T1 Weeks 3-4

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

Welcome back, everyone, to another exciting year at The Hive! This year, we’re bigger and better than ever, with our highest enrollment yet. Our center is growing, and we couldn’t be more thrilled!

EMERGENCY EVACUATION

Every term, we conduct emergency drills to ensure that all children are familiar with the necessary procedures. Participation in these drills is essential, as it helps everything run smoothly in the event of a real emergency.

This term, our evacuation drill is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4th, between 3:30 and 4:30 PM. If you need to collect your child during these hours, email us and we will arrange for them to stay at the centre during the drill.

**UPDATE: We will now include our Year K children in the drill, and they will leave the school with the rest of the children.
All those attending Tuesday extracurricular activities will remain at the centre during the drill.

WAITLISTS

A quick note on waitlists. We are not offering permanent bookings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays for the remainder of Term 1.

TEAM UPDATE

We’re excited to welcome the amazing Serena to our growing team! She’s beginning her degree in Primary Education this year and is eager to learn and grow with us. We're very excited to have her warm energy on the team!! Welcome Serena!

CWA'S

Your Complying Written Agreement (CWA) with the HIVE is the key process to ensuring you receive your Childcare Subsidy (CCS) correctly whilst your child is in care. A Complying Written Arrangement (CWA) is an agreement to provide care in return for fees. All child enrolments at the HIVE must have an agreed CWA for the family to be eligible for CCS. You can find more information about how to to complete your CWA here.

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

We're straight back into term-time fun these past few weeks. Here is what we've been up to in our ACTIVITY CLUBS:

ART & CRAFT: we're currently re-decorating our lovely Hive Room with an 'Under the Sea' theme - so far we've decorated starfish, made paddlepop stick whales, paper stingrays, paper plate octopuses and hanging jellyfish!

SPORTS: We're keeping active with soccer shootouts, oz tag, dodgeball, netball and volleyball! Our exciting EXTRACURRICULARS have also started, with Soccer for Y1's, Skateboarding for Y1+ and Gymnastics for Y2+.

EXPLORE & DISCOVER: we've been up to all sorts of fun with DIY kinetic sand, bug hunts, ooblek, DIY playdough and potions!!

BAKING CLUB: delicious blueberry muffins and sweet lemon slice

MORNING GROUP: our morning crew have been really enjoying hama beads lately, along with watercolours, oil pastels, and enthusiastic games of UNO.

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

Aliza Cook (Y1)

For always wearing a huge, infectious smile and bringing joy to both kids and educators.

Alfie Goldsmith (Y3) and Felix Quinn (Y3)

For being a tremendous help with the younger children, making them feel comfortable and supported as they settle in. Way to go boys!

HIVE GALLERY…

January HP - it’s a wrap!

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A fond farewell to our busiest HP ever!! We’ve been at capacity almost every day, and have welcomed almost 35 of our new Kindy intake throughout the last month. All the signs are that this is going to be busy year at The hive, so here is our first reminder to all parents to book your HP as soon as we open bookings, (and enjoy our Early Bird pricing)

So what did we get up to this last fortnight? …think: Concrete Skate, messy crafts, cookie jars, Red Leaf beach, science with Ranger Jamie, wheeeeeels, Luna Park, orienteering, pyjama day, bookworms, pavilion playground, beach BBQ, scavenger hunt, talent show, water play, tech day, Got Game gymnastics, Wild Play at Centennial Park, teddy bears’ picnic, Octopus Garden and loads more…

We also completed two days of staff training: First Aid & CPR; behaviour support; food safety; group game workshop; critical reflection; risky play; cultural responsiveness; Kindy prep plus a bunch of workshops and ideas sessions. All designed to make sure that 2025 is the Hive’s biggest & best year yet!

😅 Phew…! 😅

20-24th January

30th Jan - 5th Feb

SUMMER HOLIDAYS SO FAR...

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Dec & early Jan HP - here’s what’s been happening… 🏖️

A huge welcome to all the new Kindys who’ve joined us this past fortnight. We’re enjoying getting to know you all!

In December and January so far, we’ve been busy with end of year parties, Blaxland Park, bubble parties, inflatables, circus skills, slime, robotics, baking, Inglis Park (with Messina!) water sports, treasure hunts, clay play, foam party, surfing, beach bash, Got Game and more…

Even the wind & rain hasn’t stopped us having a good time, and Hive Hats off to the team for ensuring the program remained awesome, whatever the weather… 😄 😄

Blaxland Park…

Jan 6-10th

Jan 13-17th

T4 Weeks 9-10 Happy Holidays!

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

End of year wrap-up

As another incredible year at The Hive comes to a close, we reflect on all of the fun we have had and the experiences we've shared. Thank you to all our families for your ongoing support — we can’t wait to welcome you back for more fun and learning next year! Happy Holidays!

Re-Enrolments

If you have not yet completed your re-enrolment through xplor, please contact bookings@thehivebondi.com.au. This is especially important if you are looking to secure permanent bookings for next year! We are currently running waitlists for Tuesdays and Thursdays so get your requests in ASAP...

Reminder: We will not be processing re-enrolments during the centre closure. If you have not submitted your re-enrolment by the end of this week they will not be processed until we are back in centre on the 6th of January.

Extra-curriculars for 2025

We're locked in for the following extra-curricular activities next year - make sure to sign-up early to avoid missing out! Click on the link below to register...

TUES - Playball Soccer (Y1)

WEDS - Concrete Skate (Y1+)

THURS - Gotgame Gymnastics (Y2+)

New Kindergarten students will have the opportunity to sign up for extracurricular activities starting in Term 2. This allows them time in Term 1 to settle into their new routines, make new friends and become comfortable with the educators, and adjust to The Hive environment. Starting school is a significant milestone, and we want to ensure they feel comfortable and supported without feeling overwhelmed.

🏖️HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

We’re nearly there—the BIG summer break is just around the corner! Our action-packed program kicks off on Thursday, 19th December, with an exciting excursion to Blaxland Riverside Park. On Friday, we’re throwing a massive party featuring an inflatable and a sizzling BBQ!

Please make sure you sign our excursion permissions form for the Holiday Program, especially if you are signed up for tomorrows excursion! The link for the form is HERE. Even if you’re not planning to attend any excursion days, it’s a good idea to fill it out just in case!

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Early Bird pricing has now closed, please add $10 to prcies shown on calendar...

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

The end of the year is nigh, and we're all feeling it... Bring on long days at the beach!! While we're all hanging out for the holidays, the fun hasn't stopped - here is what we've been up to in our ACTIVITY CLUBS:

ART & CRAFT: holiday cards, recycled jellyfish, tree ornaments (so many tree ornaments!), oil pastels, mandala drawings, letters to santa and DIY comic strips

BAKING CLUB: delicious lemon slice and gingerbread houses

SPORTS: cricket mini games, oz tag, games fun fair, soccer, afl to name a few... we've also been thoroughly enjoying enthusastic games of NUKEMBALL after fruit time.

EXPLORE & DISCOVER: we embarked on two nature scavenger hunts, made some gooey slime, played with some ooblek and wrapped up our LITTER-ARTY art projects for submission to the OCEAN LOVERS festival.

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

Jagger J - Kindy

We're celebrating the wonderful Jagger in YK this week! For all of his tremendous help with afternoon tea and packup, and for being an all round bucket of smiles and laughs. Thank you for bringing so much positivity Jagger!

Bae M - Y6

We say goodbye to Bae this week, who is leaving us to start high school! He has been with us since Kindy and has always been a bundle of pure joy to be around. We're going to miss you Bae! We wish you all the best!

HIVE GALLERY…

T4 Weeks 7-8

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋


RE-ENROLMENTS


If you have not yet completed your re-enrolment through Xplor, please contact bookings@thehivebondi.com.au. This is especially important if you are looking to secure permanent bookings for next year! We are currently running waitlists for Tuesdays and Thursdays so get your requests in ASAP...

How do I know if my re-enrolment has been processed?

The Xplor software will not issue confirmation emails. If you have requested recurring bookings for next year, you will be able to see them on your calendar. Check this in the Home App, scroll through to February 2025 to confirm.

If you're still unsure, reach out to us at bookings@thehivebondi.com.au.

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

Holiday Program bookings have been open for a week, and spots are filling up!! Early Bird pricing will end NEXT weekend, the cut off is midnight Sunday 15th of Dec. After this, add $10 to the price advertised on the calendars...

IMPORTANT NOTE For January HP - Please book in to the year group that your child will be in for 2025...

YK-1 book LITTLE BEES | Y2-6 book BIG BEES

Remember to complete the excursion permissions form, even if you are not planning on booking excursion days...

NB: your CCS eligibility applies to Holiday Program bookings too!

Term 4 ends Wed 18 Dec

  • OPEN for HP - Thu 19, Fri 20 Dec

    • CLOSED for 2 weeks - Sat 21 Dec - Sun 5 Jan

  • OPEN for HP - w/c 6 Jan, 13 Jan, 20 Jan

    • CLOSED - Mon 27 - Wed 29 Jan (public holiday & staff training)

  • OPEN for HP - Thu 30 & Fri 31 Jan, Mon 3 - Wed 5 Feb

Term 1 starts Thu 6 Feb - for all school years, including new Kindys

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

Despite it being SWELTERINGLY humid, we've been enjoying our time outside this past fortnight (with plenty of water breaks, of course). We've also been enjoying some activities inside, where the air conditioning is... Some more exciting details about what's been happening in our ACTIVITY CLUBS:

  • ART & CRAFT: oil pastel portraits, handprint animals, pop out cards, salt painting, tissue paper rainbows and recycled fish! We're also slowly embracing the holiday season by writing letters to santa and creating tree ornaments for our very own hive Christmas tree!

  • SPORTS: nukemball, rugby, lots of dodgeball, LOTS of dance games (we love dancing at the moment!), oz tag, basketball

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: we've been embracing the messy vibes with ooblek, diy playdough, bug hunts, mud play and potions!!

  • BAKING CLUB: this fortnight we did rocky road (minus the nuts) and LOVED IT!

  • MORNING GROUP: We’ve been diving into some very enthusiastic games of Twister and practising lots of stretching to up our game! As Ezeadi said: "This is helping us get better at gymnastics!"

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

Lachlan M - Kindy

We're celebrating Lachy in YK for being wonderfully kind, compassionate and empathetic towards his friends, time and time again! We're so proud of you Lachy, keep up the great work.

Lennix F - Y1

We’d like to give a big shoutout to Lennix in Year 1 for using the mindfulness techniques we’ve been practising to stay calm and composed when things get tense. What an impressive effort—well done Lennix!

HIVE GALLERY…

T4 Weeks 5-6

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋


RE-ENROLMENTS


If you have not yet completed your re-enrolment through Xplor, please contact bookings@thehivebondi.com.au.This is especially important if you are looking to secure permanent bookings for next year!!

How do I know if my re-enrollment has been processed?

The Xplor software will not issue confirmation emails. If you have requested recurring bookings for next year, you will be able to see them on your calendar. Check this in the Home App, scroll through to February 2025 to confirm.

If you're still unsure, reach out to us at bookings@thehivebondi.com.au.

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️


Bookings will be opening NEXT WEEK! They will go LIVE Monday the 25th of November (start of week 7) and Early Bird pricing will apply until midnight Sunday the 15th of December (end of week 9).

Our Summer Holiday Program is packed full of super exciting summer themed activities. We'll have lots of water play and sunshine fun, including a giant End of Year party to celebrate the end of another school year! Featuring the one-and-only NINJA inflatable, games, treats, and a delicious BBQ...

After the break, we’ll be transitioning into our new year levels and warmly welcoming our brand-new Kindy cohort!

NB: your CCS eligibility applies to Holiday Program bookings too!

Term 4 ends Wed 18 Dec

  • OPEN for HP - Thu 19, Fri 20 Dec

    • CLOSED for 2 weeks - Sat 21 Dec - Sun 5 Jan

  • OPEN for HP - w/c 6 Jan, 13 Jan, 20 Jan

    • CLOSED - Mon 27 - Wed 29 Jan (public holiday & staff training)

  • OPEN for HP - Thu 30 & Fri 31 Jan, Mon 3 - Wed 5 Feb

Term 1 starts Thu 6 Feb - for all school years, including new Kindys

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

Here is a taster of what the children have been up to in our brilliant ACTIVITY CLUBS this past fortnight:

  • ART & CRAFT: DIY comic strips, hama beads, oil pastels, self portraits, leaf pattern drawing, handprint cactus, letter writing and caterpillar fun with polymer clay...WHEW! We've sure been getting crafty!!

  • SPORTS: Basketball AND soccer versions of GOLDEN GOAL, dodgeball, a super fun obstacle course on the adventure playground, netball, nukemball

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: shadow puppets, MUD play (we made a winding, mud river!), DIY playdough and DIY bouncy balls!

  • BAKING CLUB: yummy cornflake cookies and declious apple crumble cookies

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

Dylan T - Y3

We pay tribute to Dylan, for organising and running perhaps the most smooth and successful Kindy Soccer Club we've seen this year! Showing incredible leadership skills - way to go Dylan!

Charlie P - Kindy

We're celebrating Charlie P in Kindy, for doing an incredible job listening to the educators and being safe on our fire evacuation drill last Monday. Well done Charlie!

HIVE GALLERY…

T4 Weeks 3-4

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

EVACUATION DRILL - MON 11 Nov 3:30-4:30pm

This term’s drill is an evacuation, scheduled for Monday 3:30-4:30pm. Please avoid picking up during the drill. It’s really important that the children get to experience the full drill, so that they’re ready should we ever need to complete one in real time.


RE-ENROLMENTS

The two week window for re-enrolment will expire at midnight on Monday 11 Nov. Please re-enrol before then, and be aware that enrolments for new Kindy families will also open that day. If you do miss the re-enrolment deadline:

  1. do NOT fill out a new enrolment form - this will create a duplicate enrolment for your child, which we will not approve

  2. we will re-send the invitation to re-enrol, on Tue 12 Nov

We’ve learned that the system automatically sends a 1 week reminder to re-enrol, even to families who’ve already completed the process. Sorry for any confusion caused, unfortunately, it’s something we can’t switch off!


FINANCIAL HARDSHIP

Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) Temporary Financial Hardship is for families who:

  • are eligible for CCS

  • are experiencing temporary financial hardship due to an event in the last 6 months

  • have a substantially reduced ability to pay child care fees.

Eligible families can get 100 hours of subsidised care each fortnight. They’ll get the lower of either:

  • 100% of the fee charged where it’s equal to or below the hourly rate cap

  • up to 120% of the hourly rate cap where the fee charged is above the hourly rate cap.

The temporary financial hardship subsidy is paid for a maximum of 13 weeks per event. Families can apply through their Centrelink online account or by visiting a Centrelink office.


SOCCER - HIVE vs WAYS

The Hive soccer team had a fantastic game, winning 6-2 yesterday against WAYS! Their hard effort, teamwork and sportsmanship really paid off. It’s always great to see players enjoying the game whilst staying competitive. Here’s to maintaining the momentum through to the next match!!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A big thank you to all the staff, who pulled out all the stops to give the kids a fun-filled Halloween party on Monday. There was so much fun to be had, some sliiiiightly scary games to play, and loads of great photos - see below!

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

We’re working hard on the next Holiday Program!

Bookings will open early Week 7, and Early Bird pricing will last until midnight Sun 15th December, end of Week 9.

Term 4 ends Wed 18 Dec

  • OPEN for HP - Thu 19, Fri 20 Dec

    • CLOSED for 2 weeks - Sat 21 Dec - Sun 5 Jan

  • OPEN for HP - w/c 6 Jan, 13 Jan, 20 Jan

    • CLOSED - Mon 27 - Wed 29 Jan (public holiday & staff training)

  • OPEN for HP - Thu 30 & Fri 31 Jan, Mon 3 - Wed 5 Feb

Term 1 starts Thu 6 Feb - for all school years, including new Kindys

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

This fortnight we've seen some funny weather... but it hasn't stopped us from playing outside! We're really loving dance games and parties at the moment - getting our boogie on!! Here's what we've been up to in our ACTIVITY CLUBS:

  • ART & CRAFT: Cotton bud skeletons, rainbow clouds, waxy watercolours, spooky halloween party posters

  • BAKING CLUB: Deliciously tasty sausage rolls (we subbed beef for pork), and scrumptious apple and zucchini muffins

  • SPORT: Golden goal, run for your life, capture the flag, soccer shootouts, basketball

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: We had our very first marble market which went swimmingly! As well as potion making, oozey blood slime, and more loose parts play on the adventure playground.

  • SENIOR CLUB: We're still making our hive

  • GAMES WHEEL and we also made some brilliant clay pendants

  • Not to mention our HALLOWEEN PARTY was a huge success!! We had a scary skeleton ring toss, oreo races, an inflatable obstacle course, spider craft, face painting and spooky mystery boxes!!

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

STEVIE McG - Y2
We acknowledge Stevie this week, for showing the other children that there is
true freedom and joy in expressing yourself, and no need to feel embarrassed.

Stevie brought this idea to life with some amazing dancing sessions in the Hive room.
Stevie always has an awesome time, other kids get inspired and decide to join in
and we all love watching too: Stevie’s got moves !! 💃 💃

LUCA W - Y3

Luca gets a shout out for sharing his time so willingly and generously
to help out the Kindys during Baking Club this week. Good on you Luca - Love this!

…and also, for scoring a massive goal in our soccer game against WAYS - from a goal kick, no less !!!

HIVE GALLERY…

T4 Weeks 1-2 - Welcome back!!

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👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

HOLIDAY PROGAM

A big thank you to all our wonderful staff who worked so hard during Holiday Program to make sure the kids had the BEST time. We had record bookings this time, and everyone had a BLAST! Well done team Hive! 👏 👏


❗PARENT REMINDERS❗

  • Remember that we’re now operating a weekly billing cycle rather than fortnightly. This week, you’ll be charged for last week’s care. Next week, you’ll be charged for this week’s care. And so on…

  • Term 4 (and Term 1) are NO HAT NO PLAY, due to the UV index. Please remember to send your child with a hat every day. We’re a SUN SAFE centre, and any child without a hat must stay in the shade. If you’ve lost a hat - please check the lost property chest opposite the entrance ramp

  • Please make sure the children hop off their wheels as soon as they’re inside school grounds, and park up in a designated area

  • If you have any CRAFT ideas or recommendations, or - even better - would like to come and workshop a skill or talent of your own with the children - please get in touch with ANA, our new Educational Leader

  • A reminder to please leave the school grounds as soon as you’re signed out. The kids can’t stay and play after sign-out - it interferes with the supervision of the children still in our care. 🙏

SHOUT OUT FOR…

For next year’s OCEAN LOVERS’ FESTIVAL we’ll be submitting entries to the Litterarty competition. The brief is to make artworks from collected rubbish, so we’re asking families to send in their (clean!) waste:

soft plastics, aluminium foil, egg cartons, wire, plastic chocolate wrappers, lolly wrappers, disposable knives/forks etc

TERM 4 PAID ACTIVITIES

We have a jam-packed schedule in Term 4, including a return to the Pavilion for Seniors’ CLAY CLUB and the introduction of PLAYBALL SOCCER for our Kindys.. We listened to your feedback and - wherever possible - we’ll keeping the schedule consistent from term to term.

TUE - Soccer YK
WED - Skate YK-6
THU - Clay Y3+
THU - Soccer Y1+

EMERGENCY DRILL NOTIFICATION

Every term we drill our emergency procedures, alternating between lockdowns and evacuations. Our Term 4 drill will be an evacuation, on the afternoon of Monday 11 Nov. We’ll remind you again closer to the date, and will ask you to avoid picking-up for a specific 45min window. It’s important for everyone’s safety that all children experience the whole drill, and we’re grateful for your support with this.

🧟 👻 Hive’s famous HALLOWEEN PARTY! 🧛 🎃

…will be on Mon 4 Nov. If you already have a Monday booking: no action required. We’re also accepting casual bookings: first come, first served, so submit your booking request via the app NOW to avoid missing out.

We’ll have loads of fun activities and games, an INFLATABLE, face painting and of course - the chance to dress up and give your Halloween costume a second outing for the year!!

👐 HAND HYGIENE 👐

When arriving in the mornings, regulations require that the children must clean their hands. If they’d like to play outside straight away after sign-in, please give them a squirt of sanitiser at the iPad. Otherwise, they can head inside to the sink… Thanks in advance!

FREE STUFF - COMPOST BINS

We have 3 large compost bins with lids going spare from The Hive. If you’d like one, please email Ellie ASAP…

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

We have dived straight back into school time fun these first two weeks of Term 4 …and the countdown is ON for Summer! Our program this fortnight has seen lots of input from the children... each week we have one session where the kids can come and share ideas and contribute to our exciting programs. Here is what we've been up to in our ACTIVITY CLUBS:

  • ART&CRAFT: cellophane rainbows, 3D sea creatures, 3D alien heads, vision boards, cellophane jellyfish, seed hedgehogs, cupcake liner butterflies,and rainbow painting. Our morning crew has also really enjoyed experimenting with watercolours!

  • BAKING CLUB: Healthy banana and oatmeal muffins and yummy yo-yos!

  • SPORTS: Run for your life, golden goal, cops & robbers, tug of war, kickball, soccer shootouts and lots of dodgeball!

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: bug hotels, invisible ink messages, nature weaving..

  • we've also been busy at work creating our LITTERARTY crafts for the OCEAN LOVERS festival AND we had our first TALENT SHOW which was a blast!!!

  • SENIOR CLUB: our seniors have been hard at work designing and making our very own Games Wheel for fruit time games, as well as an exciting robotic arm!

📆 2025 HIVE RE-ENROLMENTS ✅

  • Re-enrolments for existing Hive kids will open next week, Week 3

    • (new Kindy enrolments open in Week 5 - Mon 11 Nov)

  • You will receive an XPLOR email inviting you to complete the process, which will include your session requests

  • Your invitation link is live for 2 weeks only, so please re-enrol promptly, for best chance of successful booking requests

  • Re-enrolment is quick - check the pre-filled info, add anything new, delete anything out-of-date, detail your booking requests > submit!

🐝 BEE OF THE WEEK 🐝


This week, a big shout out to CLAY in Y2 for demonstrating
beautiful emotional intelligence and consideration towards others, during group games.

It’s so lovely to see these characteristics developing in children,
and a real reminder of the value of great role modelling!

Go Clay - we think you’re amazing! 👏 👏 🎉 🎉

🐌 OUR GARDEN 🌿

The worms are working their wonderful magic in our three compost bins. We have brussel sprouts on the way, some beautiful chamomile flowers, and the usual army of fabulous, helpful gardeners! Go Nelly & the team!

🛝 📷 HIVE PHOTO GALLERY 📷 😄

Fabulous HP photo dump! …and Halloween Party alert!!!

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🧟 💀 🦇 🍭 Hive’s famous HALLOWEEN PARTY! 🧛 🕸️ 🎃 👻

…will be on MON 4 NOV, to avoid clashes with skateboarding/soccer. We’re accepting casual bookings: first come, first served.

‼️ Send in your booking request via the app NOW ‼️

We’ll have loads of fun activities and games, an INFLATABLE, face painting and of course - the chance to dress up and give your Halloween costume a second outing for the year!!

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

GALA DAY: CANVASES CREATED BY KIDS FROM 6 DIFFERENT CENTRES. ONE FOR EACH CENTRE TO TAKE HOME!

We got busy with SUPER-GIANT-MONSTER JUMP inflatables, awesome animals at TARONGA ZOO, tons of different SPORTS, LASER tag, RACE CAR simulators, Sydney FRINGE festival, SPACE workshops, COLOUR RUN, fun with other OSHC centres at a local GALA day, mad SCIENCE, MOVIE club, our very own SENSORY GARDEN, the MARITIME museum, Sydney AQUARIUM, TUMBALONG park, BASKETBALL, a whole heap of awesome CRAFTS and so much more…

😅 Phew…! 😅

T3 W9-10 - Happy Holidays!

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* PHOTO OF THE WEEK! *   BILLY IN Y1, SHOWING US WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND COMPASSIONATE...

👋 LIVE FROM THE HIVE … 👋

STAFF NEWS…
We have some great team news this edition:

  • ANA is now our new Educational Leader, effective immediately - the education and playtime of your children is in great hands!

  • ALI will step up to become Kindy Lead - shared with Lucia - from the start of Term 4

  • We welcome HARPER onto the team, after the completion of his induction program. You’ll see Harper during the holidays - please say hi!

Congratulations to you all - the team is going strong!


ASSESSMENT & RATING
We mentioned last newsletter that the Department of Education were coming to assess the centre. We’ve now received the report - and its great news! We sailed through, meeting the required standards for all seven quality areas of the National Quality Standard. We waited almost 6 years for this visit, and are happy to achieve this important milestone, and even more happy to report receiving our first ever EXCEEDING scores:

  • for specific standards within QA4: Staffing Arrangements & QA5: Relationships with Children

  • and as an overall rating for the whole of QA6: Collaborative Partnerships with Families & Communities - we’re particularly proud of this one!

We’re proud of the work we do for you, and we love doing it. We’re already looking forward to the next visit, and aiming for even more Exceeding scores (which are not that easy to get!) Go Team Hive!!


HIVE SESSION FEE INCREASE
We want to give you plenty of notice, that in consultation with the Hive Exec and wider management committee, there is a decision to increase our session fees for before and after care, from the start of Term 1 2025. There will be a $1 increase on each session, meaning recurring bookings will cost $26 a.m. / $33 p.m. and casual bookings will cost $30 a.m. / $36 p.m.

This is to keep us in abreast of increased spend: wages, rent to Dept of Education, resources, food etc. We plan to repeat this $1 increase at the start of each school year, offering predictability and planning opportunity for parents.


PARENT REMINDER
Remember that once you’ve signed out, you need to leave the school grounds straight away - and please don’t linger, especially around the play equipment. This is respectful to our staff, and helps avoid any confusion and safety issues around which children are still in Hive care. Thank you!


SOCCER vs WAYS
We loved hosting the first ever soccer game against WAYS in Week 9. We fielded a squad of 12, playing 7 at a time against a team which consisted largely of other BBPS kids! The players had a great time and the sidelines were noisy and supportive, thanks in particular to the Y1 & Kindy Krew! We’re stoked to report a victory for the Hive in a close-run game, ending 2-1 in our favour.

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

We have been SUPER active this past fortnight and we made sure to get plenty of Vitamin D before this weeks weather change! Continuing with our Spring Dreaming Theme in our ACTIVITY CLUBS:

  • ART & CRAFT: Flower garlands, pet goldfish, pom pom caterpillars, spring paintings

  • BAKING CLUB: yummy savorury cheese & Spinach tarts and rich oreo cheesecakes

  • SPORTS: We're delighted to announce our BIG WIN in our soccer game against WAYS last week!! CONGRATS TEAM!! Aside from that, we've been enjoying kickball, soccer, topple ball, bean bag relay, giant skipping, handball, volleyball

  • EXPLORE & DISCOVER: we embarked on a nature scavenger hunt to collect items for upcoming craft projects! We collected lots of pine needles, banksia seed pods, wonderfully unique dried leaves, twigs...

  • we've also been enjoying LOOSE PARTS play on our adventurous adventure playground

🏖️ HOLIDAY PROGRAM 🏖️

We’re almost there! Our jam-packed program starts on Monday, and we’re looking very busy! We’re fully booked on several days, but there is always some movement so please submit waitlist requests via the app and we’ll fit you in if we can…

We sent out some important HP reminders via the app on Fri 27 Sep. Please check ACCOUNT > INBOX > ADMIN POSTS

 

🐝 BEES OF THE WEEK 🐝

YONAH in Y5 gets a special mention this week!
He consistently does a wonderful job of being such a kind
and supportive friend to other children and to educators.
We love your work Yonah!

MARTA in YK is another special Bee of the Week.
Marta is learning to be super brave in the mornings at drop off time,
actively using techniques to help herself adjust, and being quick to
re-focus on having fun with her friends. Way to go, Marta!