TERM 2 Weeks 9-10 - Happy Holidays all!

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE…
Wow - this term has really flown past, and we’ve had heaps of fun!
> We’ve welcomed some new staff: Frankie, Claudia, Taj & Evie
> We’ve enjoyed heaps of mind-blowing activities and looots of physical exercise!
> And we’ve talked about some weighty topics with the kids: big feelings, how to lose with grace, sharing and including, and personal boundaries, to name a few

Next week our Juniors will rejoin us for the holidays: Suki, Ruby and Millie are looking forward to seeing everyone and having some HP fun with ALL our bees!

And the rest of the team is also super excited to see our Winter HP Bees over the coming fortnight! If you’re heading off on your own holidays - travel safely and have fun. And if you’re holidaying with us - we can’t wait to see you!!


TERM 3 WAITLISTS
We’re delighted to have serviced all waitlists for Term 3. We remind all families with updated bookings to log on and check the calendar from your end, and confirm everything is correct. Our next job will be to look at the casual booking requests that we’ve received for T3 - please bear with us whilst we work through these tasks.


NEW FEATURE: BAKING CLUB RECIPES
Rather than using paper to attach the Baking Club recipes to the take-home bags, we’ve decided instead to publish the recipes in the newsletter each fortnight. This idea helps the environment and means we can share the recipes with all our Hive families, and not just those kids in Baking Club…
So, if you enjoyed what the kids cooked up (assuming it actually made it home!) then you can re-create yourselves, using our recipes.

👨‍🍳 🎨 🎲 WHAT HAVE THE KIDS BEEN UP TO? 🏏 🧸 🧪

We’ve been super busy this fortnight, making the most of some bright, chilly — but dry — days. We’ve had a space theme running through craft & explore activities

  • ART & CRAFT: we explored space, and got busy making our own UFOs and aliens, creating galaxy pictures - comparing the different effects of using chalk and watercolours; making beautiful sun-catchers to hang in the Hive room;

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: with a focus on the outdoors, we made mud pies, enjoyed the garden and attempted our own sun-dials and talked about how they work… We also made space slime, oobleck and had a Kapla competition!

  • BAKING CLUB: this fortnight we made SUSHI and BROWNIES - recipes are below

  • SPORTS: so many things! Obstacles, bean bag relay, catch the flag, spike ball, archery, balance boards, giant skipping… phew! And lots of team work with soccer, netball, kickball and Oztag!

🧑🏾‍🍳 BAKING CLUB 👩🏻‍🍳

Wk9 SUSHI
This is an easy one to freestyle, using seaweed sheets, and whatever else you want to go inside!!


Wk10 BROWNIES
The Quick & Easy Brownies recipe can be found here. We work with reduced sugar quantities and of course we keep the ingredients and the recipe 100% NUT FREE 🥜 ❌ 🌰 ❌

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

Several days now have only a handful of spots remaining. BOOK NOW!!!
> Remember Mon 22nd July is still Holiday Program - Term starts on Tuesday 23rd
> You can find full instructions on our website: Parents > Bookings > bottom right column
> If you’re unable to book via the app - please email us to join the waitlist

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

We salute SAPPHIRE in YK for being an excellent learner in the kitchen during the mornings.

Sapphire has been learning how to cut things safely, and can now tackle oranges and tomatoes with her new skills. Great work Sapphire - that’s a valuable life skill to have under your belt!

FRANKIE - EDUCATOR

Hey everyone! I'm Frankie: I'm new to the Hive, and am thrilled to be back at my old alma mater! A bit about me: I love arts and crafts; it's always a good day when I get to run a creative activity. Even in the winter you'll likely find me at the beach. I always make an effort to throw myself in to the waves. Recently, I've attempted to start learning a new language, French using the oh-so amazing Duolingo. Let's just say it's a good thing English is a well-known language... 😂

I'm excited to bring my creativity and enthusiasm to the Hive and I look forward to getting to know all the wonderful children and parents in the BBPS community!

TERM 2 Weeks 7-8

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

TEAM UPDATE:
We’d like to share some recent changes to our awesome team:
We welcome a few new faces: FRANKIE, EVIE, CLAUDIA and TAJ are all new recruits this last few weeks, and we’re really happy to have them on board! They’re helping us to seamlessly navigate some staff holidays happening around now, and also to service the small waitlists we have for Term 3. (If you’re on the waitlists, we’re working on them and will be in touch before the holidays)

We also said a very fond—and somewhat tearful—farewell to JENNIFER last week. Jen was our wonderful Kindy Lead for the last couple of years, bringing her very special warmth and experience to the role. We wish Jen and her family all the very best for their new adventure over in Penrith!
Of course we’ll miss Jen, but we’re delighted to announce a promotion to new Kindy Lead for the lovely LUCIA. Lucia has been on our Kindy team for some time now, and brings several years’ experience of working with younger school children. Her big smile, warm, inclusive nature and intuitive communication with the Kindys makes her the perfect person to step up into this important role. Congratulations Lucia!

MEDICAL CONDITIONS UPDATES…
Please remember that if there any changes to medical conditions, medical management plans, or emergency medications for your child, it’s vital that you let us know. We have a process for managing and documenting the changes, but we have to rely on parents to loop us in. Please emails bookings with any new details, and of course with your updated medical plans whenever you receive them from your doctor.

👨‍🍳 🎨 🎲 WHAT HAVE THE KIDS BEEN UP TO? 🏏 🧸 🧪

We've been embracing the cold weather with lots of winter-themed crafts and cosy indoor activities! We've had chess club, lego competitions, the famous Hive Café and lots of childrens’ choice in the Hive room. And here’s what we've been up to in our incredible ACTIVITY CLUBS this past chilly fortnight...

  • ART & CRAFT: wacky hair portraits, DIY crowns, nature suncatchers, hot choccy mugs, cardboard roll snowmen, paper snowglobes

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: twig rafts, DIY kazoos, balancing butterflies, layered liquids experiment and lots of time in the garden!

  • BAKING CLUB: carrot cake & delicious milo biccys

  • SPORTS: handball, tip games, soccer, dodgeball, basketball drills and shootouts, and netball

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

Bookings are OPEN and filling up fast. Early Bird pricing ends at midnight tonight, so book today for the best value! All the details are on our website, and don’t forget to complete the excursions permissions form, whether you’re booking excursions or not. It’ll take 2 minutes, and means you’re covered if you get bumped up from a waitlist or make a late excursion booking…

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

Our award this week goes to MAXIME in YK. We talk regularly with the Kindys about different ways to stay in control of their feelings and practice healthy self-regulation, and this week Maxime has been working hard on communicating his big feelings as well as focusing very well on his writing!
He is also the master of building straw constructions, which can often be found on display next to the fish tank at the end of the day.

Go Maxime - we’re think you’re great!!

COACH MATT - EDUCATOR

All the way from Ipswich, UK… I arrived in Oz in 2017 after travelling Asia for 6 months. My favourite place was Vietnam because I got to motorbike from the north right down to the south, seeing the most amazing places.

My passion has always been soccer but I decided to go university to study Sport & PE Teaching which has now led to me being Coach Matt, here at Bondi Beach Public School! 

TERM 2 Weeks 5-6

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

🤒 🦠 🤢 WATCH OUT - THERE ARE BUGS ABOUT… 🤢 🦠 🤒
There are soooo many viruses and bugs around at the moment. They’re spreading really easily, and we do ask anyone whose child is sick to please keep them at home, or come and collect them just as quickly as you can. We’d love to maintain a level of protection for other children at The Hive and for our staff too - we have several staff holidays coming up this term, which means we can’t afford for anyone to get sick!


🏠 YOUR HOME APP 🏠
For best performance, please remember to check for and action any app updates - this will ensure you have the easiest sign-in and sign-out experience at the iPad…


⚫🟡🔴 RECONCILIATION WEEK:
As mentioned below, we’re so glad to have the Big Bees working collaboratively on Hive’s new Acknowledgement of Country. There’s a lot of thought going into it, and we’re looking forward to hearing what the children come up with.


EMERGENCY EVACUATIONS:
Every term, we conduct emergency drills. We cover a morning session and an afternoon session each time, and we change the days and times each term, so that we have the best chance of covering all children and schedule scenarios. We also alternate between lockdowns and evacuations.
It is so important that the kids take part in these drills and become familiar with what we need from them in the situation - this helps everything run smoothly when we have a real time emergency.
In Jun 2021, a fire at the school meant The Hive had to emergency evacuate 70+ children over the road. This acknowledged textbook evacuation was thanks to the professionalism of our team and the fact that the children had been regularly drilled in how to respond to such an event.
Thanks in advance for your support to ensure that your child participates in our drills, and for avoiding pick-up during the notified drill windows.


BEST FUN FACTS
The kids have been enjoying bringing their most interesting and fun facts to The Hive. Our big whiteboard is there for them to write it up big, and share with all the other bees. We’ve learned a lot, had some giggles, and sparked some very interesting conversations!


📝 POLICY REVIEW - REST & SLEEP TIME 🧐
The Hive policy currently under review is REST & SLEEP. This link, will take you to the policy, a short summary of any updates, and a space at the bottom to submit your feedback. The best policy review process includes all stakeholders - and that includes YOU, our Hive families. Please take a couple of minutes to review and feed back. 🙏 Thank you 🙏
>>> And remember - all our policies are available to you on our website.


🙂 WELCOME BACK EDIE!!
After a couple of weeks off, we’re very happy to have Edie back in the pack. We missed ya, lady!

👨‍🍳 🎨 🎲 WHAT HAVE THE KIDS BEEN UP TO? 🏏 🧸 🧪

Meanwhile, in our ACTIVITIY CLUBS...

  • ART & CRAFT: we've embraced the cool change with winter themed crafts such as winter lanterns, glitter icicles and snowy day collages

  • BAKING CLUB: cornflake and oat fruit biccys and delicious scones

  • SPORTS: soccer, hockey, tug of war, Just Dance and a new favorite - topple ball!

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: the adventure playground has been getting a lot of use recently, the kids just love exploring the space under the trees and looking for bugs!

  • SENIOR CLUB: The senior kids have been busy researching and crafting a custom acknowledgement of country, which will become the official one that we use at The Hive! The project has been both informative and fun, and we'd like to give a shout-out to Franca M in Year 5 for her incredible contributions 🖤💛❤️

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

Syd has been busy pulling together an awesome program for the kids in July. Now that our Kindys have found their feet, as the year progresses, you’ll see more excursions and high energy options on offer to the Little Bees!

Bookings will open tomorrow (Thu 6th), with early bird pricing available until midnight Sunday 23rd June, so be ready to book and make sure you don’t miss out!

🐌 OUR GARDEN 🌿

Over the past two weeks, our dedicated garden bees have been hard at work planning our sensory garden. We've created designs for our signs and sampled some of our existing plants to explore their sensory delights! Our bees are so curious about the variety of plants in our garden that they've come up with the idea of writing little information cards about each one… Bravo!

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

This week, we’re ALL about these two Year 4 legends!!

NOA & ALIYA consistently bring a positive attitude & great sense of humour, a willingness to help out around the centre and a general dose of AWESOMENESS every time they’re here.

We’re huge fans of their joie de vivre.

Don’t go changing, girls…! 💕 💕

ALICYA - EDUCATOR

Alicya joined our team in Dec ‘23 and has been a huge asset ever since. She recently returned from a year of travelling: her favourite place was Mexico, where she tried a temazcal sweat lodge! She has a passion for the outdoors and has taken groups of kids camping, canoeing and hiking.

Ali is currently studying to be an early childhood teacher and is aspiring to open up a bush kindergarten after graduation.

World Environment Day - June 5th

This day encourages awareness and action for the protection of our environment. Since it began in 1974, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in over 100 countries. The World Environment Day 2024 campaign focuses on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience under the slogan “Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.” You can learn more here.

Term 2 Weeks 3-4

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

ADDITIONAL CCS (ACCS):
Times are tight for many families, and did you know that—in certain circumstances—Centrelink may offer some additional support for childcare costs. If you’re already eligible for CCS, and fall into certain specified categories, there may be extra financial support available to you for a limited period of time. If you are a grandparent caring for a child, if you’re transitioning to work, or if you’re undergoing temporary financial hardship, you may qualify for ACCS - find out more here.


CENTRELINK’S ALLOWABLE ABSENCES:
Each financial year, Centrelink will pay CCS on a certain number of session absences. The limit for receiving this support is 42 absences/yr. The balance resets on July 1st, so by this time of year many families are approaching that limit. If you exceed the limit, Centrelink will not pay CCS on those additional absences, meaning the full session fee is charged to you.

You can find out more about absences on the Services Australia website and can check your year-to-date absence count via your Centrelink online account in myGov or on the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.


FIRST AID FOR KIDS:
All Hive staff receive regular training in First Aid, CPR and Asthma & Anaphlaxis. Introducing the topic of First Aid at the earliest possible stage at home can also help your children grow their understanding and effective application of first aid skills. There are many areas of safety you can teach your children, which can increase their awareness of dangers and support them to safely handle injuries that may occur. Follow this link for basic life skills you can teach your children at home that can enormously impact their overall safety and first aid preparedness.


FREE COMPOST BINS:
We have a thriving compost system in our Hive garden, and this has released a couple of large compost bins, which are now going free to a good home. If you’re interested, get in touch!

👨‍🍳 🎨 🎲 WHAT HAVE THE KIDS BEEN UP TO? 🏏 🧸 🧪

The sun has come back out over the past two weeks, and we’ve enthusiastically jumped back into outdoor fun! We've been getting our hands dirty in the adventure playground, experimenting with loose parts play. Our goal for these two weeks was “using objects for anything except what they are meant to be used for,” and we got super creative and had a blast! The garden bees have been busy too, planting pea seeds and building a frame for them to climb as they grow. For those who felt a bit low on energy with the changing season, we had plenty of relaxing activities like colouring, chess, board games, Lego, and making cozy cubbies in the warm Hive room.

Our ACTIVITY CLUBS have been on fire this last fortnight: in BAKING CLUB we made banana bread and for a very special treat, some rocky road!! In EXPLORE & DISCOVER we got stuck into DIY lip scrubs and electrical circuits, as well as some more cool science experiments including the erupting apples activity which was a hit! ARTS & CRAFT bees got busy with autumn tree collages, paper flower gardens, cone finger puppets, DIY books, paper popsicles and leaf art. A special mention to Noa B for her incredible “Queen of Hawaii” leaf artwork! (see photo top left) In SPORTS we enjoyed tug of war, circus skills, soccer, ping pong, giant skipping, handball, dodgeball. Our extracurricular activities are also in full swing, with skateboarding, soccer, and basketball. BUSY BEES!!

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

Our Bee of the Week this time is someone who is always positive and helpful. And she generally operates like a little ray of sunshine to everyone here at The Hive!

Thank you to EVIE S in Y1, for spreading good vibes
wherever you go - we LOVE that awesome energy!!


SARAH - EDUCATOR / KINDY TEAM

A long-time member of our Hive team (since early 2021), Sarah enhances our team with her warm heart and her passions for the environment, reconciliation and inclusivity.

A huge fan of the great outdoors, she loves Northern Michigan where she spent a summer as a wilderness adventure camp counsellor, leading off-grid hiking and canoeing trips.

She’s an avid supporter of the Arsenal women’s football team, and watches them play in Australia whenever she can! Go the Gooners!

MAKE YOUR OWN CLEANING PRODUCTS

Turn cleaning into a science experiment and mix up some non-toxic sprays and solutions to use around the house with your child. Combine baking soda with warm water to create a deodoriser or simple kitchen cleaner, and use it to wipe down the inside of your microwave or refrigerator.
When you make your own cleaners you save money, reduce your toxic load and reuse bottles you would have usually thrown out! You can find a large range of recipes here

Term 2 - Weeks 1-2

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

⚽ ⚽ HAVE YOU SEEN…? ⚽ ⚽

During holiday program, one of our Y1 Bees put his soccer boots in the wrong backpack - and he hasn’t seen them since! 😢 😢 If you have an unfamiliar pair hanging around at home - please bring them
back to The Hive, and we’ll arrange a joyful reunion! 🎉 🎉


WORK EXPERIENCE
We’re very happy to report that we just completed our first work experience offering, to a Y11 student from Rose Bay SC. Evie is a former Hive attendee, and loved spending a couple of weeks helping us out; learning all about OSHC centre operations and what’s involved in offering top level care to all our Bees! Well done to Evie for getting stuck into everything we offered, and a big thank you to Edie for managing this new Hive undertaking - we hope it’s the first of many… 👏 👏

IT’S GETTING DARK…
But you might have noticed new floodlights to light your way between the gate, the Hive and the Hall. This should make pick-ups during winter time safer and easier than they’ve been in the past. Thanks to Ms Brandon and to school for getting this across the line, in time for the clocks going back…

A reminder that the clocks moving back has not changed our closing time! 6pm sharp is the absolute latest for pick up please, and there are penalties for coming any later than that.


IT’S GETTING CHILLY…
So please remember to pack layers for the kids. As the sun goes down, a warm day can quickly become a cold one - so please remember to send them prepared.


HOLIDAY PROGRAM
Was a roaring success, with so many kids joining us for a wide range of awesome activities. Well done to the whole Hive team for keeping the kids busy, excited and happy through the holidays - we hope you enjoyed the photos from our last newsletter!

👨‍🍳 🎨 🎲 WHAT HAVE THE KIDS BEEN UP TO? 🏏 🧸 🧪

We’re always keen to get the kids' help with our daily activities and operations! One of the most popular roles is helping to serve afternoon tea, and the kids just love it. They learn about food hygiene, sharing, which foods go well together, and the importance of a balanced diet.

During the past fortnight, in our ACTIVITY CLUBS...

  • ART & CRAFT: blow paintings, nature wands and self-portraits, to name just a few!

  • BAKING CLUB: we made delicious ANZAC cookies and tasty coconut oatmeal bars

  • SPORTS: even though it's been a wet one, we've still managed to expend some post-school energy playing handball, basketball, soccer, and enthusiastic games of netball!

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: We've been trying to create a more sustainable and nature-centred explore and discover program - so far we've done nature clay printing, DIY treasure hunts, garden flower arrangements and bug fact sheets. Watch this space for more exciting activities centred around nature!

🐌 OUR GARDEN 🌿

We’re delighted to report that one of our garden grants has just been approved! Well done Nelly for a quick and effective application, and we look forward to receiving $1,000 from Woolworths Junior Landcare to help us create our very own SENSORY GARDEN !!

We've been busy bees cleaning up the garden beds and potting some pineapple sage to start things off! Help us design a green space that stimulates each of the five senses. If you have any ideas please let us know!

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

Our Bee of the Week is FREYA in Y1, and she’s had the most awesome start to Term 2! Every day, she’s curious and engaged, helpful and kind, funny and considerate - and we just love it.

Keep being your amazing self, Freya!

We think you’re the best!


SEB - EDUCATOR

This is Seb, who joined the team back in February. Seb is a local man, and - uniquely - works at another OSHC centre too (at Double Bay PS). This brings insights into how other centres do things and will hopefully create some exciting opportunities to work together with DBOOSH in the future…

As well as a passion for all things sport - especially basketball! - Seb is a busy teacher-in-training, studying for a Bachelors in Primary Education at Notre Dame.

Currently on practicum placement at another school, we look forward to seeing Seb back with us later this term.

Autumn Holiday Program

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🏖️ Autumn Holiday Program - it’s a wrap! 🏖️

Well done to the team for delivering a fabulous autumn Holiday Program! We had an awesome time, with Nerf Challenge, puppet shows, Chinese Friendship Garden in Darling Harbour, dress ups, Ninja Parc at South Granville, talent show, Master Chef, gardening, skateboarding, yum cha, Ritz at Randwick, rock climbing, tacos, virtual reality in Bondi Junction, bubble soccer plus heaps of crafts, sports, experiments and so much more…

😅 Phew…! 😅

Term 1 - Weeks 9-10

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋


WHAT HAVE THE KIDS BEEN UP TO?

We've had a blast in our ACTIVITY CLUBS over the past two weeks! Here's a glimpse into all the excitement

  • ART & CRAFT: We've been getting creative with Easter-themed crafts like bouncing rabbits, handprint bunnies, and stained-glass window eggs

  • BAKING CLUB: Thanks to our two wonderful Scottish educators, we whipped up some delicious Scottish shortbread!

  • SPORTS: Hockey, dodgeball, oz-tag, cubbies, and lots of soccer!

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: From self-inflating balloons to leaf-cycle artworks, homemade chalk to rainbow clouds, it's been a fortnight filled with exploration and discovery.

HIVE AGM & NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS

A big thank you to those who attended the Hive AGM on Friday 22nd March. You can find more details of the meeting here.

We bid a fond farewell to Rob and Sanj as outgoing committee members. Over 10 years of service to The Hive between them, which is just extraordinary! Your efforts will be gratefully remembered for many more years to come. Thank you 🙏 🙏

And we warmly welcome John and Alex (both Y1 parents) as incoming President and VP respsectively. The Hive team is excited to work with you! 🎉 🎉

SOCCER & SKATEBOARDING IN TERM 2:

We have a couple of spots remaining for two of our TERM 2 paid Hive activities:

  • SOCCER Monday Y2-6 is now opening up to Y1 - click here to register

  • SKATEBOARDING Tuesday Y1-6 - click here to register

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

It’s a jam-packed, fun-filled programme and some days are already fully booked… If you want to join the waitlist, please either ‘Request a Space’ via the app, or email us.

Early pricing has now ended, so please add $10 to the price shown on the calendar. We allocate accurate pricing to all app bookings the day after the booking is made.

Remember: MONDAY 29th APRIL is still school holidays, so if you need a spot, book now.


🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

We say a HUGE thank you to FIONA in Y1 for being one of our most good considerate, thoughtful and smiley little bees!

Always ready to offer help and constantly looking for ways to support the staff - we really appreciate you Fiona

Keep up the good work!

JENA - Educator

Jena is a former Bondi Beach Public School student and loves enjoying the sunshine and beach whenever she can!

She is currently studying a bachelor of primary education and loving it! One of Jena’s passions is music, especially playing the piano, with over 14 years of experience. 

In 2023 Jena spent time travelling around Europe, and loved island hopping in the Greek islands. Her favourite Island was Folegandros since it's where part of her family comes from.

Term 1 - Weeks 7-8

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

HIVE AGM is TOMORROW - Friday 22nd March at 9am
If you’re able to join us - please do. Meeting will be held in the Bee Box (demountable near the pedestrian gate) and not the Hive room as previously advertised.

Welcome BBQ reminder: Remember to pick the kids up a bit early if you can, to go and join in the fun. If you want someone else to collect your child from Hive, and take them along - you need to email bookings or text 0450 896 686.

WATCH THE WEATHER!! We’re seeing some cooler weather start to creep in, so please be sure to pack layers for the kids. It can get chilly, especially later on in the afternoons…

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

The April HP program looks AWESOME and is filling up fast…!! Instructions for booking are on our website.
Please do NOT submit a ‘holiday’ notification - this is not the same as making an HP booking!
Please make sure you book the correct program: YK-1 = Little Bees, Y2-6 = Big Bees.
Except: Fri 19 & Wed 24 April - Y2-3 should book Little Bees (program has been specially tailored for the broader age range)

🔔 EARLY BIRD PRICING ENDS 🔔

🔔 midnight Sunday 31st March 🔔

WHAT HAVE THE KIDS BEEN UP TO ?

Our morning crew is always bustling with excitement before the school day begins. This fortnight, we've embraced rainy days with lively board game sessions, plenty of dressups and spirited rounds of hide and seek! Our breakfast club special of the week is delicious yogurt and frozen fruit, but our famous Hive cheesy toasties remain the top pick! If you have a breakfast favourite you'd like to see on our menu, don't hesitate to share your suggestions with us.

Our garden bees have been buzzing around like crazy this week! They've been hard at work pulling out the old green bean plants, but don't worry, they saved some seeds to plant next spring! They also planted some new seedlings and did lots of watering. They've been real busy bees!

Can you 🤖 "Spot the Bot' 🤖 ? Our mischievous robot friend has been playing hide-and-seek all around the school lately, and we could really use your help to track it down! Check out the pictures at the bottom…

Check out all the photos for a sneak peek of the awesome fun we've been having in our amazing activity clubs over the past couple of weeks:

  • ART & CRAFT: paper weaving, welcome BBQ posters, cardboard roll bumblebees, cupcake hot air balloons, rainbow paintings…

  • BAKING CLUB: Blueberry muffins & cinnammon rolls. Yummmmmm!! 😋😋

  • SPORTS: circus skills, netball, archery, soccer, dodgeball and more

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: DIY stress balls, bug hunts, nature collages - and a special shoutout to "GG's Salon" which is so awesome that the kids line up to get their hair and nails done!

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

Well done to our awesome KINDY COHORT for completing their Hive induction! We’ve been running dedicated activities and spaces for them for the first few weeks of term, and now they’re ready to join in the wider program and to mix it up with kids from all the different age groups. GO KINDYS!!!!

And remember - our dedicated Kindy team - Jen and Lucia - are still on hand, and connecting with the Kindys every single day during roll call, afternoon tea and free play…


Katie - Educator

Katie is from Glasgow, Scotland and has been on the team for 3 years now. She loves helping Hive kids develop their cooking and baking skills. When not at the Hive she runs her own swim school, Swell Swimming and has taught several Hive kids and parents over the years… 🏊‍♀️ 🏊‍♀️

Katie recently attempted the 20km Rottnest Island Swim but had to stop halfway, due to the race being abandoned! 

2024 Term 1 - Weeks 5-6

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

HIVE COMMUNICATIONS: A reminder that we’re using the XPLOR HOME app for our comms. You need app notifications switched ON to make sure you don’t miss out!
We duplicate all messages to email, so please look out for emails from no-reply@myxplor.com - thank you.


NEW READING ROOM: Our new reading room / quiet space is open for business! The new hatch at the back of the Hive room, combined with a safety mirror, means the whole new space can be supervised from the main room. This gives kids a lovely sense of independence, whilst still being actively supervised. The kids are loving the space - we’re seeing lots of reading, chilling & chatting and lots of boys & girls enjoying the Bluey playhouse in there. There’s a project underway to make curtains to cover the cupboards and white walls, bringing more warmth and softness to the space.


OUR GARDEN: The kids are loving their time in the garden, as much as ever! We’re making new plans for the beds that held the sunflowers over the summer - watch this space for updates. This last fortnight, we’ve been collecting votes from both kids and parents to help us choose a new garden project. The options are: sensory garden, indigenous planting, biodiversity project (to attract bees, birds, bugs etc) or a biodegradable/composting project… Once we’ve counted all votes, Nelly will apply for a Junior Landcare grant to help us realise the project!

🗓️ HIVE AGM - please join us… 🗓️

When:: Friday 22 March, 0900
Where:: Hive room
What:: Pls submit nominations for Committee positions to Ellie by this coming Friday, 15th March:

  • Prez

  • Vice Prez

  • Treasurer

  • Secretary

  • any other roles you’d like to create and fill!!

PLEASE COME ALONG on the day!! We’d love to see you there, whether you’d like to join the Exec Committee, become a general committee member, or just observe as an ordinary member…

This is your chance to get involved and help shape the future of our ever-evolving centre!

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

Bookings will open next week (Wk7). You can book via the app - instructions will be at the bottom of the calendar and also on our website.

We ease into excursions for the new Kindys, through the course of the year. In April, we’re starting with a trip to the Ritz cinema in Randwick to see Kung Foo Panda 4, then a visit to a local playground!

As usual: YK-1 book Little Bees, Y2-6 book Big Bees.
There are two exceptions, days when Big Bees is for Y4-6 only and Y2-3 should book into Little Bees, which has been specially tailored for the broader age range:
- Fri 19 April
- Wed 24 April

We look forward to receiving your bookings. Places will fill up - so please book early, and take advantage of the early bird pricing which ends midnight Sunday 31st March.

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝


This week we say well done to FLO & PHOENIX in Y5!!

These two have been really intuitive and helpful to staff recently - with a knack for knowing exactly what kind of actions are supportive in the moment. It’s a wonderful skill to develop and great for our younger kids to watch and learn from.

🐝 🐝 brilliant bees!! 🐝 🐝

ASHA - Educator

Asha is a BBPS OG, and has spent her whole life in Bondi. She loves living by the beach, swimming and enjoying our beautiful Sydney weather.

Asha is half German and recently spent a few months travelling in Europe, where she visited SIX different countries and stayed with her dad’s family in Germany! 

P&C
Welcome BBQ!

This awesome event is a huge hit every year! And it’s a lovely way to welcome the new Kindy families into our wonderful school community.

If you can, why not collect your child from Hive a bit earlier on Fri 22 March, and take them along to join in the fun! There’ll be loads on offer and tons of fun to be had.

A big thank you to the P&C for putting this on each year.

Hive is very happy to support!!

2024 Term 1 - Weeks 3-4

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📻 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 📻

IS YOUR APP WORKING?
There are still a handful of parents who haven’t yet created their parent account and downloaded the app. Without this, you can’t sign your children in/out!
So, reminder - ALL parents should download the XPLOR HOME app. If you know your partner hasn’t yet set up their account, let us know and we will re-send the invitation. We can also help them out on the spot, at the centre...

🛎️ We are using the app for ALL parent comms 🛎️

‼️ Please TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS ‼️

 

👋 WELCOME TOM!! 👋
We’re very happy to welcome TOM onto the team! Tom joins us with experience of delivering kids events at a trampoline park, music tutoring and running parkour sessions. Many strings to his bow! His wonderful energy and infectious smile mean he’s going to be a great addition to the team. Welcome Tom!


🗓️ HIVE AGM - YOU ARE INVITED!! 🗓️
> Friday 22 March, 0900, Hive room
> Send in nominations for Committee positions by Fri 15th March:
- Prez, Vice Prez, Treasurer, Secretary - and any other roles you’d like to create and fill!!
> PLEASE COME ALONG on the day!! We’d love to see you there, whether you’d like to join the Exec Committee, become a general committee member, or just listen in as an ordinary member…


NEW KINDYS:
Our wonderful new Kindys are settling in so well! With 92% of the whole year enrolled, we have a great Kindy cohort attending every single session. 👍 For these first few weeks, the Kindys enjoy a tailored activity program, plus dedicated play and rest spaces. They’re also busy getting familiar with our regular Hive routines and exploring all the awesome resources we have for them to play with. We’re seeing lots of smiles and good energy - so it feels like an awesome start to the year! 🎉 🎉


ONCE YOU’VE SIGNED OUT…
Please remember to leave the school grounds as soon as you sign out. We know it’s tempting to stay and hang out at the play equipment - and it probably feels harmless - but in fact it presents several complications: it becomes harder for our staff to distinguish and effectively supervise the children who remain in our care. There’s also a risk to younger siblings, who might get caught up (or knocked down) by the games we’re running on the basketball court. The safety and security of the children in our care is our highest priority, and we thank you in advance for your support with this.


WHO’S AT THE GATE?
As mentioend, the kids’s safety is our top priority, and we want to be sure that we know who’s coming into the school. Please help us out by making your face visible when you buzz at the gate. It’s a little thing, but very helpful when we’re using the intercom.
Every single term, we drill both evacuations and lockdowns, once in the morning, once in the afternoon and once in the holidays. This way, we hope every child has chance to practice what to do in an emergency.


WORKS IN THE HIVE ROOM:
We have fantastic brand new child-safe bag hooks situated around the outside of the Hive room. This is great from an increased supervision point of view, and means there is no need for children (or parents!) to enter the school hallways during Hive pick-up.

We’re also completing work to knock through a ‘window’ between the Hive room and the newly established quiet area in the back room. This allows for a separate-but-connected quiet space for resting, reading - and even sleeping! Thanks to school for supporting for our need to make this modification, in order to enhance our supervision of the new chill zone.

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

Bookings for April HP will open in Week 7.

In the meantime, we’d love to hear what you thought of the Summer HP - please take just a few minutes to full out our Summer HP Survey. Your input will help us better meet your needs, and we love hearing what you think - good, bad and ugly! Thanks in advance for your feedback.


🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝


Shout out this week to ASHER in YK!

Asher is our Bee of the Week for demonstrating great
listening, practicing positive behaviour and setting
such agood example for all his Kindy friends.

Keep up the good work Asher!!

Mel - Food & Nutrition Lead

Our biggest year ever at the Hive means we’re so excited to introduce this new role and to grow our relationship with the lovely Mel, who manages the BBPS school canteen.

Mel will be preparing delicious, wholesome, good-energy foods for Hive’s afternoon tea, preparing the odd treat here and there and also helping us set up a Seniors Chef School. Yay!

Mel is mum to three boys who’ve come through the school, and so has been on the scene one way or another for over 12 years now! She knows the school and the kids very well, and is a wonderful safe pair of hands for feeding our Bees!