Port Explorers OSHC in Port Douglas | Education

Port Explorers OSHC

Locality: Port Douglas

Phone: +61 7 4098 5793

Address: 4 Endeavour Street 4877 Port Douglas, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.portexplorers.com.au

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25.01.2022 Swimming starts tomorrow for years 3-6

25.01.2022 A great opportunity for Aboriginal and/Torres Strait Islanders with an interest in teaching

25.01.2022 T U E S D A Y Our next excursion is this Tuesday (tomorrow) and we will be off to the habitat again - but this time it will be a little different! For this excursion we will be leaving OSHC at 11am and having Lunch with the Lorikeets at the Habitat. ... As always, please remember to bring covered shoes, SunSmart clothing (no singlets!) a hat and a drink bottle. We will be having a group stay behind for anyone who already let me know they didn’t want to go. They will be using our Slip n Slide so make sure to bring a change of clothes and a towel. We look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday and learning more about the weird and wonderful animals who live all around us.

25.01.2022 Good luck everyone! Have loads of fun

24.01.2022 S C A V E N G E R H U N T Today our scavenger hunt was quite a bit trickier than last time! Our teams had to really work together and think outside the box to get their items correct. In the end, The Cool Kids came out as the winners, edging ahead of three other teams who didn’t quite get the correct items on the list... Well done on great teamwork, you’re all champions!

24.01.2022 What’s one of the most challenging aspects of Vacation Care...? I would definitely say: Planning, preparing and storing the amount of food it takes to feed 45 hungry children three meals each day - plus healthy snacks! Well our worries just got a whole lot easier yesterday when our (huge) new fridge arrived!... We now have plenty of room for keeping the children’s meals stored safely, before they are ready to eat. Children are encouraged to take an active role in preparing our menus and often participate in cooking meals as well, so our After School Care crew were pretty excited to see our new fridge... Now we just have to figure out where to fit it! Supporting MTOP: Wellbeing - Children show an increasing awareness of healthy lifestyles and good nutrition Supporting NQS: 3.1.1. Fit for purpose - Outdoor and indoor spaces, buildings, fixtures and fittings are suitable for their purpose, including supporting the access of every child 1.2.2. Responsive teaching and scaffolding - Educators respond to children’s ideas and play and extend children’s learning through open-ended questions, interactions and feedback.

23.01.2022 MINDFULNESS We used our mindful breathing techniques today in the classroom to help us bring the children back to a calmer state of mind before the sometimes challenging transition to lunchtime. There are a few different techniques people can use to practise mindfulness.... For example, noticing the breath pay attention to the feeling of the breath moving in and out of your body or tune in to the senses by noticing what you can see, hear, feel, smell and taste. . Our class are getting really good at the different techniques we use now, and are always left with a feeling of relaxation and calmness afterwards. #mindfulness #mindfullkids #holisticlearning #minfulnessmatters #calmness #calmofmind #breathe #earlychildhoodeducation #oshc

23.01.2022 Meet our amazing Kindy Teacher Miss Katie! We can confidently say your children will be school-ready after their year under her wing. Katie is our fully qualified teacher, with plenty of experience in her field.... I wouldn’t have my own child anywhere else - her reputation precedes her.

23.01.2022 BOOK WEEK Next week is the National Book Council of Australia’s Book Week, and at Port Douglas State School their costume dress-up parade will be Friday (23rd) at 9am in the Cyclone Shelter. Children are encouraged to dress up as their favourite book character - and bring along the book too! ... More information can be found on the Port Douglas State School P&C Association Facebook page.

22.01.2022 Don’t forget your white t-shirts and towels on Tuesday!

22.01.2022 W O R M J U I CE We have finally established our successful worm farm in our OSHC garden, and would like to share some of the benefits with our families - with a gold coin donation of course! The donations will go towards prizes for the children during the next Christmas holidays for events such as our Scavenger Hunt, Crazy Hair Day and Talent Show!... Worm Juice, also known as 'liquid gold', is a magical elixir that provides billions of good microbes such as fungi, and helpful, nitrogen-fixing bacteria to your plants and veggies. You don't see these good microbes in synthetic liquid fertilisers, so nothing beats this recipe from Mother Nature!

21.01.2022 E X C U R S I O N ! Don’t forget today is our skate park excursion! You need to bring: ... Covered shoes SunSmart clothing A bike or scooter (there will be plenty to share around if you can’t bring yours) Helmet We will be departing at 9:30am so don’t be late!

20.01.2022 Some of our children’s favourite parts of today’s excursion, in their own voices... Supporting the My Time Our Place Framework for Schoool Aged Care: Outcome 5.1.8. Children express ideas and feelings and understand and respect the perspectives of others. Outcome 1.1.4. Children openly express their feelings and ideas in their interactions with others

20.01.2022 G U I N E A P I G S ! Meet our new OSHC pets, Cookie and the yet-to-be-named girl guinea pigs! Cookie has been kindly donated from a lovely local family, and we have the little girl who literally showed up on our doorstep. Observing, interacting with and learning to care for an animal can be a valuable part of a child’s education and care experience, enriching... their learning. Encouraging direct contact and developing bonds with animals helps children build empathy and they have the opportunity to observe, interact and learn about the pet they are caring for. Plus they are very cute and fluffy. Links to the National Quality Framework - Element 3.2.3 The service cares for the environment and supports children to become environmentally responsible. The Guide to the National Quality Framework recognises the services role in supporting children to understand and appreciate the natural environment and the interdependence between people, plants, animals and the land

20.01.2022 B I G S C H O O L Is your kindy child attending school next year? If your child is school aged, and enrolled to begin prep in 2021 they are able to attend our Vacation Care service from January 1st.... This is a great way of beginning the year and preparing your child for the transition to school. We offer a welcoming inclusive environment, with plenty of activities and all meals provided in a safe and supportive mixed age learning group. For enrolment forms email [email protected] or via messenger.

20.01.2022 Please see our remaining Vacation Care availability in the image below. Thanks to everyone who has booked in early, we do still have some places available, but our Walkabout Excursions are now full. We do have a number of kindy children enrolled now from January 1st, which is lovely to see and a great way to prepare for their first year of big school.... For enrolments or enquires email [email protected]

19.01.2022 Remember to Remember

19.01.2022 B I G 4 E X C U R S I O N A beautiful day spent with friends and full of laughter! We look forward to taking our very patient second group to the waterpark on Thursday! Thanks to our reliable, professional and amazing educators Aurelie Cyndi Amanda and our volunteer for the day Sue - you guys absolutely rock and its a pleasure to work with you all

19.01.2022 H O L I D A Y S ! We are so ready for a busy and fun school holidays! We have increased our availability to 45 children each day and it’s so great to see so many bookings coming in.... Some reminders for next week: * Please try and arrive by 10am, this is when our activities usually start. * Wear SunSmart clothing - no singlets - and bring a hat. * Covered shoes are needed on excursion days. * We will provide all of the food, but do bring a drink bottle. * Children with asthma - don’t forget your puffer! * Bring a good attitude, an open mind and be ready to give things a go! See you on Monday!

17.01.2022 Time to get those enrolment forms in and organise your child’s Before and After School Care for 2021 if needed

17.01.2022 Today we had a lot of fun exploring the new and improved Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas. We saw so many different types of birds, we hand-fed kangaroos, wallabies and ducks, we saw cassowaries and a HUGE crocodile called Babinda. Supporting MTOP Outcome 2.4: Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment.

17.01.2022 GOODBYE 2020! Happy New Years from all of our OSHC family to yours. Despite a very challenging year, I think we ended the on a high, with loads of exciting activities and happy kids. ... Lots of love, Alice, Sue, Cyndi, Amanda, Aurelie, Melissa, Vanessa, Gwen, Dee and Sarah. See you all on Monday 2021!

17.01.2022 What an amazing, informative day we have had with Juan from Walkabout Cultural Adventures! We learned so much about how local Aboriginal people lived in the rainforest. Did you know that wait-a-while vines are actually really useful? It can be used to get grubs out of rotting trees - delicious and creamy apparently! It also pulls the canopy together, protecting the forest floor and leaf litter from being washed away by rain. We saw an awesome strangler tree, which begins g...rowing from the top of another tree and sends its roots down to the forest floor. Highlights of our day include: Seeing the snake on the side of the road. Charlotte 6yrs Learning about the clay and the different colours. Rocket 8yrs Berries!. Kiara 9yrs The whole thing was great!. Flynn 9yrs The best part of my day was seeing how awesome the children behaved. Miss Cyndi Having icecream. Eli 6yrs

16.01.2022 E X C U R S I O N S Another fun photo from our BIG 4 Glengarry Holiday Park Port Douglas excursion last week! If any parents or children have some ideas on what we could do during the super-long Christmas holidays drop me an email or message!... The children always have PLENTY of ideas: * Cairns lagoon/aquarium * Beach day/ beach cleanup * Horseriding And the one that I just can’t get them to shake: A SLEEPOVER Any and all suggestions are so welcome. Hopefully we hear from some of you soon...

16.01.2022 Class lists are up for next year on Dojo

15.01.2022 CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS Only a few more days until our finalised program will be released. These holiday programs take so much time and organising behind the scenes, and I do understand that some parents wait to see the activities before making their bookings. Please be patient, it has been a rough year and I will have the program out by week six, giving plenty of time to make your Christmas plans.... You will notice on the program the lunches we announce are just one of three meals provided throughout the day (plus healthy snacks). I only list the lunch due to lack of space on the program. The full menu is available on request and is also displayed at OSHC. All children’s dietary requirements and preferences will be catered for. These holidays will be the last ones we enjoy in our current format. Next year we do expect some changes to be made to our growing service and we will be excited to share the news once everything becomes finalised. We wouldn’t want to ‘jump the gun!’

15.01.2022 S U N F L O W E R S Today we were excited to pick some our sunflowers which have bloomed! They are huge and so bright, the children have loved watching them grow slowly from seeds. We also have some different types of flowers blooming but are not sure wether or not we should be cutting them or letting them go to seed, so the children will be doing some online research over the next few days.... Supporting the My Time Our Place Framework for School Aged Care: Outcome 2.4. Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment Outcome: 5.3. Children collaborate with others, express ideas and make meaning using a range of media and communication technologies

15.01.2022 Turns out 2020 ain’t so bad. We’ve had a lot of fun at September Vacation Care - book in for Christmas!

15.01.2022 F U L L H O U S E As we head into another very busy week at Vacation Care we are receiving a lot of last minute bookings. We do have a few places available on Thursday, but at this stage tomorrow and Wednesday are quite full. I will send out an email each morning if more places become available, and any children already on our waitlist will be contacted first. I ask that parents contact me via email during office hours. Any correspondence received after 6pm will not b...e answered until the following morning. Also a reminder that as Director and also Lead Educator I am always with the children and often unable to be in the office, so please understand if I do not get back to you right away. At Port Explorers we love what we do and our children always come first. We are passionate about ensuring your children have a fun, educational school holidays with daily opportunities for participating in meaningful activities. [email protected] #vacationcare #excursions #incursions #christmascrafts #oshc #schoolagedcare

14.01.2022 Look after your mental health Australia, and check in on friends, family and acquaintances when you can - it can make all the difference

13.01.2022 F I R E S A F E T Y Yesterday we had a visit from our local Fire Officers who taught us about being safe around fires, and what we should do in a fire emergency. This important topic was bought to us with a lot of useful information and a ton of laughter! The children had many questions for our Fire Officers and we certainly came out of the experience with a lot more knowledge on what to do in an emergency situation.

12.01.2022 Reminder: No skate park excursion today See you soon for plenty of fun at OSHC!

12.01.2022 What a lovely evening celebrating with our growing team of Educators

12.01.2022 A special Christmas message to all of our Vacation Care children from the lovely Anaclara We love and miss you Ana xxx

12.01.2022 WEEK FOUR TERM FOUR! This term is simply flying by, and our Christmas School Holiday Program is very much underway. Please book in as early as you can to ensure your child doesn’t misss out on an excursion or other fun event we are planning.... We will have some new educators and our usual familiar faces to help settle your child on arrival and guarantee they have the best school holidays ever! Remember if they have any special requests just let me know and I’ll do my very best to make it happen. I expect our finalised program to be out by week 6. If you have any questions or enquires about enrolment please email [email protected] or direct message via Facebook.

12.01.2022 CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS Here is our program for the Christmas School holidays, beginning December 14th and running right through until January 22nd, except public holidays. Please note due to weather conditions or other events beyond our control some activities may be postponed/canceled but we will ensure families are given as much notice of this as we can. ... For any questions or for bookings email [email protected] or direct message via Facebook.

11.01.2022 What a great day we’ve had! A big thank you to the lovely Gillian at Capannina for the delicious handmade gelato - the children devoured them all!

11.01.2022 We are so ready for the school holidays! Don’t forget each day to pack: drink bottle hat... change of clothes Monday is our first day and we are so pleased to be welcoming back our favourites Zoo To You after what seems like the longest time! We will also be planting our own little herbs to take home at the end of the holidays, so make sure children come prepared to get dirty, old clothes are the go-to for Vacation Care! Week one see’s us fully booked, but there are still a few places available over the Christmas/New Year if anyone needs a last-minute booking. Please note that any emails sent after 5pm on Friday will not be answered until Monday morning

11.01.2022 Today we’ve been getting up close and personal with some of the amazing creatures at Zoo To You

10.01.2022 Pop this in your calendar for any of you who have children moving into Kindergarten next year. Our qualified kindy teacher Miss Katie is just amazing. Port Explorers ELC and Kindergarten is open from 6:45am to 6pm, five days per week with a promise of staff continuity, ensuring your little ones get the best start to their educational curriculum, and are school-ready!

10.01.2022 CHRISTMAS WREATHS Today we had a lot of fun making our creative Christmas wreaths. Every single one looked so different and special, with the children putting in a lot of time and effort to make sure they were just right. We were really loving how the older children who had done this activity before, were helping out our younger children if they needed a hand, it reminded our educators how proud we are of our OSHC family.... Thank you to Floral Edge for kindly donating the dried flowers and decorations for the second year in a row. Legends! Supporting: MTOP Learning Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners. NQS: Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities.

10.01.2022 One of the most popular experiments at OSHC is the Coke and Mentos Geyser. This experiment is a lot of fun and sure to amaze the whole class (assuming we do it outside rather than in the class room). At OSHC we have found that the experiment works better with Diet Coke than other sodas due to its slightly different ingredients and the fact that it isn't so sticky. Also we discovered that Diet Coke that was fresher (not sitting in the shelves so long) worked better, so check the date on the bottle if you wanted to try this at home. Levi’s mum and dad might want to buy some mentos and Diet Coke as he was pretty keen!

10.01.2022 D U M P L I N G S Making our traditional Taiwanese dumplings today with Miss Gwen was both culturally meaningful, and absolutely delicious for our Vacation Care children today! At OSHC we love celebrating our Educators different backgrounds and traditions, and believe that by embedding these values it helps us to teach the children the benefits of inclusion and coexistence.... Supporting The NQS: Professional collaboration - Management, educators and staff work with mutual respect and collaboratively, and challenge and learn from each other, recognising each other’s strengths and skills

09.01.2022 WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY Today, October 10 2020 is World Mental Health Day, with the theme being Look after your mental health, Australia. Did you know that around 20% of Australians every year, are affected by Mental Health, but often because of stigma they don’t go and get some help?... To find out more, and to share your own tips on how to look after your wellbeing and mental health, follow #lookafteryourmentalhealthaustralia and #inthistogether on social media.

09.01.2022 This is such a great idea for new families and even families who’ve been here for years like ours! Ask a Parent is a perfect way of getting important info out to the community. Well done PDSS P&C ... #justaskjanice

08.01.2022 Thank you C&K Mossman Community Kindergarten for our loofah plant! We love growing plants and learning about how to care for them in our little garden. We would love to return the favour and share one of our plants with you too. We will get one ready and pop it in with one of our parents (Samantha McCallum ) to drop off during the week.... Supporting MTOP: Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation.

08.01.2022 Good advice for staying safe. Printed posters make it easier to see who’s in on Halloween and who’s out!

07.01.2022 This is such a great app, and wonderful to see it being incorporated into the children’s educational program. At OSHC we greet each other daily by saying ‘yundu yalada’ which means hello in Kuku Yalanji

06.01.2022 Dear Families, Please see our updated availability for the Christmas holidays. We do have a waitlist running for anyone who needs their children in on days which are full. Our friendly OSHC team of qualified educators are super excited to be providing a fun and entertaining ... school holidays for your children. With ELEVEN incursions and excursions over Christmas break, this vacation care program is shaping up to be our biggest (and best!) school holidays ever. See more

06.01.2022 E X C U R S I O N Tomorrow is our first excursion with Walkabout Cultural Adventures. For those children attending, please be at our OSHC building by 9am, and remember to pack: SunSmart clothing (no singlets)... Covered shoes Hat Drink bottle Spare clothes Asthma medication (If required) For the group who will be staying at OSHC, please remember to label any of your belongings, as we already have a few items in lost property. See you all bright and early!

06.01.2022 Another full house at Vacation Care today! And may I say, what a lovely bunch of children we get to spend the school holidays with.

06.01.2022 New books are so exciting! I am hoping we will be able to donate a pack again this year.

06.01.2022 MACRAME EM Our incursion today with Macrame_em was loads of fun. We made colourful wall hangings for the children to take home. Supporting MTOP: 4.1.4. Children participate in a variety of rich and meaningful experiences

05.01.2022 S A R A H We are thrilled to welcome back our beloved Sarah who has returned to Port Explorers after her maternity leave. Sarah is mum to 6 year old Erami and her new baby girl Aluka. We are super excited to have her join our Before School Care team.

05.01.2022 B R A I N T E A S E R !

04.01.2022 Q U I E T S P A C E Sometimes after a busy week at school, all our children want is a calm, relaxing space where they feel secure enough to have a much deserved rest. Our couch area becomes our recharge zone when children are tired after learning new things at school, an exciting excursion, a week of athletics, or if they’re going through a bit of a growth spurt as in Arlo’s case this afternoon!

04.01.2022 There were many beautiful smiling faces today during our second day excursion to Wildlife Habitat Port Douglas! We had a surprisingly encounter with an eclectus parrot and enjoyed Lunch with the Lorikeets. We also had many comments from other visitors about the good behaviour shown by our children - so that’s very cool!... Lots of laughs were had today at the Habitat.

03.01.2022 RAINY DAY ACTIVITIES Yesterday our excursion was canceled, but not one single child complained - how awesome is that?! We did keep them all very busy with lots of rainy day activities such as:... watercolour spiderwebs ink transfer leaves pine cone painting for a mobile Kuku Yalanji inspired artworks popsicle stick skyscraper buildings The skyscrapers looked great, and the children needed to resource their own learning on how these huge structures are built, use teamwork, some mathematics, concentration and problem-solving - all the makings of a great STEM activity for the children!

03.01.2022 NOTES ON AN UNHURRIED JOURNEY When we adults think of children, there is a simple truth which we ignore; childhood is not preparation for life; childhood is life. A child isn’t getting ready to live; a child is living. The child is constantly confronted with the nagging question: What are you going to be? Courageous would be the youngster who, looking the adult squarely in the face, would say, I’m not going to be anything; I already am. We adults would be shocked by s...uch an insolent remark, for we have forgotten, if indeed we ever knew, that a child is an active participating and contributing member of society from the time he is born. Childhood isn’t a time when he is moulded into a human who will then live life; he is a human who is living life. No child will miss the zest and joy of living unless these are denied him by adults who have convinced themselves that childhood is a period of preparation. How much heartache we would save ourselves if we would recognize the child as a partner with adults in the process of living, rather than always viewing him as an apprentice. How much we would teach each other adults with the experience and children with the freshness. How full both our lives could be. A little child may not lead us, but at least we ought to discuss the trip with him; for, after all, life is his and her journey too. John A. Taylor One of my favourite pieces of writing which always comes to mind when planning activities for our little people, they are the heart and soul of everything we do at OSHC.

02.01.2022 Dear Families, This Friday is the final day for you to confirm your child’s place in our holiday program. In order for us to plan a successful Vacation Care service we need to have the accurate numbers of children booked in. This allows us to plan and prepare our menus, rosters, resources, play spaces and excursions. For this reason any absences will be charged at your usual rate, so it is really important to confirm this with me as soon as possible. ... I understand some parents are on rosters which can be difficult to plan ahead for, if you are in a situation such as this please be in contact with me as soon as you can. Alice Billie Hansford [email protected]

01.01.2022 BIG4 WATERPARK EXCURSION! Please bring: SunSmart rashie Thongs... Towel Change of clothes Hat Today is going to be loads of fun - don’t forget those of you that can’t come today are organised to attend the waterpark on Thursday!

01.01.2022 S T A F F M E E T I N G Our latest staff meeting covered everything from sourcing Educators, ordering new resources, planning interesting local excursions, revising policies and procedures plus many more rules, legislations and learning outcomes far too long and tiresome to list in a social media post! So much work, sweat and the occasional tear goes into planning our holiday programs. Many of our educators all have families of their own and sometimes it really is a str...uggle to balance our work/life reality. We thank all parents, families and foster carers for their understanding. We love your children and I hope with all my heart that they enjoyed their school holidays!!! Alice and Team

01.01.2022 F E E D B A C K Our Port Douglas OSHC currently opens at 6:45am. I would love to know if there are families who would prefer next year we open at 6:00am to cater for those parents who start work earlier? Our Cooya Campus has an earlier start to allow for their families to arrive at work on time. If there is a need for this to happen at Port please let me know and I will see what we can do.

01.01.2022 Introducing our two newest Educators at OSHC, Gwen and Vanessa. Both of these lovely ladies have previous experience in early childhood education and bring a wealth of knowledge and culture to our growing OSHC team. We are so happy to welcome them to Port Explorers!

01.01.2022 Hi guys, due to chance of rain (100% - quite high) we have decided to cancel our Monday excursion to the skate park. I know we have a lot of fun there, but imagine the mud and being stuck in our wet clothes all day. You know I try my best to stick to the scheduled program as long as it is safe and viable to do so. ... I have been in this morning setting up lots of rainy day activities, and please feel welcome to bring along anything that might make your day easier. See you all on Monday!