There is so much happening at Poppins this year, we will do our best to cover updates in the newsletters for everyone to be informed. It is wonderful to see all the children learning every day in our natural environment. Both spontaneous & planned experiences maximise their education, whilst having so much fun each day. This month our room’s will be holding Easter hunts and afternoon tea for our Junior Preschool, Preschool & Junior Prep rooms where we will hide plaster eggs for the children to find and paint to take home. Prep room will do an Easter hat parade and afternoon tea. On Thursday 24th April 2025 we will be having an ANZAC Day BBQ lunch for the children that attend the centre on that day. Our Prep children will be making a wreath for ANZAC Day and placing it at the gates of ANZAC Park while on the excursion in the morning. This is a great way for the children to Honour those that have serviced and are servicing currently in the armed forces.
In March the Living Safely with Dogs Program came to Poppins Bush School, to the excitement of the Prep children. The program is delivered to preschools throughout NSW. It targets children in their final year of preschool and teaches them how to live safely with dogs. A team of trained pet educators and their suitability-tested dogs present the Program at preschools across NSW. The presentations are delivered using chat, role play, story and song.
The program focuses on teaching preschool children:
• when dogs should be left alone
• things we should not do to dogs
• how can you tell if a dog is happy, scared or angry
• a safe way to approach and greet a dog
• what to do if approached by an unknown or aggressive dog
• choosing an appropriate pet for their family
• the importance of actively supervising your children’s interaction with your
pets
• the importance of securely separating pets and children when you cannot actively supervise
• basic dog behaviour
• the safety messages that their children have been taught
All the children in Prep were provided with the opportunity to interact with ‘Emily’ the miniature sausage dog. She had a very friendly demeanour. There were even some children that were nervous and worried, and parents flagged this with us, however, by the end of the community visit the children were confident and knew how to be responsible and safe around dogs and they were excited to be given the opportunity to pat Emily.
