Term 3 Week 5

REMINDER::  The kids' safety is our number one priority. Each term we practice emergency drills in the morning and afternoon sessions. This term's drills will be in week 6. You'll receive emails notifying you of when they'll be and asking the you avoid drop off and particularly pick-up, during that window if at all possible. This allows all children and staff to focus fully on becoming familiar with the emergency process.

CLUB NEWS:: 
Another monumental Skate School session - it's full every week and the kids are having the best time!  We're seeing them get more resilient too: learning to get up, dust off and carry on!
Baking Club made the cutest hedgehog bread this week (or should that be echidna rolls...?!). Week 6 is going to be chocolate cake - yum!!
We've seen some super helpful Kindys, who made sure all the clearing up was done after their club finished - kudos!
Shout out to our Just Dance DJs who love helping the Educators with playlists and keeping those Hive bodies moving every day.
On that note: Billy's new Fitness Club saw groups of kids jogging around school, doing press-ups and generally looking pretty much ready for Australian Ninja warrior!!

Term 3 Week 4

CLUB NEWS::

• Our Yr1 kids are SO excited to be a part of SKATE SCHOOL - all the kids are listening really well and learning new skills each week.
• In SENIORS' KITCHEN the kids helped to BBQ their own snack (lots of fun and big appetites!). In BAKING CLUB our younger chefs loved making fairy biscuits this week in and they all loved Britt's lovely homemade soup with baguette on Wednesday.
• We've bought a huge new silk parachute - we're having a ball on the front grass making shapes and creating fun physical games, hiding and bouncing!
• We have a big group of enthusiastic Kindy kids in SCIENCE CLUB every Monday. This week they loved creating marble mazes, using recycled cereal boxes and maths skills! 
• We'll continue to offer a wide range of recycling-themed activities using resources developed to enable learning and also teaching the importance of RECYCLING for a greener future. Please drop your old cereal boxes, cans or plastic bottles to the Hive room and we will use our imagination and create something fabulous! Thank you.

PARENT REMINDERS::
We'll run our termly EMERGENCY DRILLS in Week 5 - email to follow. Thanks in advance for not collecting your children during the drill window.
Thanks for notifying us when your child is ABSENT from a booked session - our daily list of 'missing' kids is getting smaller, and we're very grateful for your cooperation!

Term 3 Week 3

THANK YOUS::
We hope you all enjoyed the fabulous Education Week extravaganza put on by school on Wednesday evening! Thanks for bearing with us and the changed gate access arrangements on the day. We learned a few ways that we can make things smoother for next time around.

Thanks to the kids for all for their suggestions in the Super Suggestion Box! Please keep them coming. We do read them, discuss them at staff meetings and wherever possible act on them. Recently we had requests for more AFL balls (which we bought), more slime activities (which we've programmed in) and more baking club (which we've extended to Kindys and expanded to Seniors' Kitchen now too!)

CLUB NEWS::
Skate School on Thursday afternoon is going strong! The kids are having the best time, and Skater HQ are helping us learn lots of new techniques and fun ways to get the most fro our wheels!
Sports clubs were netball, hockey, basketball and soccer this week - what energetic little bees! Our creative activities were themed around stories such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Little Red Hen whilst the Seniors got bust with scratch art and sand jar designs. 

PARENT REMINDERS::

• Please remember to bring your log-in code and password with you to The Hive. You'll need it to sign your child in/out at the touchscreen
• A reminder that the centre closes at 6pm. This means you need to be signed out before then. Late sign-outs incur a penalty of $15 per 15min block. If you're unavoidably going to be still on the grounds beyond 6pm (e.g. using the bathroom or unlocking a bike), please alert staff so that you don't get locked in!

Term 3 Week 2

CLUB NEWS::
The kids loved our first Skate School session on Thursday afternoon, with experts from Skater HQ on hand to take them through their paces - on scooters this week. We know some of the Year 1 kids were also keen to take part. Bear with us whilst we work out numbers and interest...  
Have you seen the fabulous paddle pop framed portraits that the kids have been making? We have some wonderful subjects and talented creators at The Hive!

PARENT REMINDERS::

• Please remind your children that they must not go into out of bounds areas, for their own safety. Climbing trees, the areas to the side and back of the hall, the car parks on both sides, upstairs rooms at school - these area are all out of bounds unless there's a specific activity which takes us there.
• Please remember to let us know if your child is going to miss a session. You can email us and school at the same time, but remember, telling school does not mean that The Hive has been informed - you must please tell us both.

STAFF NEWS::
Kathy has now moved up to the senior team in a Supervisor role. With The Hive since 2016, Kathy is a warm and committed Educator with several years of primary-age experience from her native Chile and here at The Hive. Congratulations Kathy!

Term 3 Week 1

Welcome back everyone! We had a wonderful Holiday Program and are excited to be back for Term 3.

STAFF NEWS::
Pato and Javi welcomed their daughter Clara over the holidays. Congratulations guys, we wish you well for this exciting new chapter in all your lives.
We also congratulate Edie on moving up into her new role as Child & Family Liaison lead. Edie is here to help with any questions or problems. She's also there to listen if you have input that will help us better care for your children. You can find Edie at The Hive every afternoon and you can reach her on edie@thehivebondi.com.au

CLUB NEWS::
We're excited to announce the launch of our WHEELS CLUB, which kicks off in Week 2. Each Thursday we have an external supplier coming in to run an hour of wheely good fun (!) for the kids in Years 2-6, from 4-5pm. They'll bring in-line skates, scooters, skateboards and all the necessary safety equipment. Kids can also bring their own wheels.
BAKING CLUB is back, and bigger than ever. Seniors have Monday afternoons. Tue, Wed & Thu afternoons rotate between Kindy (1 afternoon) and Yrs 1&2 (two afternoons). At the Seniors' request - Friday afternoons will now offer Seniors' Kitchen, with the activity aimed more at preparing savoury dishes, and the development of the real life skills needed to make food for yourself. The Seniors will have the chance to choose the recipes themselves, allowing us to buy in the ingredients and help them make some of their favourite dishes!

Term 2 Week 10

Happy end of term everyone!
And already, we're excited about the HOLIDAY PROGRAM...!!

• Please remember to sign the online permissions form for all excursions, before the day itself. Click here for the Junior and Senior forms.
• DON'T BE LATE on excursion days. The coach can't wait for latecomers.
• A reminder that we are a NUT-FREE centre - please don't send anything with nuts in it.
• We provide afternoon tea and a late fruit platter. You should send in recess and packed lunch.

We look forward to seeing you over the next 11 weekdays, before school returns on Tuesday 24th July.  Happy Holidays y'all!

Term 2 Week 9

With Week 10 about to start, it's almost the end of term and we're nearly half way through the year!

HOLIDAY PROGRAM::
Holiday Program is booking up fast, so don't delay! Log on to make your bookings and remember to complete the permissions forms for all excursions.

ATHLETICS CARNIVAL::
Good luck to everyone with the Athletics Carnival on Wednesday! Have a great day out.  Remember - if the carnival means your child won't be attending their booked Wednesday afternoon session, you MUST let us know in advance. Log on and mark the session as 'away'. You have until 12pm Tuesday to do this. Thank you.

Term 2 Week 8

HOLIDAY PROGRAM:: Bookings are open and filling up fast. Book now to avoid missing out!

NEW CHILDCARE PACKAGE:: A reminder that, in order to continue to qualify for childcare benefits, you must transfer to the new Childcare Package before 2nd July. You can find details and links here. A final email reminder was sent to all parents on Sunday 24th June.

CLUB NEWS:: We're all so busy at The Hive and we're glad for some dry weather again this week. Sports clubs are super popular - basketball and hockey were the favourites this week. Our creative bees got busy making pasta mandalas and unicorn cards!  Please remember to take home your artwork from the shelf outside the Hive room.

SUGGESTIONS BOX:: Please keep them coming - we love hearing your ideas and working out what we can weave into our service to you.

Term 2 Week 7

HOLIDAY PROGRAM:: Calendars are now available on the website, to help with your planning. Bookings will open during Week 8. Come and join us for some winter holiday fun...!

STAFF:: The lovely Lenka and Jara are away for a few weeks on a well-earned break in Czech Republic. In their absence, Josefina is running the morning sessions and Billy is in charge in the afternoons.
This week we said a fond farewell to the wonderful Javiera. She leaves us to prepare for the arrival of her and Pato's first baby, a little girl due in July. We'll miss you Javi, and look forward to hearing your news in the coming weeks!

THE GATE BUZZER:: We know it can be temperamental and you sometimes have to wait a few minutes, but we do our best to buzz you in as soon as we can. Please remember that--for the safety of our children--parents and kids are not permitted to buzz open the gate using the Hive room intercom.  Please leave this to the staff - thank you.

CAR PARK GATE:: A reminder from The Hive and from school that the car park gate should never be used by pedestrians. This is clearly indicated on the signs on the gate, and is in place for the safety of everyone: children, parents and drivers. Please don't use this gate as a shortcut to The Hive - thank you.

Term 2 Week 6

LOCK DOWN DRILL:: Thanks to all parents who cooperated by not collecting during our lock-down drill. We had to run through it twice with our older children, to be sure they understood the seriousness of the exercise. Please support us at home by reminding them that these termly drills are important.

WEATHER:: What a wet week! We do have some spare clothes but ideally the kids need to wear raincoats if they want to play in the rain.  If you've seen any of our spare clothes come home with your child, please wash and return - thank you.

CLUBS::  Our mini-chefs made Brazilian cheese bread this week - super tasty!
In Art & Craft we used cotton wool, paper plates and paper to make various creations inspired by nature.  Our Seniors got busy with Mareike learning how to hand crochet - such a cool activity!
Our Explore & Discover kids expanded on the current craze for paper planes by building more complex planes using straws and cardboard. 
A whole range of sports again this week, with special mention for Julio and his Volleyball Club!

HOLIDAY PROGRAM:: Will be published in Week 8 of term. Watch this space...