ELC on an excursion to engage in rich, hands-on learning in the wider community. All of these opportunities are carefully designed to connect with and support the children’s current learning and inquiries.
The children in Wattle and Banksia Rooms are currently preparing for an upcoming excursion to the Botanic Gardens. This will be their first excursion for the year. During this experience, the children will explore the transition between seasons, from autumn to winter. They will observe the changes to the trees and plants in the gardens and document this through drawing. They will use their senses to explore the natural surroundings by listening to the sounds of the movement and fauna in the gardens, feeling the textures of various leaves, bark and other natural materials, and enjoying the smells of the leaves, plants and grasses as they wander through the gardens.
In the coming weeks, our youngest learners in Waratah and Blue Gum Room, will participate in their first incursion for the year. An Educator from ‘The Sage Garden’ will come into the ELC to present a workshop titled ‘The Edible Seed’. During the workshop, the children will learn about seeds, plants and growth. Aspects of sustainability will also explored. As part of this experience, the children will plant their own broad beans in the vegetable garden at the ELC that they will care for and nurture. The children will then have the opportunity to observe and document the growth of their seeds.
Such experiences provide incredibly rich opportunities to extend the children’s learning, connect with experts and engage with the local community. They expose the children to a range of new and different experiences and help them to make sense of the world in which they live.
Ms Sarah Bethune
ELC Coordinator
Autumnal Curiosities
“The leaves turn red. The sky turns a little bit colder. The wind blows the leaves away off the trees”
Heidi, Wattle Room learner
Recently, the Wattle Room children were invited to paint with autumnal coloured dyes as an avenue to observe and consider the changes in nature. As a group, the children and their teachers continue to discuss what items from nature have been found outside during play-based experiences.
In this way, the The ‘Zoomy Handheld Digital Microscope’, a newly introduced piece of technology, was used to explore natural items of high interest. The resource took the children’s inquiry to a new level as they held the scope over an autumn leaf, turned the top to focus, then pressed the control button to capture still images up to x43 magnification. This tool supported the children as they recorded their observations and investigations through the language of visual art.
In this way, children are directing their own learning by connecting with people, places, technologies and natural materials. An excursion to the Royal Botanic Gardens has been proposed in order to further extend the children’s understanding and exploration. Children from both the Banksia and Wattle Room classes are invited to collaborate whilst observing the transition from autumn to winter.
