Happy Birthday January, February & March 2016

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

With from all your friends at Minischool

 

 

 

Minischool Vacation Care January 2016

Minischool Vacation Care ~ January 2016

These January holidays, we returned back to Minischool vacation care early on the 4th due to popular demand.

The past few weeks have been filled with picnics, races, painting, making movies and dances, dressing up, building, creating, fun and games and a few crazy times. Welcome back to all of our vacation care children and welcome to some new faces here on holiday and newly arrived on island.

 

At the same time as vacation care, we were very fortunate to be able to run 2 weeks of ballet and jazz dance classes for 3-13 year olds.

Visiting ballerinas Abbey and Lara Wilkinson had been working with their own teachers at Noosa Performing arts factory to choreograph and teach the younger set.

30+ children were signed up for the dancers who learned amazing strength, exercises and skills during the fortnight. We learned that dancing can be fun to dress up and move to music but also so much more.

There was a fantastic comradery formed between the classes as Abbey choreographed and taught  an incredible 6 classes and 6 dance pieces over the space of 2 weeks. These new found skills were displayed to a packed uniting church hall full of siblings, parents, grandparents, friends and neighbours.

It was an amazing effort showcasing a need for more creative arts classes on Norfolk Island.

Minischool Director and coordinator of the dance classes explained to the parents during the concert that we are very fortunate to sample many activities on Norfolk Island, but sporting team events and clubs can be a constant in the children’s lives here yet creative arts are fewer and further apart in time frames and choices than sporting choices. Abbey explained that the strength taught in Ballet is the basis for all types of skills, not just dance.

The program of the dance concert was as follows.

3+ Ballet~ Frozen classical piece

6+ Ballet ~ Beethoven 5 secrets

9+ Ballet~ Skrillex music

Contemporary Ballet solo by Lara Wilkinson

3+ Jazz group ~ Uptown Funk

6+ Jazz group~ Afro Circus

9+ Jazz group~ The nights

Contemporary Ballet solo to ‘Lost boy’ by Abbey Wilkinson

We hope to bring Abbey and Lara back for more summer workshops next year.

In the meantime, for anyone wanting ballet classes to continue throughout the year, please register your interest with Teresa Langusch on 57986

Can all 2016 preschool enrolment forms please be returned to determine your places, first in first served for the days of your choice.

The Preschool graduation afternoon tea party will be held at Minischool 4pm Wednesday 27^th of January. This will be followed by one of our favourite final events, the teacher/ student dinner out.

We farewell our 2014/2015 (even two from 2013) pre-schoolers and wish them all the very best as they transition to kindergarten. We know you are all ready and can’t wait to see you in uniform and when you pop back and see us.

what do we want to be when we grow up?

During our careers theme week, we talked about what we want to be when we grow up and what jobs we would love to do.

 

Anzac Day 2015 ~ Centenary since Galipolli

 

Norfolk Island.
An amazing place with a unique heritage.
As you can see from this post below on N.I  museums website, Norfolk Island has the highest number of participants per capita in the whole British Empire during world war one.

We are all for teaching about our own community, our own &world history plus respect, so rather than just make some crafts to symbolise this event, Minischoolers and the teachers headed to the Norfolk Island R.S.L sub branch to look at the displays there and to perform some old time songs for the seniors at the White Oaks club on Thursday 23rd April. Just 2 days before ANZAC DAY.



The 2 Bonni's

Seeing his Grandparents who run the RSL bistro was a treat.

Outside the Norfolk Island RSL sub branch's upgraded memorial

The songs chosen were upbeat songs such as 'my bonnie lies over the ocean' and a 'sailor went to sea sea sea' and 'my body makes music'. During a friendship song called Golden ships and silver ships, the children handed out gifts of packaged Anzac biscuits we had made earlier in the week plus a threaded poppy the children helped to make themselves.

*See recipe for Minischool's Anzac Biscuits below

We are pleased that this relationship with the White Oaks and RSL club will be an ongoing one as the children have been requested to return each month to enjoy a morning tea with the 'oldies'.
There is no better way to foster respect within our community than to actually get out within the community and meet the diverse range of people within it.

MINISCHOOL ANZAC BISCUITS

1 cup of uncooked rolled oats

1 cup of plain flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4-1/2 cup of desiccated coconut

125g butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons boiling water

METHOD:

Blend oats, flour, sugar and coconut. Melt butter and syrup over low heat. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and add to butter mixture. Stir this into dry ingredients. Mix

Drop full tablespoons of mixture onto greased tray, allow room for spreading.

Bake at 150 degrees Celsius for approx. 15 minutes or until golden brown (or until the children start drooling & telling you how hungry they are because it smells so good!).

Makes approx. 30 biscuits. 



Of course there were still plenty of Anzac inspired crafts that the children made all by themselves.
There was songs and some very special stories.... Our favourites from the school library were 'Lone Pine' and 'Don't forget Australia'.

 

And on Anzac day this was the amazing view after the dawn service.

 

And at the 10:30 ANZAC day service, Jasper placed the wreath the children made on behalf of the Minischoolers.

 

 

Bless those who fought for us on the battlefields and for those who kept the home front fires burning.
Lest we forget.
We nawa gwen forget dem.