Newman News Term 3 Week 2: From the Leader of Wellbeing Early Childhood
The National Quality Standards is an Australian wide initiative (governed by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority – ACECQA) that focuses on the delivery of quality Early Childhood education in all Australian settings. It strives to achieve this by examining Early Childhood practices across seven quality areas. Quality Area 6 examines ‘Collaborative Partnerships with Families and Communities’ and seeks to articulate the importance of the three-way partnership that exists in a child’s journey through school.
Collaborative partnerships between schools and families are fundamental to achieving quality outcomes for children. When parents and teachers come together in positive partnership, it results in the best outcomes for our students. These partnerships place children’s development across social, emotional and cognitive domains at the forefront. On our Early Childhood Campus, throughout the journey, families remain our closest partners in this process.
Parent Teacher Interviews
I extend my gratitude to all staff and parents who took part in the Parent Teacher Interviews on the first day back. These interviews are a way of maintaining a positive and collaborative relationship between home and school. They also provide families with the opportunity to celebrate their child’s strengths and reflect on their child’s learning journey thus far.
Developing Early Literacy Skills
Oral language is an essential skill in Early Childhood literacy development and assists with successful reading and writing. Here are some activities you can engage in with your child to promote their oral language skills:
- Play ‘I-Spy” with your child. Focus on the initial sound “I-spy with my little eye, something that starts with the sound /c/’. Be sure to make the sound, not the letter name.
- Develop children’s semantic awareness. When driving in the car or sitting at a café, choose a theme (such as the farm, supermarket, zoo, kitchen etc.) and go around in a circle naming objects / items that can be found within that category. For older children, you can follow the alphabet as a prompt. Eg. Zoo: A – Alligator, B – Baboon, C – Cheetahs, D – Dingoes…)
- Use an extensive vocabulary when talking with your child. Pause to explain the meaning of a word that they may not have been exposed to before.
- Ask your child about words that rhyme. Eg. What words rhyme with (sound like) car?
- After reading to your child, ask them questions such as “What was that story about?” or “Did you like that character? Why?”
- Ask your child about something they enjoyed at school that week? Why did they enjoy it?
- Ask your child about the future… What are they going to do tomorrow? Or on the weekend? What do they need to do before they go to bed?
Marian STEM Festival
Marcellin Award
Congratulations Layla Bornmann Year 2 who has been recognised with a Marcellin Award for her example in being proactive by encouraging her peers to take pride in the cleanliness of the Marian Campus.
The Marcellin Award at Marian Campus is drawn from submitted nominations each Wednesday morning at Prayer Assembly.
