Cambrai Early Learning Centre

Bike Week is Back! 🚲

One of our favourite annual traditions has returned, with our car park transformed into a bike track for the week!

As part of our commitment to Quality Area 2: Children’s Health and Safety, children are learning valuable bike and road safety skills while building confidence, staying active, and having lots of fun.

Through riding, navigating the track, and practising safe road behaviours, children develop coordination, awareness, and independence in an engaging and supportive environment.

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Each year during Reconciliation Week, we come together around a fire to honour and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Fire holds deep cultural significance for many Aboriginal peoples and provides a meaningful space for sharing stories, knowledge, and connections.

Throughout the week, our educators take turns preparing and presenting experiences and lessons for the children around the fire. As we gather, we enjoy lemon myrtle tea and engage in conversations about Aboriginal culture, history, and perspectives.

This special tradition creates opportunities for learning, reflection, and connection, helping children develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of Australia's First Nations peoples. It is a cherished part of our Reconciliation Week celebrations, and one that we are proud to continue each year.

A big thank you to Helen for running our Pizza Party for educators last night! 🍕

Combining team bonding with professional development, Helen shared her expertise as a trained chef, providing the team with practical ideas for cooking experiences with children and exploring the science behind different cooking methods that can be incorporated into our educational program.

It was a fantastic opportunity to learn, collaborate, and gain inspiration for future experiences with the children.

Most importantly, we enjoyed spending time together, cooking, sharing a meal, and having plenty of laughs along the way.

Thank you, Helen, for generously sharing your knowledge and passion with the team. We appreciate all the time and effort you put into making the evening such a success! 👏😊

Parents and carers- register your interest in this parent webinar series thanks to Yarrawarrah Public school!

Thank you to everyone who supported our Biggest Morning Tea fundraiser!
Together we raised $665 for the Cancer Council!

We had a special visitor come to kindy and talk about our oceans and all the different creatures that live there. Diver Dave showed us how to use goggles and a snorkel so that we can see under water. He then showed us real sea creatures that can be found in rock pools. We looked at a sea snail, a sea bunny, sea urchins and some different kinds of starfish. 🐚

The children were so excited to see the sea creatures. We also learnt about Port Jackson shark eggs! It was so interesting to find out how the mummy shark lays her eggs. We got to look at other things like sea sponges, shells, fossils and shark teeth. 🦈

After Diver Dave showed us the sea creatures, he let us come and explore ourselves. We got to see and touch the sea creatures in the tank and feel the sponges, shells and fossils. We then got to see a crab running around the mat and each of us gave the crab a pat. 🦀

We went for a treasure hunt in our yard and found a treasure chest under a tree. We opened it up and found so many cool things including jewellery, coins and cups! 💍

Lastly, we had a talk about things that don’t belong in the ocean. Diver Dan showed us some of the things he has found in the ocean that don’t belong there. He has found straws, a sock, a bike pedal and even a serving spoon! We discussed how it is important to use recycle bins and dispose of our rubbish properly so it does not harm the ocean and its creatures. 😊

Celebrating all our Cambrai Mums... the ones in the thick of it, carrying the mental load, running on little sleep, holding sticky hands, and providing endless hugs and bedtime stories
The days are long, but the years are short and the love will last a lifetime 💗

Biggest Morning tea cake stall at Cambrai Early Learning Centre

We are inviting the Engadine community to attend our fundraiser for The Cancer Councils Biggest morning tea!
Our cutest salespeople will be in our carpark selling some delicious treats!

When: Wednesday 20th May between 10am-11:30am
Where: 73 Cambrai Avenue, Engadine (carpark)

You can bring cash on the day or donate via our QR code directly to the fundraising page

-Donations can also be made here: https://www.biggestmorningtea.com.au/s/70728/150376

Big thank you to the families who have already started to bring in donations, we greatly appreciate it!

Meeting of two cultures
Yesterday morning, Ashlea and Lucy had the opportunity to attend the Meeting of Two Cultures at Kamay Botany Bay National Park. This important event commemorates the 1770 first contact between James Cook’s HMB Endeavour crew and the Gweagal community and encourages reflection, respect and connection through Indigenous ceremonies and workshops.
During the event, we heard from Aboriginal Elders, local community members and council representatives who shared cultural stories, knowledge surrounding the areas history. We explored bush tucker and learned about bush mint and its traditional uses, including as a flavouring for salads and other meals, in herbal teas and for its medicinal properties. Sutherland Council's Natural Areas Aboriginal Heritage Officer Graham Avery uses bush mint to season kangaroo meat.
We also heard from Noeleen Timbery, who spoke about the Gweagal spears that were taken by Joseph Banks and James Cook and her work in successfully returning them to community from Trinity College Cambridge.
We were lucky enough to watching the Gamay Dancers perform, sharing the story of the Maridha (sea eagle) through traditional song and dance.
We really enjoyed being part of this experience and felt grateful for the opportunity to listen, learn and strengthen our understanding of Aboriginal culture and connection to Country.
When we returned to Cambrai, we shared our experience with the children. Together, we looked at the bush tucker we collected, learning what it’s called and how it’s used and read a book about belonging, connection and being one human race. We’re looking forward to continuing this learning and can’t wait to plant our bush tucker in the garden!