BUZZ MAGAZINE TERM 3 2016

Randwick
BUZZ
KINDERGARTON ENROLMENT
NOW OPEN FOR 2017
7 WAYS TO
BE PRESENT
While Parenting For The Future
BROUGHT TO YOU BY RANDWICK PUBLIC SCHOOL

Kindergarten Enrolment Is
Now Open For 2017
Randwick Public School is now completing enrolments for
2017 IN AREA STUDENTS ONLY.
Please pass this information on to any families who have a
child/children due to start school next year.
Birth dates eligible for Kindergarten 2017:
1st August 2011 - 31st July 2012
Please contact the Randwick School Office on
9398 6022 between the hours of 9am and 3pm to organise
an interview for enrolment
Cowper Street Randwick NSW 2031
randwick-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au
Phone 9398 6022 Fax 9399 8907

Mind Marathon

How do we find the balance?
Here are 7 ways to be present,
while still parenting for the future.
1. Slow down the pace
We are living life at a tremendous speed. Society deems us to live at this hurried, crazy
pace and we are reaching the maximum capacity of the ‘hurry up’ culture. We are ferrying
our kids from one after school activity to another, we are filling in every moment of the day
with something and we are constantly in a rush to get somewhere. We are telling our kids to
‘hurry up and eat your breakfast’, ‘hurry up and get your shoes on’, ‘hurry up and grow up’.
If we slow down the pace of our lives enough to take in the wonder and awe of our children,
we can see who they really are and nurture it. It is in this down time that we are building the
strong, connected family relationships and living for the moment. It is also in this time that
we can have fun with our kids and build positive memories.
2. Perfection is an illusion
A lot of the time we are parenting our kids to be the ‘model citizen’. We are pushing and polishing
them to be perfect and forget that perfection is actually an illusion. We are all human
and have our faults and differences – so do our kids. Disciplining can quickly change to criticism
and we become critical of every little thing our child does ‘wrong’. It is actually OK for
our kids to make mistakes and learn from them. It is OK if they only do what we want from
them for 80 per cent of the time and aren’t perfect 100 per cent. We need to be clear on the
traits and values we want to instill in our children from the very start and pour our focus only
on them. If we try to guide and teach our children to do and be everything, it won’t work.
3. Parent for the future, but meet kids in the now
Kids, by their very nature, live in the moment. Unlike adults, they don’t plan every integral
time period of what will happen in two weeks time and they don’t dwell on what happened
a week ago. They live for now and we need to meet them there. We need to connect with
them and have fun with them now. A great way to do this is through micro moments of
connection. A high five at the door on the way out in the morning, a wink across the table, a
spontaneous dance off in the kitchen or a note in their lunch box means much more to our
kids than setting up an hour every second weekend to do ‘special time’. They want to live for
now so join them in it.
4. Say YES more often
Provide plenty of opportunities to have fun with your kids. How often does your child say
‘Can we go to the park and get an ice-cream?’. No. ‘Can we go on a bike ride?’. Not right
now. ‘Can we go to the beach?’. Not today. Why not? Because we have filled our lives with
so many other plans and arrangements, we run out of time to do the fun things with our
kids.Being spontaneous and saying yes allows us to have fun with our kids and live the positives
in life. Childhood is so short. My daughter turns 11 in a few weeks and she already wants

to be with her friends more than she wants to be with us. She is creeping into teenager
hood and thankfully we have snuck in many more fun, ‘yes’ times that we should have in our
time together.
5. ‘Be’ with your kids, don’t ‘fix’
Our kids don’t need fixing because they are not broken. They are born with their own personalities
and traits. If you have more than one child, you know just how different each personality
and character can be and while we have a set ideal in our mind of what our kids
‘should be like’ each one is not necessarily going to meet that standard. Rather than fixing
or changing our kids, they need us to be with them and to be there for them as a guide or
mentor. They need us to know who they are and build our relationship around that, rather
than always trying to turn them into what we want them to be.
6. Disconnect and reconnect
We live our lives connected to technology – we have our iPhones, kids have their iPads,
WiFi is everywhere and we are connected to what is going on in our online world. You just
have to go to the local park or swimming pool to see this. At a park last week, every Mom
was holding her iPhone 10 inches from her face looking at Facebook or Instagram while
her child played on the swing, climbed the monkey bars or slid down the slide. There were
even a couple of kids that had bought their iPads to the park and were playing side by side
on them. We are so connected to technology, and in this case, at the expense of connecting
with our kids. Put the phones down at the park and push your kids on the swing. At the
end of the day when they are reliving the fun things you did together, do you think it will be
watching you on your iPhone at the park? Probably not. This is where the connection with
our kids happens – when we interact, when we get involved in their fun times. Not when we
sit back and connect with our technology.
7. Don’t discipline all the time
Parenting now is a very serious business. When we were growing up, often free-range parenting
was how we were raised. We came home when the street lights went on and we
learnt a lot of things the hard way. Along the way we became
resilient and independent. It seems parenting has
taken a full turn in many circles and the term ‘helicopter
parenting’ is rife. We hang too close to our kids and we are
constantly disciplining them. ‘Don’t do that’. ‘Don’t say that’.
‘Don’t touch that’. I followed a mother around the supermarket
with her toddler in tow the other day and she must
have said ‘no’ and ‘don’t’ 80 times or more. It is reminder to
let our kids have some freedom and do some of the learning
on their own. They don’t need to be controlled by us at
every turn. Guide and protect, but don’t spend all your day
disciplining because where is the fun in that!
I am glad my son called me out on focusing on the bad
things last night, rather than looking at the good. Our kids
are awesome and we don’t need to constantly tell them
how to do things the best way but learn to appreciate them
for who they already are. My son’s lesson to me: Parent for
the future, but please live with me in the moment.

Spring Breakfast
Muffins Florentine – Breakfast
Preparation:10min
Cook: 20min
Ready in: 30min
Serves: 4
Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 800g baby spinach leaves
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 4 wholemeal english muffins, split
• 8 chives (optional)
• Yogurt and chive sauce
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup (130g) Greek-style yogurt
• 8 chives, snipped
Directions
1. Firstly, we will make the sauce. Whisk the egg yolks,
mustard and yogurt in a heatproof bowl over a large
saucepan of simmering water (without allowing the bowl
to touch the water) for approximately 10 minutes until
thick, then remove from the heat. Add the chives and
season to taste. Cover the bowl to maintain warmth in
the sauce.
2. Heat the oil in the pan, add the spinach and stir-fry
over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes until wilted. Drain
in a sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon to
remove excess moisture. Season to taste, then cover to
keep warm.
3. To poach the eggs, fill the pan with 1/3 water. Add
the vinegar and a pinch of salt and heat to simmering.
Carefully break in the eggs, one at a time, and cook
gently for 2–3 minutes until they are cooked as you like
them, spooning the hot water over the yolks towards the
end of the cooking time. Meanwhile, toast the muffins.
Using a spatula or large spoon, delicately lift the eggs
from the water one at a time and drain on paper towel.
4. Divide the spinach among the muffin bases, place a
poached egg on top and spoon over the warm sauce.
You can garnish with whole chives, if you wish, sprinkle
with pepper and rest the remaining toasted muffin halves
on the side.

ENGAGING AFTER SCHOOL
WORKSHOPS
TERM FOUR
2016
Kids learn best through activities that engage their curiosity and creativity.
BRICKS 4 KIDZ® After School Programs build on the universal popularity of
LEGO® Bricks to deliver a high quality of educational play. Each hour-long
workshop is a fun, enriching experience for your child!
TERM FOUR : SPORTS SPECTACULAR
During this term students, will explore sports
ranging from gymnastics to biking, mini-golf to
airplane acrobatics! We will look at the importance
of physical fitness along with the mechanics of the
sport, such as the physics involved in golf and the
components of a stationary bike. The best part for
the students is the way the models move and the
fun they have playing with them after they are built -
hitting a plastic golf ball with the mini-golf model,
watching the gymnast spin around the bar and
seeing the tiny airplanes spin around and around
on the air show model.
Wednesday 19th Oct - Wednesday 7th Dec
Cost $140 per term
Randwick Public School
BOOK NOW!
0411 373 101
bnainu@Bricks4Kidz.com
bricks4kidz.com.au/randwick

SPRING SCHOOL HOLIDAY
WORKSHOPS
COOGEE, MAROUBRA
CLOVELLY
Motorised LEGO® projects, Crafts and Games
Popular themes to inspire Creativity
One Day Workshops
Maroubra
Snape Park Tennis Centre 27th Sept
Coogee
July 25th - July 29th
Eastward Senior Citizens 29th & 30th Sept
Clovelly St Luke’s Clovelly 4th, 6th & 7th Oct
With our own unique BRICKS 4 KIDZ® models and creative play with
LEGO®, the kids are always having fun at our popular School Holiday workshops!
BOOK NOW!
0411 373 101
bnainu@bricks4kidz.com
bricks4kidz.com.au/randwick
Space and Galaxy Far Away
Spinning Ninjas
Remote Control
Jurassic Brick Park

Level 2, 164 Belmore Rd, Randwick 9662 2211
Check out the Eastern Suburb’s Newest Music School!
Inspire. Create. Perform
www.directionsinmusic.com.au