BCCC Village Picnic.

'Bangalow Community Children's Centre Village Picnic' is on Sunday the 27th October at Deacon St Park (next to the weir). This is our first ever village picnic and it is shaping up to be an AMAZING family day out.

If you haven't already, reserve your prepaid picnic hamper now by talking to Trish in the office as we have a limited number available!  The packs are designed for four people and are jam packed with goodies for $30. There are GF/Vego options available on request. There will also be a breakfast BBQ in the morning, a lemonade stand, ice cream stall and so, so much more!

For more information and updates be sure to follow @thevillagepicnicbangalow on instagram. We can't wait to see you all there!

Raffle Tickets

You have probably all received your tickets to buy/sell for our fundraiser raffle which will be drawn at the Village Picnic! If not, please check your pockets at preschool. If you require extra tickets to buy for yourselves or sell, please see Trish in the office.

The raffle is to help raise money to go towards the $400, 000 worth of repairs required to the building, audited by council.

There are some great prizes up for grabs,

*TripaDeal Aussie Adventure
*Splendour VIP 3 Day passes for 2
*Circus Arts Party for 10 Children
*Olli Ella Pack
*$150 Assembly The Label voucher

We must also collect unsold tickets, so if you don't have a chance to sell them then please just return to the Centre.

Thank you and good luck!

Art Show!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Art Show. A lovely morning was had by all and the feedback we received has been nothing but positive! Thank you to all of our wonderful educators for the hard work and dedication you showed surrounding the lead up and set up. It all looked amazing!

Congratulations to those who won the silent auctions and are now the lucky owners of some fantastic original art pieces which they can treasure for years to come.

End of Year Parties

Its almost that time of year again! This year the room's end of year parties will be held on the following dates. All welcome even if it does not fall on your children's regular day!

Jingi Walla: Tues 3/12, 2.30pm
Djimbelung: Wed 4/12, 2pm.
Jambay: 5/12, 2.30pm.
Gariimaa: 6/12, 2.30pm.

Policy Update- Administering Medication

We have recently reviewed and updated our Administering Medication Policy and an excerpt of the updated content is attached below. To read the policy in full, and our other policies please feel free to head to our website or you can view them at the centre.

• A fever emergency is described as a fever of 38 degrees and above in a child under 3 months, or 40
degrees in a child over 3 months. In either case this child would require medical attention. A child
presenting as febrile would also be considered a fever emergency.
• In the event of a fever emergency, where parents or emergency contacts are unavailable or can not be
reached, educators will refer to a medical professional (calling 000 or the healthdirect helpline on
1800 022 222 regarding advice as to whether to administer Panadol).
• In the case of an anaphylaxis/asthma or fever emergency, medication may be administered to a child
without authorisation. In this circumstance, the child’s parent and where relevant emergency services
must be contacted as soon as possible. The emergency medications are kept in the Gariimaa and
JingiWalla rooms. With a back up in the administration office.
• Medications such as Panadol or Prednisone are considered to mask symptoms of pain and fever, and
consequently your child may still be infectious. If medications of this nature are required, children
should be kept at home.

QIP- Renovations and Sustainability

As a part of the QIP we are constantly looking at ways to continue to improve our service and provide the highest quality care. Recently we have begun seeking quotes and undertaking some renovations and restorations around the centre. These include fixing the roof, making the switch to solar hot water, using the rainwater tanks for the toilets, and redoing the electrics to update the  safety switches. We have also had trees trimmed and maintained to protect the buildings and open up the play areas, allowing more sunlight through. We are soon getting the whole exterior of the building painted in a colour which more reflects our organic, nature based approach and are improving the safety of the centre by getting a new fence built along the carpark side. If you would have any spare time or skills and you think you would be able to help us with some jobs around the centre, please let us know as it would be very much appreciated!

The rooms have been doing a lot of gardening and yard maintenance, with herbs, veggies, fruit trees and edible flowers being planted that will be able to be utilised and tended to by the children.

Gardening with children is filled with exploration, education, and fun, allowing them to experience things first hand and participate in active learning. Working in a garden inspires creativity and develops nurturing skills.

Gardening cultivates curiosity about nature, horticulture, and wildlife. More broadly, gardening is a holistic activity in which children make connections between the different things they learn, and they can then apply those lessons to other things in life. It  provides many opportunities for engaging children. By planting and digging the garden children learn responsibility. By picking, tasting cooking, and sharing the food they’ve grown, they learn about where food comes from and nutrition, and they develop healthy eating habits!

If you have any seeds, plants, fruit trees or edible plants/flowers to donate to our gardens, that would be fantastic and the children would love to plant them and watch them grow.

Reminders

A reminder to pack some suitable wet weather play clothes that comply with our sun safety policy. This means a rash shirt/swim suit that covers the shoulders and midriff. If you don't wish to supply a rash shirt, please ensure that there is a change of clothing available in case they get wet! (Note: the Jingi Walla Room provides their rash shirts for water play).

Also a reusable wet bag for wet/dirty clothes to be sent home in is a great way to minimise plastic bag use.

Thank you!

Be You- A Children's Mental Health Initiative:
Nutrition and Mental Health.

Beyond Blue has launched a children's mental health initiative called 'Be You', formally Kids Matter). 'Be you' aims to promote optimum social and emotional outcomes and inclusion in early childhood settings. BCCC is committed to ensuring children, families and educators attending the service have access to resources, information and support and we have created an action team that will work collaboratively to implement this process. If you would like more information about this please don't hesitate to chat to Jen in the Jambay Room who is our Well Being Officer.

Each newsletter I will be attaching a link to various fact sheets from the Be You website. This month we are sharing with you some information about the importance of play when it comes to children's wellbeing.

Play is vital for children’s mental health and wellbeing. It supports the development of skills, attitudes and sense of self (discussed above) that are known to be protective (for example, social competence, good coping and problem-solving skills, resilience, connectedness and the availability of support at critical times). The development of these skills, however, requires adult intervention at critical times for social learning. Most children need help to negotiate these things, and you need to be aware and available to help when needed.

You can read more about NUTRITION AND MENTAL HEALTH here.

Whats On In The Community.