Colossians 3:23 reminds us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” In early childhood, excellence is shown when children try their best, show kindness, and keep going even when things feel hard. As parents, we can encourage excellence by praising effort, celebrating small steps, and helping children see mistakes as part of learning. Excellence is not about being perfect, but about giving their best in play, learning, and friendships. When children understand that doing their best honors God, they grow in confidence, perseverance, and joy in all they do.

Friendly reminder Friday, 5 September is a student free day for CCC students. If you’d like to book Vacation Care on that day, please reach out to [email protected] Numbers are strictly limited.

We would like to kindly remind all CCC families without children attending the ELC to please avoid parking in the designated ELC parking spaces.

These spots are reserved specifically to assist our younger families with easier and safer access during drop-off and pick-up times. Using these spaces when not collecting ELC children can create challenges and safety concerns for those who rely on them daily.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in helping us maintain a safe and smooth collection process for all.

Thank you for your continued support.

A friendly reminder to our OSHC families that any parents, grandparents, or other family members wishing to visit our OSHC service must be registered volunteers and have their visit planned in advance with our staff.

For the safety and wellbeing of all children in our care, we are unable to accommodate unplanned drop-ins from family members. This is a safety requirement and part of our commitment to maintaining a secure and well-managed environment for our students. If you are interested in applying to become a volunteer please contact [email protected].

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

As the colder months bring sniffles and seasonal bugs, Little Arrows will take a short break over the winter period. We’re planning to ease back into things with a couple of informal playdates in Spring, once the weather is warmer and little ones are feeling better.

Any special College events will be shared via email so you can still stay connected and join us if you wish. Thank you for your ongoing support of Little Arrows. We look forward to gathering again soon — happy, healthy, and ready to play!

Kindy News – Sharing About Families and the Letter W!

Last week, our Kindy children began Show and Tell with the meaningful theme of "Family." Each child had the chance to share something special about their family – whether it was a story, photo, or favourite family tradition. This sparked lots of thoughtful questions and curious conversations as the children learnt more about each other’s lives.

We also continued exploring the alphabet and are now nearing the end with the letter W. The children enjoyed engaging in W-themed songs, games, and writing activities.

These experiences link closely to the Kindergarten Learning Framework, supporting:

• Identity – as children share personal stories and develop confidence in expressing who they are and where they come from.

• Connectedness – as they learn about the lives and families of their peers, building respect and understanding of diversity.

• Wellbeing – through building confidence in speaking, listening, and participating in a supportive group environment.

• Active Learning – by asking questions, making connections, and engaging in alphabet and literacy activities.

• Communicating – as children develop language skills through speaking, listening, and engaging in meaningful conversations.

We’re so proud of the children's enthusiasm and growing confidence – we can’t wait for more Show and Tell adventures in the coming weeks!

• September School Holidays 
  • The ELC will remain open with a holiday program in place from 22 September to 3 October.
• Public Holiday
  • October 6 
  • ELC & OSHC Closed 
• Term 4 Begins
  • October 7

Ingredients:

• 400 g zucchini approx 3-4, grated
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 75 g (½ cup) self raising flour
• 40 g (½ cup) parmesan finely grated
• 1 egg whisked
• 2 teaspoon minced garlic optional
• salt and pepper to season
• 2 tbs olive oil

Method:

1. Place grated zucchini into a strainer and add the salt. Stir then leave for 10 minutes. Squeeze out all of the excess liquid. Place the zucchini into a bowl.
2. Add the self-raising flour, parmesan, egg, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
3. Heat 1 tbs of the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Place tablespoons of the mixture into the pan.
4. Flatten out with a spatula and cook for 2 minutes on either side or until golden and crispy on the outside (they'll still be deliciously soft on the inside).
5. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Our belief in the “magic” of family dinners is grounded in research on the physical, mental and emotional benefits of regular family meals.

Over three decades of research have shown that regular family meals offer a wide variety of physical, social-emotional and academic benefits. While some of these benefits can be gained through other activities, eating together is the only single activity that is known to provide all of them at the same time.

We recommend combining food, fun and conversation at mealtimes because those three ingredients are the recipe for a warm, positive family dinner — the type of environment that makes these scientifically proven benefits possible.

Some of the specific benefits of family dinners are:

• Better academic performance
• Higher self-esteem
• Greater sense of resilience
• Lower risk of substance abuse
• Lower risk of teen pregnancy
• Lower risk of depression
• Lower likelihood of developing eating disorders
• Lower rates of obesity
• Better cardiovascular health in teens
• Bigger vocabulary in pre-schoolers
• Healthier eating patterns in young adults

There are also benefits for adults, including:

• Better nutrition, more fruits and vegetables and less fast food
• Less dieting
• Increased self-esteem
• Lower risk of depression

Researchers found that for young children, dinnertime conversation boosts vocabulary even more than being read aloud to. The researchers counted the number of rare words – those not found on a list of 3,000 most common words – that the families used during dinner conversation.

Young kids learned 1,000 rare words at the dinner table, compared to only 143 from parents reading storybooks aloud. Kids who have a large vocabulary read earlier and more easily.
Older children also reap intellectual benefits from family dinners. For school-age youngsters, regular mealtime is an even more powerful predictor of high achievement scores than time spent in school, doing homework, playing sports or doing art.

Other researchers reported a consistent association between family dinner frequency and teen academic performance.
Adolescents who ate family meals 5 to 7 times a week were twice as likely to get A’s in school as those who ate dinner with their families fewer than two times a week.

Children who eat regular family dinners also consume more fruits, vegetables, vitamins and micronutrients, as well as fewer fried foods and soft drinks. And the nutritional benefits keep paying dividends even after kids grow up: young adults who ate regular family meals as teens are less likely to be obese and more likely to eat healthily once they live on their own.

You can read about all the additional benefits here but, of course, the real power of dinners lies in their interpersonal quality. If family members sit in stony silence, if parents yell at each other, or scold their kids, family dinner won’t confer positive benefits. Sharing a roast chicken won’t magically transform parent-child relationships. But dinner may be the one time of the day when a parent and child can share a positive experience – a well-cooked meal, a joke, or a story – and these small moments can gain momentum to create stronger connections away from the table.

Sourced from: The Family Dinner Project. (2022). Science says: eat with your kids. Retrieved from thefamilydinnerproject.org/about-us/benefits-of-family-dinners/

Dear families, 

Our CCC Early Learning Centre is a great childcare centre, however, there are always ways to improve.  Our goal is for every child to feel safe, supported and nurtured in a Christ-centred learning environment. 

Your feedback will help us provide a quality education for your child(ren) and set the strategic directions for CCC and the ELC. 

Kind regards, 

Ross Waltisbuhl  
Principal 

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