Over the past few weeks, many of our Educators have come to the realisation that the end of the year is coming and there has been a tug of the heart strings. As we look over our documentation around the children's learning, the opportunities that have been embraced, the friendships made and the possibilities for the future - we are blessed!

Since Curiosity began in 2020, we have reimagined, reflected and refined our practices based on the needs of the individual child when it comes to transitioning children into and within Curiosity, as well as to school.

Our commitment:

We value our family partnerships and believe that this creates a strong sense of belonging and connectedness.

We believe that transition begins with building relationships and engaging with all stakeholders who are part of a child’s learning journey, including the child.

Stakeholders include: parents, children, siblings, teachers, all staff and allied health.

Transitions are times when children move between and adapt to different spaces or places and with different people, experiences, expectations and routines. (EYLF, p. 16)

Love:

We appreciate that each child is unique and therefore their transition pathways will reflect this.
We build on current and prior experiences of the child to ensure positive transition.
We build relationships with parents and carers at each stage of learning.

Optimism:

We seek out regular opportunities to engage our students in meaningful interactions that builds a sense of belonging.
Students face transition with courage, which is underpinned with the understanding that social and emotional development can support successful transition.

Creativity:

We create innovative ways to develop partnerships across all stages of learning from Curiosity and other sites of learning.

Moving Up (into Blue or Orange Teams) & Moving On (to Big School)

Throughout the rest of 2023, there will continue to be a lot of change. Some children will be experiencing what 2024 will look like as a Foundation learner at school, some of our Green Team children will be experiencing learning as a Blue or Orange Team learner, and some Green Team children will be welcoming many new friends into their team.

Our Stage 1 Team (Curiosity Lead and Foundation Teachers, Claudia Deanshaw - Director of JP, Caitlin Robinson - Learning Support Teacher and myself) have been meeting since early August to plan a pathway for success for our Orange and Blue Team children as they continue to grow their sense of belonging and identity at school.

As a Curiosity team, we have begun exploring pathways for our current children who are attending in 2023 to experience living and learning in some new environments. We will also be exploring entry into 'imagination' the Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) at Big School to support the building of connection, as children commencing at Good Shepherd School in 2024, can attend the Holiday program in early January.

These pathways are complex as we consider each child, so we thank you in advance for keeping up to date with our communications. Please understand that experiences may vary depending on what day your child attends. We will however endeavour to give each child as many meaningful experiences as possible with the time that they have at the Centre.

Transitioning children and families through change is a responsibility that our team is passionate about. We know that a child transitions in and out of new experiences multiple times per day and with that comes varied complexities that are often driven by strong emotions. Sometimes our feelings towards new experiences can present as big feelings and these need to be acknowledged as the child works through them with a caregiver. For some children change can be exciting as their eyes scan new environments for opportunities. Either way, it is important to remain open and responsive to the messaging a child may be sending in response to how they are feeling. If at any stage you feel there is something that is important for us to know as we continue planning transition experiences, please feel free to contact your child's Lead Teacher.

Over the coming months, we would like to offer our community various opportunities to promote a successful transition for your child within Curiosity and to school in 2024. Please refer to the following Starting Block page for further reading or feel free to borrow a copy of the publication, 'First Year at School.' These books are located in our entry at Curiosity.

https://www.startingblocks.gov.au/other-resources/factsheets/transition-to-school

Together in partnership, we look forward to seeing each child flourish in their new learning teams for 2024.

Living & Learning Conversation - Week 9 & 10