2022 - Autumn Holiday Program

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✅ Update on waitlists ✅

We are making gradual progress through the waitlists, and we continue to recruit more great staff to our Hive team. The employment market is still incredibly flat, and even agency staff are hard to come by.

We’re just as motivated as you, to get rid of the waitlists and return a position where we’re able to accept casual bookings. In the meantime, we appreciate your patience and understanding…

Last term we welcomed Alfie, Nate, Lauren, Anna and Alfie - but we still need more! If you know anyone who’d fit the bill - please ask them to contact Ellie on ellie@thehvebondi.com.au

🏖️ Autumn Holiday Program wrap up! 🏖️

Well done to the team for delivering an awesome Autumn Holiday Program; the first one for a long time not significantly impacted by Covid… (although we still had the weather to contend with…)

Check out the pics below!

2022 Term 1 Wk 9-10

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👋 HIVE TEAM UPDATE… 👋

Our recruitment drive continues, and we now welcome NATE onto the team! We’re also very happy to welcome Sydney back from her 5 week visit to family in Canada.

We’re still looking for more staff, so if you hear of anyone who’d fit the bill please ask them to email Ellie with their CV!

Sadly, we bid farewell last week to the lovely Seth, who’d been with us for almost 4 years. Seth leaves us to pursue a post-uni career in film and music. Good luck Seth - we’ll miss you!

And last but definitely not least: we’ve got some hatching chicks arriving next week! They’ll be incubating with us for a couple of weeks, so watch this space for more news! The kids are gonna love them… 🐣 🐤 🐥

💡 PARENT REMINDERS 🤔

The weather is (STILL!) unpredictable and late afternoons can sometimes feel cooler. Please remember to pack school hats and warm layers for the kids, and put their names inside!

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM - few spots left! 🏖️

Bookings opened last week, and they’re going fast! Check out the calendars here! If you’re unable to book, please email us to join the waitlist. Please read the Ts&Cs around cancellation deadlines.

  • LITTLE BEES is for Kindys & Y1 only

  • BIG BEES is for Y2-6

Incorrect bookings are cancelled which means you may end up missing out - so please pay attention when booking. Thank you!

💲💲 BASC VOUCHER SCHEME 💲💲

We emailed you all on 17th March with instructions on how to benefit from this scheme. We’ve also created some FAQs, which you can find on our website.

The vouchers can be used to cover gap fees for before/after school and holiday care.

🐡 Looking for a new home… 🐠


An old friend of The Hive is looking to donate a fish tank to a new home.
Must go this weekend!

Compact 25L aquarium 30x30x30cm. One goldfish included!
Holds up to 3 medium goldfish + snails. Easy to clean…

Interested? Call Olivia on 0490 026 768

2022 Term 1 Wk 8 - Well, hello again!

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😊 HELLO! 👋

It’s a sign of how busy we’ve been that this is the first Hive newsletter of 2022! Apologies for the hiatus (and lack of photos in this one) but we’ve been 100% focused on the wellbeing of the kids. This one is slightly less jazzy than usual, but please take 5 minutes to read - it’s full of helpful and relevant info…

📰 WHAT’S THE NEWS…? 📰

The hot topic is WAITLISTS. We’ve made good progress, but they’re not gone yet. If you’re on the list, please be patient. Rest assured: we have literally every available hand on deck, plus agency staff, plus a huge recruitment drive that’s been going on since November.

On that note, we’re super happy to welcome ZOE, LAUREN, ANNA & ALFIE to the team! They’re all undergoing induction training at the moment and will be great assets to the team - WELCOME ! We continue to recruit and are very hopeful of having an even bigger team soon…

On the rare occasion that we can’t meet ratio - we’re so grateful for your support in volunteering to cancel. We’ve learned it could be helpful to let you know when we have enough volunteers - we’ll remember this next time.

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

  • HP bookings will open on Tuesday 15th March

  • First day of HP is Mon 11 April

  • We’ll fill up quickly, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

  • It’s important to read the ‘bookings open’ email in detail, particularly the cancellation policy.

🗓️ PARENT REMINDERS 🗓️

  • Remember to NAME all belongings - we have so much unlabelled lost property :-(

  • Kids need a hat every day - no hat play, same rule as school

  • We’re outside whenever we can be - so please remember long sleeves, just in case it’s cool or windy

✅ IMPORTANT : bookings and absences ✅

PLEASE remember to let us know if you’re going to miss a booked Hive session (and avoid that $15 non-notification penalty fee!)

If the absence is due to a Covid isolation order, let us know the iso start/end dates - we can waive the absence charges.

2021 - End of the Year!

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🙏 THANK YOU… 🙏

A big thank you to all our wonderful Hive families, for navigating this tricky year alongside us, and for your supportive words along the way. We love receiving your positive feedback, and we’re equally happy to hear how we might improve things. So if you have any end-of-year observations, please share them here!
Thank you…

We’ll see most of you for Holiday Program in January, and the rest of you in Term 1. Until then, wishing every one of you happy, peaceful and safe holidays - look after one another 💞💞

And to our new Kindy families - we can’t wait to meet you! Hope you’ll join us for some holiday fun in January…

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM - few spots left! 🏖️

We’ve made an awesome start to the holidays - check out some of these wonderful photos! And there’s LOADS more to come next year! REMEMBER: you must book into the correct program in January:

  • If your child is moving into Y2 in 2022, book them into BIG BEES

  • LITTLE BEES is for next year’s Y1s and brand new Kindys ONLY

  • Any incorrect bookings will be cancelled and you may end up missing out - so please pay attention when booking. Thank you!

😷 COVID UPDATE 🦠

We continue to follow our Covid safe plan and remain committed to the health and safety of everyone at The Hive.

  • Team are currently wearing masks indoors and continuing to practise elevated hygiene measures

  • We stay outdoors as much as possible and ventilate the Hive room all day

  • Any staff/children showing symptoms are isolated and sent home ASAP

  • If anyone attending Hive returns a positive test, please inform us immediately

  • All booking cancellations due to a covid isolation order from NSW Health will have gap fee waived (no charge to you). For all other absences, usual Ts&Cs apply…

2021 Term 4 Wk 7-8 - Artist & Environmental Weeks

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📰 WHAT’S THE NEWS…? 📰

Did you know our awesome website contains loads of useful and relevant information? You can find details of our weekly program and menu, tips on how to enrol and book as well as share your suggestions. Our ‘ABOUT’ page also contains loads of helpful info and resources…


This fortnight we celebrated artists and the environment:

  • Insipired by some of the greats, we created Picasso faces, Gale Kaseguma flower collages, finger knitting, Salvador Dali clay sculptures and pottery

  • With our thoughts on the environment around us, we got busy with hand printed reusable shopping bags, chlorophyll painting, home-made jewellery and perfume and natural paintbrushes

  • As always, there was also a wide range of activities to challenge the kids physically and mentally, working on both gross and fine motor skills, as well as lots of opportunities to just… chill!

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

Bookings are now open (check the email from 23/11) and filling up fast. REMEMBER: you must book into the correct program in January:

  • If your child is moving into Y2 or above in 2022, book into BIG BEES

  • LITTLE BEES is for next year’s Y1s and brand new Kindys ONLY

  • Any incorrect bookings will be cancelled and you may end up missing out - so please pay attention when booking. Thank you!

🤔 PARENT REMINDERS 🤔

The weather’s all over the place at the moment, so please make sure your kids are prepared and send them every day with a HAT, some WARM LAYERS and a WATER BOTTLE. Thank you!

🐝’s of the WEEK…

DIEGO and ALESSANDRO in Y3 are showing wonderful friendship towards one of the children who joins us from another school. They go out of their way to make sure he feels welcome and included - it’s lovely to witness. Nice one boys - such beautiful role-modelling for the younger kids too.

✅ IMPORTANT : bookings and absences ✅

PLEASE remember to let us know if you’re going to miss a session, and avoid that $15 penalty fee!

If you’re subject to a Covid isolation order, please let us know; we can process your absence differently, receiving support from the government, with no charge to you, and no recorded absence.

👏 LOCAL TALENT CELEBRATED! 🎉

Tall Poppy: A Skater’s Story [Event Cinemas] Sunday 5 Dec, 4:30pm
Join Poppy Starr Olsen live in cinema for her awesome film TALL POPPY, and a post-movie Q&A session with the audience.

Growing up on Curlewis St, Poppy and her siblings were Bondi Nippers and her younger sister attended BBPS. A child who just loved to skate from the age of 8, Poppy Starr Olsen became the No.1 female bowl skater in Australia at 14, took Bronze at the XGames aged 17 and this year, represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics…
Check out the trailer and book tickets here

2021 Term 4 Wk 5-6 - Summer & Recycling Weeks

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📰 WHAT’S THE NEWS…? 📰

The lovely Avani is now a fully-fledged member of our team, already up to speed and going really well. We’re also trialling more new staff in the coming weeks. So, the team is growing: good news for those of you who’ve been unable to book in the last couple of weeks - waiting lists should soon be a thing of the past!

We’re still impressed at how well the kids have adjusted to being back at school & Hive. We create lots of opportunities for discussion about emotions and how everyone feels about being back here and seeing their friends. Really, they’re just loving hanging out with one another and doing loads of cool activities… Speaking of which, think: electronic circuits, painted clay bowls, mosaic art, hama beads, gymnastics, dodgeball, handball, soccer, basketball, skipping ropes, races, magnets, chatterboxes, lego, fabric necklaces, animals, stained glass poppies, recycled art, marble runs…

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

HP bookings will open in Week 8. Remember this is an 11 week term, last day of term being Thu 16 Dec. We’ll run HP from Fri 17 - Wed 22 Dec, then we’re closed until Mon 10 Jan.

🗓️ YOU MUST RE-ENROL FOR 2022!! 🗓️

* * REMEMBER, you must re-enrol every year * * and the sooner you do, the better! Please complete and submit your 2022 enrolment ASAP, taking care to double check all parent & child information is current & complete, replace any out of date medical plans and request your preferred bookings.

Places are allocated afresh each year, according to the regulated priority guidelines and in line with date of enrolment approval.

🐝’s of the WEEK…

SAM (KT) has been so fantastically helpful since coming back to school. He sees what needs doing and just gets on with it - so many Hive staff have commented. Well done Sam!!

Another Kindy star, BILLY was an awesome friend this week. When another child was sad one afternoon, Billy pulled him into the group and made sure he felt welcomed. Nice one Billy!

✅ IMPORTANT : bookings and absences ✅

PLEASE remember to let us know if you’re going to miss a session, and avoid that $15 penalty fee!

If the absence is due to a Covid isolation order, let us know as we can process diffferently, receiving support from the government, with no charge to you.

2021 Term 4 Wk 3-4 - Fantasy & Halloween

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👋 WELCOME BACK ! ! 👋

It’s been so good to welcome the kids back to school and Hive - we’re stoked to see them. A huge thank you to parents for staying across our comms, supporting us by marking AWAY through lockdown and now reactivating your bookings. We’ve had very few ‘missing’ kids in the afternoon which means you guys are all doing the right thing with your bookings and we’re very grateful!

Right at the end of lockdown, we learned that some of our casual staff were unable to return to the team. We’re busy recruiting - WELCOME AVANI - and will continue to grow the team when we find the right people. In the meantime, we’ve had to reduce the number of spots available so please plan ahead, and don’t keep hold of bookings you don’t need.

The kids have been veeeery happy to be back, which makes us smile. They’ve been super busy. Think: dodgeball & lava lamps; playgrounds & balloons; soccer & rock painting; Pokemon & parties; magnets & menu-writing; beyblades & marble runs; Just Dance & hama beads… Never a dull moment, that’s for sure…

2022 ENROLMENTS ARE NOW OPEN

Please complete and submit yours as soon as possible, taking care to double check all parent & child information is current & complete, replace any out of date medical plans and request your preferred bookings.

Places are allocated afresh each year, according to the regulated priority guidelines and in line with date of enrolment approval.

HIVE’S 🐝 OF THE WEEK is…

JACK in YK, for being so super helpful in the mornings, making sure we have icepacks ready to go outside and play each day.

Good on you Jack, for such beautifully helpful BEEhaviour!

✋ IMPORTANT : no parents on site ✋

Parents are not allowed on school grounds for the time being, so all drop-offs and pick-ups will happen at the Warners Avenue gate. Handover of children must always be between parents & Hive staff. Failure to hand over safely incurs a $15 penalty fee. Please help us to keep the kids secure, thank you.

For more detailed morning and afternoon process, please see email sent on Sat 16 Oct.

🙏 Shout out to… 🙏

Our lovely friends at Koh, who continue to supply us with their wonderful cleaning products. Kind to the environment, safe for children, gentle on allergies - it’s a perfect solution for us as an OSHC centre and means you can know that our enhanced
Covid safe cleaning plan is also safe for the kids. Thank you Koh!

 

2021 Term 4 Wk 1-2 - Environment, Sculptures & Art

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🔔 Term 4 is here! 🔔

…and with it the staged return to school, starting 18th October. We’re anticipating that many children will need extra support and here’s what we’re doing to be ready:

  • opportunity for the kids to identify and share how they’re feeling at the start of the afternoon, in a safe space, using visual cards. It’ll help us identify who needs a little TLC that day

  • plenty of opportunities and areas for quiet time and restful play and chilling

  • the program will always include one dedicated calming activity

  • the 4pm meeting will start with a breathing exercise for all children

  • a focus on slow release energy foods to help kids feel good through to the end of the day

  • where possible, we’ll roster additional staff for the first few weeks to offer extra support

  • all kids will be reminded of the rules, of how to be together and of what friends should expect from one another

✋ IMPORTANT : no parents on site ✋

Parents are not allowed on school grounds for the time being, so all drop-offs and pick-ups will happen at the Warners Avenue gate. Handover of children must always be between parents & Hive staff. Failure to hand over safely incurs a $15 penalty fee. Please help us to keep the kids secure, thank you.

For more detailed morning and afternoon process, please see email sent Sat 16 Oct.

🛑 No more gap fee waiver 🛑

From 25th October, there is no more gap fee waiver:

  • all absences against permanent bookings will be charged

  • non-notified absences also incur a $15 penalty fee

  • casual bookings can be cancelled any time before the start of the session, without charge

  • deadline for online changes (cancel casual or mark permanent spot AWAY) is 12pm the day prior. After that, email us or call 0450 896 686

🙏 Shout out to… 🙏

Our new friends at Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club. Club president Brent was in the vicinity of our evacuation assembly point on the night of the fire back in June, and his committee have since voted to offer us use of their premises for future emergency evacuations. This is great news if it’s dark, or wet or we need to move out of sight of the school. Beautiful show of community support - thank you Brent and Bondi SBLSC

Spring 2021 - Holiday Program

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✅ Please mark ‘AWAY’ for Term 4, until end of lockdown ✅

Another reminder to please log on and mark your bookings AWAY for Term 4 as per our email of Thu 30/09.

The current return to school dates are 18th & 25th Oct, and 1st Nov. We do hope you’ll be back to using Hive once the kids are back at school but until then, please mark sessions AWAY. Thanks for your support.

Holiday Program

Lockdown and restrictions meant a much smaller Holiday Program, but we still created lots of fun.

Check out the pics below…

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Having fun in the new play spaces around the back playground!

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Hive Olympics Day!
…the kids designed their own team bandanas and created team chants!

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Just craftin, drawin’, magnetisin’ and role playin’…

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Around the World Day - Argentinian Raspberry Bomb Boxes!

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Fun with chalk…

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Spa Day - making our own bath bombs!

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Around the World Day - Canada, Mexico, Australia

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2021 Term 3 Wk 9-10 - 👋 End of Term! 👋

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Roll on Term 4!

We farewell yet another unusual term (!), and look ahead now to Term 4 - we’re SO excited for the children’s return to school in weeks 4-6, and can’t wait to see them all and have some fun!

We have a whole heap of role play furniture that most of the little kids haven’t seen yet, and tons of new craft and sport equipment that didn’t get used before our relocation to Bellevue Hill - so there’s loads to look forward to and we’re ready set to give all you parents a well-earned break, when the time comes next term.

Our wider team is on standby (everyone will be fully vaccinated by then) and we do hope that you’ll all be back in force. We’ll definitely be ready to rock!

✅ Please mark ‘AWAY’ until return to school ✅

Now that we have clear dates for the staggered return to school, we’re issuing another request for parents to please mark Hive sessions ‘AWAY’ until you know your children will return to Hive. School return dates are:

  • YK & Y1: from 25 October

  • Y2 & Y6: from 1 November

  • Y3, 4, 5: from 8 November

…so please log on and mark AWAY until those dates. Thank you.

🏖️ Holiday Program - mini version 🏖️

A reduced Holiday Program has been targeted to those families who’ve been attending school and/or Hive this term during lockdown and really need our support during the next fortnight. Places are extremely limited due to reduced team size and the various restrictions and public health orders still in place. If you’re unable to care for your children at home during HP, please email us to enquire about availability.

For children aged 8-12, our lovely friends at WAYS are also offering a Holiday Program. You can enrol and book here: just click the APPLY button at the top of the page. You can also see their program at the bottom of this newsletter…

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