Welcome back for a very fun and busy Term 2.

Over the holidays we had a very productive

working bee and the sandpit is now topped up, hedges

trimmed and the playground is in tip-top condition.

Thank you very much to the committee members who attended and also to Vincent Fu,

Richard Foster, Lucia Liu and Mike Yeo for their hard work and enthusiasm.

Our Open Day will be held on Sunday 20th May from 10am – 1pm. This is a fantastic

opportunity for prospective families to come and see how wonderful our kinder is. Please

spread the word. If you know families that may be interested in enrolling their children at

Eastmont in the coming years there are some flyers in the foyer for you to hand out.

The Kids Movie Night is the most exciting evening of the kinder social calendar! Make

sure you keep Friday 16th June free. More details will be posted around the kinder soon.

Please note that the kinder will be closed all day on Friday 26th May as the staff will

be attending a conference. We value the ongoing professional development of our staff. This

will only affect the 4 year old long day group (Possums). Please make sure you have made

alternative arrangements for this day.

Melissa Crozier

President

On behalf of Eastmont Pre-School Association Inc.

April 2017 Newsletter

President’s

Report

2

3-Year Old Report

On Tuesday the children returned to kindergarten very happy to be back,

we have heard from many of the children the fun activities that they have been

involved with in the term break. The beach, camping, going to the park and to

friends’ houses for play dates and it seems like many saw the movie “Boss Baby”.

We only had a couple of tears from children as they separated from their parent,

and they then settled into an activity and enjoyed the rest of the session.

The children still need to wear their sunhats in outdoor play until the end

of April, as the weather gets colder, please send a coat with your child as we

play outside in all weather, except of course rain and storms. We are very lucky

at Eastmont to have wonderful floor heating in our playroom which is very

effective, when the weather cools down this will be switched on and you will

notice how warm the room gets, please dress children with layers they can take

off if they become too hot. Sue and I will ensure that the children wear their coat

outdoors when it is cold.

The children are now using placemats at snack time. These placemats

have their photo and name printed on them with stickers as decoration. Using

these gives the children opportunities to sit and socialize with all of the children

within the groups. At the end of the year the children are able to take them

home to use or keep.

Thank you to all the parents involved in the working bee during the term

break, it was great to come back to an extremely tidy playground with wonderful

new sand, which I can tell you has already been a big hit, now to try and keep it

at kindergarten and not going home in your children’s shoes, clothes and

pockets!!

- Marie O’Brien

3

4-Year Old Report

All the children were very happy to be back at kinder and enjoyed

telling us about what they did in the holidays. This term and next we will

be commencing sessions indoors.

In the last week of term Rookeepers visited and brought lots of

Australian native animals. The children were able to touch and pat snakes,

a squirrel glider, lizards, a wallaby and Winter the dingo.

At the end of term 1 the children were busy making Easter Bunny

masks, painting Easter egg shapes etc. This week the children are using

textured stamps with paint to create shapes and colourful patterns. The

children are also enjoying the sensory experiences of playing with ‘slime’

and the lovely new sand. We have begun learning some longer songs and

dances with a partner, including Knees Up Mother Brown

Thank you to Lynette for making all of the fitted sheets for the

mattresses for the Possums. Thank you also to the Committee and all of the

working bee participants for filling up the sand pit with lovely fresh white

sand and tidying up the outdoor area in preparation for the start of term 2.

Hats must be worn by the children for outdoor play until the end of

April. As the weather becomes cooler please ensure that your child brings

a coat or warm jacket.

If you would like to discuss your child’s progress at kinder or have

any concerns, please do not hesitate to ring me on 9874 4044 for a quick

chat or to arrange a time for us to meet.

Please return Shutterbugs photo orders to kinder by Wednesday

26th April.

- Sonya Skok

4

At Eastmont Pre-School we offer a play-based, child centred-curriculum

that is guided by the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development

Framework and the Early Years Learning Framework. We aim to create a

warm, caring, inclusive environment where children of all abilities feel

relaxed, supported and happy and are able to explore, discover, imagine and

create.

We promote respect and care for other children, adults and all living

creatures as well as an appreciation of nature and respect for the

environment.

We respect individual differences and foster an environment in which

each child and educator is supported and valued for the unique

strengths and interests that they bring to the group.

We provide opportunities that encourage and develop, self-esteem, a

positive self-image and communication and independence skills.

We recognise that families are a child’s first and most important

educators and seek to work in collaborative partnerships with them to

ensure the best outcome for all children. We welcome and encourage

family involvement in all aspects of our service.

We value cultural diversity and acknowledge that Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander people are the traditional owners of the land and

the original inhabitants of Australia.

We recognise that Eastmont Pre-School is part of our local community

and value opportunities to contribute to that community.

We continually strive to improve the quality of our service.

5

2017 Management Committee

Director Sonya Skok eastmont.kin@kindergarten.vic.gov.au

President Melissa Crozier president@eastmont.org.au

Vice President Lisa Chen vicepresident@eastmont.org.au

Treasurer Ellen Zhu treasurer@eastmont.org.au

Secretary Michelle Holmes secretary@eastmont.org.au

Minutes Secretary Natalie Bryant minutessecretary@eastmont.org.au

Enrolment Officer –

3 Year Olds Penny O’Donnell enrolment3yo@eastmont.org.au

Enrolment Officer –

4 Year Olds Cassie Morris enrolment4yo@eastmont.org.au

Grants/Policy/OH&S Amanda Hunt grantspolicyohs@eastmont.org.au

Projects/Maintenance Ash Holmes projects@eastmont.org.au

Communications Officer Flora Luo communications@eastmont.org.au

Administrative Officer Lynette Ellis admin@eastmont.org.au

Social Fundraising

Coordinator Deborah Vukic fundraising@eastmont.org.au

Our Teachers

Sonya Skok Teacher, 4 year old

Helen Butcher Assistant, 4 year old & Teacher, Toddler Pre school

Moira Doolan Assistant, 4 year old

Marie O’Brien Teacher, 3 year old

Sue Eddy Assistant, 3 year old

6

15th - 18th May

Picture Plates Open Day

20th May

Something to add? Email

communications@eastmont.org.au

Kids Movie Night

16th June

7

Allergy Alert

There are children attending Eastmont Pre-School this year, in the 3 and 4

year old groups, that suffer from life threatening allergies to peanuts and

cashew nuts. Even trace amounts of these can cause a reaction.

Regulations require that we bring this to the attention of the kindergarten community

and ask that all children in all groups;

Do not bring

PEANUT BUTTER or any food containing

PEANUTS or CASHEW NUTS to kinder.

Chocolate and other food that states “may contain traces of nuts” is acceptable.

To minimise the transfer of allergens from home please ensure your child washes

their hands at home before they come to kinder.

If any of our Eastmont families have somebody employed in an organisation that offers

community grants through staff members, you could help us secure valuable funding

for the kinder! We know of the following companies that offer grants for staff with an

interest in community organisations:

- Telstra - RACV - NAB - ANZ

- CommBank - Suncorp - Bendigo Bank

If you work for one of these companies, or any other with a corporate grants and

sponsorships program, please let us know at grantspolicyohs@eastmont.org.au

8

2017 Kinder Vacancies

We have a few more vacancies in toddler pre-school program for 2017.

Please pass on the message to your friends and neighbours.

For Toddler Pre-School enrolment enquiries please contact: enquiries@eastmont.org.au

For 3 Year Old enrolment enquiries please contact: enrolment3yo@eastmont.org.au

For 4 Year Old enrolment enquiries please contact: enrolment4yo@eastmont.org.au

Aqualink

Attune

Beauty In 7th Heaven

Bounce Inc

Brakes Plus

Bunnings

Captains Choice Fish n

Chips

Caribbean Gardens

Chic Little Shed

Coach & Horses

Dance Fitness

Dan Murphys

Eclipse Fitness

Fernwood Fitness

Fitness Worx

Flake Haven

Fruition Tuition

Fudge

Genesis

Good Scents

Howards Storage

J.D Portrait

Just swimming

Nunawading

Leaping Lizards

Light Space Yoga

Lollipops

Lou- Na Dance school

Maroondah Leisure

Melbourne Museum

Michael Sukkar MP

Mondelez

Morack Golf Course

Neil Angus MP

Pancake Parlour

Payom Thai

PharmaSave

PJs Mexican Kitchen

Puffing Billy

Rise N Grind

Shelly's Hairworks

Skin Face Body

The Enchanted Maze

Top Taps Dance School

Two Brothers

Vermont Thai

Vermont Florist