Dear Choklits Families,
November was full of highlights including some crazy weather. The start of December signals the festive season and all the rooms are busy creating and decorating. And, we have heard that Santa will soon be on his way!
We had Leigh’s farmyard friends come for a visit with farmer Kevin, always a highlight of the year, with each room spending time with the animals feeding, patting and cuddling them. We had a day off for Melbourne Cup day, which was nice to have a break during the week. The children enjoyed some great days of water play this month with even the staff getting all wet to keep cool too!!
In the last couple of weeks, we have conducted a fire drill and a lockdown here a Choklits. Windows and doors were closed, everything was turned off, emergency bags were grabbed and both staff and children went through the procedures in a calm and professional manner.
It’s a very busy time of year now until Christmas at Choklits. I want to remind parents to hold their children’s hands in the car park when you arrive and leave the centre. The car park can be a busy place and as we all know, cars and children don’t mix. Remember, after you sign your child out at the end of the day you are responsible for them until they leave the centre.
If your child has had their immunisations recently please provide us the history immunisation statement from the Australian immunisation register or through Medicare of MyGov. We can no longer use the maternal health books as evidence of your child’s immunisation.
We love and encourage all our families to provide new and interesting ideas to the centre’s programming. This can be in the form of photo’s, information about what you have done on the weekends, family celebrations, visit to attractions or general information on a topic your child is interested in.
Sadly, at the end of the year, some of our Kindergarten children leave us to go onto primary school. It never gets any easier saying goodbye but we wish them all the best with their journey and hope they will come back to visit us in their new school uniforms.
Christmas is a bumper time for family-friendly events and activities! To find some of the best on what’s on in Australia this Christmas, head to www.kidspot.com.au for some good ideas.
Please remember that fees and final accounts need to be up to date by the end of the year or the last day your child attends. Don’t forget to look out for further information on our new website, Facebook, throughout the centre and via email.
Enjoy the festive season, until next time,
Sue.
Important Changes to Child Care Subsidy 2018
The Australian government is introducing a new child care package from July 2nd 2018. The existing Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate will be replaced by a new Child Care Subsidy. Under the new package, the amount of subsidy paid by the government to help cover a family’s child care fees will change for many people. It is important to know about the changes now, so you can make informed decisions about your future. The easiest way to work out how much subsidy you are eligible for is through the “Family Child Care Subsidy Estimator” located at www.education.gov.au/childcare. It’s easy to use and only takes a few minutes to fill out.
Staff Member Acknowledgement
This month we would like to acknowledge Jodi McVea our wonderful Nursery Room Leader and Educational Leader. Jodi, over the last 18 months, has been busily extending her studies and has successfully completed her Diploma in Early Childhood Education. This is a wonderful achievement to have been able to complete while working full time work and taking care of 4 children of her own. We are very proud of Jodi, congratulations and thank you for your continued dedication and all of your great work!
Choklits Christmas Party
Choklits is really excited to once again host our wonderful Christmas Party and BBQ for all our families to enjoy. The children are busy preparing a wonderful show for you all. The concert will be held on Wednesday, The 13th of December from 4pm to 6pm.
This year we will be drawing a raffle with some wonderful prizes these will be displayed in the foyer along with the ticket book this week.
You are free to purchase, as many tickets as you like and these are available for purchase in the paint room in the centre and all proceeds will go to the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal.
Individual tickets $2.50
5 tickets for $10
10 tickets for $20
Good Luck!!!
2018 Room Changes and Transitions
From 8th of January 2018 your child will be commencing in their new classroom. Depending on their age group this my mean no change of room for your child. Between the week of the 27th of December and the 5th of January, the educators will be making some changes to the rooms and setting these up for the beginning of the year.
We will email all families on the week of the 18th of December informing them of their child’s room for 2018.
Choklits Photographer
All photo orders will be available for collection from your child’s room from the 19th of December 2017.Cooking with Choklits
Have you seen our new menu? Please visit our Choklits blog for all recipes and menus. If you have any delicious recipes you would like us to know about please email them to us.
Policy Review and Staff Training
We review different policies and procedures at Choklits every month. All of our policies and procedures are available for your review in the foyer of the centre and our educators are here to help with any questions. This month we have been reviewing our Child Protection Policy. If you would like to have input into any of our policies please email Sue.
Keep Up-to-Date
Please give our Facebook Page a like. It’s a great way to keep up to date with all the latest happenings at Choklits including events, recipes and special incursions.
Parent Feedback and Input
We welcome any feedback from our families, if you would like to have a chat please come and see us in the office or send any questions or concerns to us via email.
Our Centres
(03) 9879 5888