Well done to the team for delivering an amazing Autumn Holiday Program! We had a super exciting time: laser tag, Ninja Parc, sports carnival, baking & chefing, beach BBQ, puppet workshop, water park, inflatables, baby chicks, gymnastics, treasure hunt, face paint, Nerf wars, Kapla constructions, den building and soooooo much more
Where did Term 1 go??!! We wish you all a HAPPY & SAFE HOLIDAY BREAK and we’ll see many of you for Holiday Program (more detail below).
A huge thank you for the 50+ responses to our HIVE PHILOSOPHY REFRESH survey, which was sent to parents, Hive staff and the Exec committees of both Hive and school. We’ve also been gathering input from the kids for the last few weeks…
Now we’ve gathered the raw data, the next move is to draft the philosophy statement, to encompass the emergent themes and encapsulate the needs of everyone involved in our wonderful Hive community. Watch this space…
WELCOME to GEE GEE, the latest member of our growing team. A free spirit with awesome energy, he brings a Cert III in Outdoor Education and bundles of positivity to the team, already proving a huge hit with the senior stage group!
Our holiday chicks 🐣🐣 arrived today! Baby ducklings and chicks will be hatching throughout Holiday Program, the kids always love being part of this wondrous, fluffy experience 💖💖
Places are booking up fast! Check out the calendars for LITTLE BEES and BIG BEES, and please remind yourselves of our Ts&Cs. If you can’t book a place, please email us to request a spot on the waitlist.
⚠️ Remember ⚠️ to book into the correct program: YK-1 or Y2-6. The one exception is Wed 19 April, when it’s split YK-2 and Y3-6. If you book into the wrong program, you could end up missing out…
As always, send kids with HAT, CLOSED SHOES, WATER BOTTLE, RECESS & LUNCH
and, please always remember…
Is SYLVIE in Y3, who showed heart-warming consideration towards the Kindys last week, taking special care to make sure they all felt included in our Just Dance session.
Fantastic role-modelling Sylvie and such lovely empathy towards all our Little Bees. We’re proud of you! 💕💕
ALWAYS sign your child in/out at the iPad. Any issues: just ask staff for help 👌
Please leave school grounds promptly, once you’ve signed out your child
Check for all LOST PROPERTY in the Hive room. We’ll be clearing it out at the end of this week
Our wonderful friends at KOH, who supply the only cleaning product we trust to create a safe, clean and non-toxic environment.
Koh is safe, planet-friendly, no nasties, allergy-friendly, eco-certified and not tested on animals. It’s the only product we need to offer the safest solution for our centre and your kids. And… the lovely humans who make it, are local dads Adam & Justin!
CONGRATULATIONS… to JEN, ANA and LAUREN who have all just taken on the roles of Senior Educator & Group Leader. JEN will be allocated to YK, ANA to Y1-2 and LAUREN to Y3-6. This exciting restructure reflects the growth of our centre and our team, and allows us to further target our focus towards smaller groups of kids, their wellbeing and the activities we offer them.
Edie remains our Child & Family Lead, and is still the parents’ go-to for anything you’d like to discuss.
Bookings are now open! Please book early to avoid missing out. Check out the calendars for LITTLE BEES and BIG BEES, and please remind yourselves of our Ts&Cs.
…are the whole HIVE TEAM, who spent last
Tuesday evening making sure they are trained and ready to deal with any health emergency or injury.
💓 We’ve also invested in our own Hive defibrillator 💓
AFTERNOONS: Once you’ve signed out at the iPad, please be sure to leave the school grounds promptly. If children remain at school after sign-out, it could compromise the effective supervision of those children still in Hive care.
Morning sessions: We focus on helping the kids to prep and pack away their own breakfasts. This includes, toast & spreads, cheese toasties, cereals (4⭐ min. rating) and smoothies. Life skills & nutrition, all in one!
Our increased numbers of older kids this year means we’ll be moving to a split afternoon program from Term 2, with one or two activities each afternoon tailored especially to children in Y3 and above… 👊👊
New Child Safe Standards from the Office of the Children’s Guardian are being reviewed for full integration into our existing policies and processes. The safety of the kids is always our No.1 priority, and guides everything we do. We’ll share with you any policy updates that might eventuate…
The whole team is undergoing First Aid & CPR training next week. Although the law requires only one staff member on duty to be trained, we aim to have as much of the team as possible ready to deal with cuts, bumps, breaks, allergies, asthma, anaphylaxis, CPR and more...
…which leads smoothly to a reminder that we always strive to be a ❌🥜🌰❌ NUT-FREE ZONE ❌🥜🌰❌
We’re busy working on an AWESOME April Holiday Program for you. The portal calendar will open at the start of Week 8, giving you four full weeks to making bookings before the program starts on Tuesday 11th April.
Is the lovely Max F in Y3,
for spending time in the quiet corner
reading some stories to our new Kindys…
A beautiful connection between the different age groups.
Love your work, Max!
Just the usual reminders for hats, and a warm layer - and everything with NAMES INSIDE please!!
Spearheaded by local mum Anita, the annual Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival returns to Bondi on 15-19 March, with a jam-packed program of activities and events designed to celebrate and inspire action for our beautiful ocean 🌊🌊🌊
The Festival of Ideas, Art + Music & Actions will take over the new Bondi Pavilion and surrounds, highlighting the latest science and innovations for protecting and nurturing the ocean and its wildlife.
Music, art, films, food, talks and market stalls will fill the Pavilion with vibrant entertainment for all ages over the weekend of 18-19 March.
For the full program, visit www.oceanloversfestival.com
Activity break during staff training week!
HELLO AGAIN, to all returning bees and a warm WELCOME to all our NEW KINDYS! We’re buzzier than ever this year, and looking forward to a fun-filled Term 1 with you all 😊
Following an AWESOME Holiday Program (check out the pics!), the final week in January saw our first ever full week of STAFF TRAINING. A huge success, with 100% staff attendance, we covered TEN separate topics across three full days: including Play Theory, Food Hygiene, Active Supervision, Emotion Coaching & Self-Regulation, Behaviour Management, Understanding Diagnoses, Activity Programming and more... Your children really are in safe (and well-trained) hands at The Hive! 🫶
Since December’s newsletter, we’ve welcomed several new team members: shout out to ANA, ASHA, ELLA, JENA & WILSON. We now have a waitlist only on Thursday afternoons, which is great progress. If you’re still waiting on a spot, bear with us: we continue to juggle and are doing our very best to get rid of those lists altogether.
Following on from waitlist progress: CASUAL SPOTS can now be booked via the portal for both Monday and Friday afternoons. For any other afternoon (or if you’ve missed the online deadline), email us to check availability.
This term, we’re trying out the idea of externally-provided, paid extra-curricular activities during the Hive afternoon. For Term 1 we’re running with SKATEBOARDING and DRAMA, with both classes fully booked! So far so good, and we plan to continue so keep an eye on your inboxes for opportunities in coming terms. Through the year, we’ll vary the days, activities and age groups offered, so everyone should have a chance to get involved.
LENNIX and LOLA in YK for working so hard
on their listening skills over the last couple of weeks.
Also, for making great choices to be
team players and helpful bees!!
Such an awesome start at The Hive!! 👊 👊
ALWAYS sign your child in/out at the iPad. Any issues? Just ask staff for help!
Please leave school grounds promptly, once you’ve signed out your child
Please COLLECT all LOST PROPERTY from the tubs in the Hive room. At the end of week 5 we’ll wash and pass on to our spares box or to Vinnies…
Term 1 is NO HAT NO PLAY. We don’t lend out hats due to the risk of head lice, so children without a hat are restricted to shaded areas and activities…
Every day please pack HAT, WATER BOTTLE and remember a WARM LAYER for those cooler afternoons…
Bookings are OPEN!! Book ASAP to avoid missing out
Remember - if you’re going into Y2 next year, you should book into BIG BEES!!
New 2023 Kindys are welcome to book into our January LITTLE BEES program - it’s been specially designed with them in mind
Mon 30th Jan is still Holiday Program (school starts on Tue 31st). You’ll need a 2023 Hive enrolment to book Mon 30th as it falls within Term 1
Another reminder that we are NUT FREE - please be super careful about which foods you pack for the kids
We couldn’t move beyond this super-sweet moment, that happened last week with Theo in Y1.
We brought our Big Bear out of hibernation (in the office) and five minutes later he was providing a safe space for cuddles and sleepy time…
Just gorgeous!
Remember when you arrive to pick up, to please sign out and leave the school grounds quickly. This helps avoid confusion around supervision and responsibility.
We know it can be fun, but please keep younger siblings away from the play equipment when you’re picking up from The Hive. This helps avoid accidents and allows our staff to safely and effectively supervise the Hive kids who are playing there. 🙏
Swell Swimming is an awesome local swim school, run by our very own staff member Katie!
They offer pool and ocean swimming lessons for both kids and adults, and this summer will be running lots of children’s group sessions at Bondi, to help kids get more confident and comfortable in the ocean.
Find out more about them here, and you can drop Katie an email at info@swellswimming.com.au or contact her directly on 0481 315 828.
Instagram- @swellswimming
Local mum Tammy is driving a collection to help provide shoes to kids in Burundi.
If you have any pre-loved school shoes or trainers that you’re ready to part with, please make sure they’re clean and drop them off to staff at the Hive room.
At the end of term Tammy will pass them on to the organising charity, Angel Network Australia, who’ll make sure they get to children in Africa who can make good use of them.
Thanks in advance for helping us to help other children around the world…
You’ve all received your invitation to the AGM, to be held on Fri 2nd Dec at 9am in the Hive room. Please send RSVPs directly to Ellie, along with any nominations to join our wonderful Hive Management Committee, whether as a general member or as an office bearer. We’d love your input and energy and promise to take up only a little of your time; usually just a 1h meeting each term.
Have the kids told you there’s lots of exciting new stuff on the menu? DIY sushi, fruit smoothies, brown rice layered salad bowls, pasta, pita & dips and more… Let us know if you have any feedback or requests for other lovely fresh food we can add to the menu. Great work chef Edie!
After some recent chopping and changing, the dates are fixed, and bookings will open late next week.
- - - Last day of T4: Fri 16 Dec - - -
HP OPEN: Mon 19 - Wed 21 Dec
HIVE CLOSED: Thu 22 Dec - Sun 8 Jan
HP OPEN: 9-13 & 16-20 Jan
HIVE CLOSED: 23-27 Jan (staff training & Public Holiday)
HP OPEN: Mon 30 Jan
- - - First day of T2: Tue 31 Jan - - -
…is our very own Jen!
Jen brings the biggest, bestest smile with her to
every single shift, and the kids just love her warmth,
positive energy and gentle approach.
See below for how your pre-schoolers could
also spend some time with Jen!
As always in Terms 4 & 1 - please remember to send the kids to school with a HAT!
We’re a SUN SAFE CENTRE and No Hat No Play can mean the kids have to stay indoors. Boo!
Our lovely Bee of the Week - Jen - is many things. As well as being a fabulous Hive Educator, she’s also a qualified primary teacher and the founder of Little Leaners, offering a Playroom & Hangout Space for bubs (6m-2.5y) and their carers, just around the corner from school.
In Term 4, every day is NO HAT NO PLAY. We don’t lend out hats due to the risk of head lice, so children without a hat are restricted to shaded areas and activities…
🫙🫙🫙 SHOUT OUT for any GLASS JARS 🫙🫙🫙
Please bring in empty, clean, glass jars with lids, for use in a project later this term 🫙🫙🫙
We’ve had a flurry of LATE PICK-UPS recently 🙁 We don’t enjoy applying penalty fees, and we really don’t enjoy not being able to go home on time, so please make sure you pick up by 6pm latest, every day 🙏
Please RETURN all BORROWED CLOTHES. We need to have them ready to help other children, so remember to wash and return as soon as you can after use. Thank you
We’re busy working on the calendar and bookings will OPEN in Wk 7. Summer Holiday Program dates are:
OPEN December 20th & 21st
OPEN January 12th-25th + 30th (Term starts Tue 31st Jan)
‼️ IMPORTANT ‼️ HIVE will be CLOSED as follows…
CLOSED Mon 9th - Wed 11th Jan: for Hive staff training and team development
CLOSED Fri 27th Jan: to create a long weekend after public holiday on 26th
Congratulations to our friend CAMERON in Y5.
He’s Bee of the Week, for always being so helpful. Cameron particularly loves helping us get organised and
making sure team communication is on point! 😊
Great work Cameron 👏👏
Thanks to everyone who responded to our extra curricular survey last term. We’ve been busy behind the scenes, and are excited to announce that there will be two options in T1 2023:
Drama for Y2 and above
Skateboarding for Y1&2
More to follow by email, including details of the program, how to sign up and pay for the term.
Well done to the team for delivering an amazing Spring Holiday Program! We had an awesome time, including parklands, ice-cream, Powerhouse, whales, laser tag, movies, Bake-Off, dodgeball, rock-climbing, Opera House, bouncy castle, slime, BBQs and so much more…
Happy END OF TERM - we hope you all enjoy the break! Stay safe & well and look after one another. To everyone booked in for Holiday Program, we look forward to seeing you next week! Several days are full, so if you can’t book - email us to join the waitlist.
Welcome back Aman! We missed you…
There’s been so much happening in our ACTIVITY PROGRAM & CLUBS:
DIY bouncy balls and stickers
yoga, gymnastics, basketball, hockey
collages, hand puppets, stained glass and marbling
baking club & paper clay
music games, just dance, volleyball, survival tip
…and so much more!!
Is CAIA in Y2. One day, she forgot to bring in the palm cards she needed to perform her public speaking that day.
Instead of panicking, she asked for some card and re-created them all from memory, before school even started.
Caia - we think you’re awesome for staying calm and focused when things got tricky!
For HOLIDAY PROGRAM, please remember:
we’re open 0730-1800
kids MUST be signed in/out at the Hive room * * NO GATE DROPS * *
wear sun hat, covered shoulders, closed shoes
bring your own recess and lunch
bring your WHEELS & HELMET every non-excursion day
Thanks for your suggestions for AFTERNOON TEA. The new menu has been up and running for a few weeks now - please let us know what the kids think!
