Families would have noticed the additional fencing in A Block.  This is for the introduction of the schools Pre-K students which range from 3 -> 4 years old.  We are very excited to have these additional students become part of our service.

KT OOSH is just awaiting the final sign off to commence operating Before and After School Care for Pre-K students.  Our Directorate came in last week to assess the area and we are now just waiting to gain our final approval which hopefully will see the service up and running within the next three weeks.

Pre-K will operate out of A Block as follows:

Pre-K AM Session: 7:00am – 8:45am

Pre – K PM Session: 3:30pm – 5:30pm

Vacation Care: Not available

Please refer to our Family Handbook for the current Fee Schedule per session.

INVOICING Changes April 2019

Currently KT OOSH Services charge a family bond and all session charges are in arrears instead of in advance.

Should your child have ongoing permanent bookings then your family bond will be credited to your account and will show as your balance forward on the next invoicing run.  All casually enrolled families will still be required to have a refundable $300.00 family bond held on their account.

Effective from April 2019 KT OOSH will be gradually moving our invoicing system to charge two weeks in advance instead of two weeks in arrears.  The transition into the process will aim to not impact on our families too much as it is over the school holiday period.  Should you feel there maybe an issue during the invoicing change transition then please contact Caitlin Eastman in our Head Office on 8814 7610, our invoicing for April will be as follows:

Tuesday 9th April 2019 – Families with permanent bookings will have their refundable family bond applied to their outstanding fees as a fee payment and receive a fee invoice covering 25th March through to 21st April being a four week period (includes week 1 of VC) with an opening credit amount equivalent to your originally family bond paid upon enrolment with the service.  This amount will then be deducted from your nominated account Wednesday 10th April 2019 and places your account one week in advance.

Tuesday 23rd April 2019 – Families will receive a fee invoice covering 22nd April to 19th May 2019 being another four week period.  This amount will then be deducted from your nominated account Wednesday 24th April 2019 and places your account two weeks in advance.

Tuesday 7th May 2019 – There will be NO fee invoice sent to families and therefore no fee deductions on Wednesday 8th May 2019.

Tuesday 14th May 2019 – Families will receive a fee invoice covering 20th May to 2nd June 2019 being a two week period.  This amount will be deducted from your nominated account Wednesday 15th May 2019 and places your account two weeks in advance.

PLEASE NOTE………  Your fee statement you receive in advance only estimates your CCS entitlements and this is highlighted on your fee invoice.  Should there be any adjustments to these by centrelink then the adjustments will be adjusted on the following fortnights fee statements. 

From April 2019 Family Bonds will no longer apply as they will have been placed on your accounts as a fee payment.  When our families wish to close there accounts going forward from April 2019 then the last two weeks of care will not be payable if the fees covering this period have already been covered.

ANNUAL FEE Increase + STAFF DEVELOPMENT DAY Charges

After careful review and making numerous operational changes as you may have noticed at our services over the past six month, we are happy to advise that there was NO fee increase January 2019  as per the normal annual increases.  In addition from the commencement of 2019, Before and After School Session fees are no longer payable on Staff Development Days.

The reason we are able to not increase session fees last month and remove the staff development fee policy going forward is due to various operational changes over the past six month, one being the implementation of the Kiosk system to sign the children in and out of the service as it takes a huge amount of data entry and processing to Centrelink away from administration tasks and in turn cut costs which we are passing onto our parents where we can.

We are always looking at ways to reduce costs that we can then pass onto our families and after listening to our families, we thought these two costs would be a good way.  Session fees will be reviewed in June 2019 in line with annual educator award reviews as normal and we will advise parents accordingly if there is going to be any changes.

We always do our best to pass on savings where we can to assist parents and the community.

A full copy of our fees policy resides in our Policy & Procedure folder at the sign in area should you wish to view it.  Should you wish to discuss any of the above further then please feel free to contact head office or email feedback@ktoosh.com.au

Surveys were sent out via Survey Monkey a couple of weeks ago to gain your feedback on how your child/ren enjoyed their time at the Dec/Jan Vacation Care, as well as to gauge your interest and feedback on what you would like to see in our upcoming program for April 2019.

Thank you to all of those families who have already returned their Survey to us.  If you haven’t already though it would be great to make the decisions of planning based on general consensus from our Community.

Keep an eye out on our website www.ktoosh.com.au for the April 2019 VC Program which should be available in week 4-5.  Email in your requested days to rhac@ktoosh.com.au by the close off date stated on the program to gain the cheaper Early Bird Rate.

Unfortunately we cannot cater for Pre-K students at the point during Vacation Care due to the additional requirements for 3 -> 4 year olds.

For those families that missed this it is attached below for your convenience.  The Family Handbook can also be located on our website www.ktoosh.com.au under the parent information tab.

RHAC 2019 Family Handbook

We have been advised that over the coming weeks that we will be receiving a visit from our Regulatory Authority who will be conducting an Assessment & Rating.

The assessment and rating process allows us the chance to show how well we compare to the benchmarks set by the National Quality Standard.

During the visit they will get all the evidence needed to assess and rate our centre.

This includes:

• observing – what children, families, educators, co-ordinators are doing
• discussing – why and how certain practices happen at the service with educators and staff
• sighting – the documents that are in place to support the practices at your service required by the National Law and National Regulations

After the visit we will receive a draft assessment and rating report. This includes:

• an overall rating
• ratings for each individual quality area
• information about any elements of the NQS that were not met
• any non-compliances with the National Law or National Regulations
• improvement notes

You can find our current Assessment and Rating in our Sign in Area.  We are really looking forward to this process which will give us some valuable feedback of where we can improve our service for the community.

If you have any questions, please feel free to speak with any of the Educators at the centre or email them to feedback@ktoosh.com.au.

If you missed our Kindy/New Students Orientation at the beginning of term, here is a copy of what was discussed:

Kindy/New Students Orientation Information

Your Family Handbook can also be referred to for more detailed and important information on our website www.ktoosh.com.au under the parent information tab

We are constantly reviewing and updating our food menus to ensure we supply a nutritional menu keeping in mind children’s health and development.

Our current week’s menu for BSC, ASC & VC is always displayed at the Service as well as being posted on on Facebook page the weekend before

During this term our focus is going to be promoting healthy eating choices in our breakfast menu as well as our afternoon snacks and we will be doing many activities with the children that will help support them to make healthy choices for the rest of their life.

Our Breakfast Menu consists of: 

Cereals – WeetBix, Wholemeal Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Rice Bubbles

Yoghurt/Fruit & Berries

Wholemeal toast and spreads

Water & Low Fat Milk

Our Afternoon Snack Menu consists of a variety of foods over different days and may consist of:

Wraps, Sandwiches, Rice Cakes, Cruskits, Popcorn, Corn Chips, Crackers, Salsa, Dips

Yoghurt, Cheese, Fruit (both fresh and dried) & Vegetables

Water is available throughout the whole session.

If you would like to make any suggestions towards the menu or our policy (currently under review) please email feedback@ktoosh.com.au.

When we visited the country town of Cobar they were so appreciative of our generous donation.  During these hot summer days they are still really struggling……

This year we will be continuing to assist the community through IGA Cobar Gift Voucher instead of grocery donations which will be purchased from all our “Buy a Cow or a Calf” donations.  Our Return & earn program will also continue for the year and monies raised from these will be included in the donations to Cobar.  Please look at the pictures on site of all the things our centres donated including blankets made by the children and bath mats.

Donations have been made easier, you can purchase a Cow for $10.00 or a Calf for $5.00, or both!

Simply email your centre email and request one for your child/ren.  Please state if your would like a Cow or a Calf.  Your donation will be added to your account and charged in the following billing cycle.  Once purchased, a Cow or Calf will be sent to the centre with your child/ren’s name on them to colour in, write their name and place it up on the display.  We are aiming to sell over 500 cows and 500 calves and will keep you updated on the running tally over the months through the Cobar Go Fund Me page.  Please refer to the Go Fund Me link on the centres Facebook page which has been reposted.

KT OOSH is in the process of recreating our Farmers display and the Return & Earn bins are under the display.  Please leave all Return & Earn collections of cans & bottles in the green tubs.

Between October 2018 and December 2018 KT OOSH raised an amazing $3472.50 for the community of Cobar.  This money was raised as per below:

KT OOSH Donated 50% of the Vacation Care Walk-A-Thon days fees from IRPS & RHAC – $1652.00

Community Donations – $359.60

Thank you to the following people: Shannon Hadley $100, Sheridan Southall $50, Tracey Kelly $100.

Kelly Family Return & Earn $109.60 (1096 donations)

KT OOSH IRPS Walk-A-Thon Sponsorships – $291.00

Thank you to the following children: Julie B $100, Cameron B $10, Eric Lu $20, Holly P $10, Bonnie $10, Tailor-Jay $10 & Sanish R $131.

KT OOSH RHAC Walk-A-Thon Sponsorships – $928.00

Thank you to the following children: Grace L $, Jessica A $20, Julian D $10, Medhansh G $10, Alice I $20, Kate I $20, Christiano M $50, Jessica W $168, Keitaro T $100, Joanna Xu $15.

IRPS Return & Earn Donations – $118.90 (1189 donations)

RHAC Return & Earn Donations – $101.30 (1013 donations)

OLA Return & Earn Donations – $21.70 (217 donations)

Help our farmers and dig deep, it maybe you that needs our help one day……….

Our Annual Walk-A-Thon has now been running for 4 years and the the money raised donated to a charity.  We have raised money for the following causes over the year:

Ronald McDonald House for three years and the Cobar Community last year and this year.  If you have a charitable organisation that is close to your heart then please email feedback@ktoosh.com.au

Attending Staff Development Days/Vacation Care is easy!

If you are a currently enrolled KT OOSH family then simply email the service you would like to attend and list the days you would like to book in for prior to the closure dates listed on each program to gain the Early Bird Rates.  Click here to view Dec 2018 & Jan 2019 Vacation Care Programs:

Rouse Hill Anglican College:   rhac@ktoosh.com.au

RHAC December 2018 VC Program

RHAC January 2019 VC Program

Ironbark Ridge Public School:  irps@ktoosh.com.au

IRPS December 2018 VC Program

IRPS January 2019 VC Program

NOTE: If a Staff Development Day falls on your permanent Before &/or After School Care day then BSC & ASC fees apply if you do not book into the staff development day for your school, as per our fees policy.

Staff Development Day/Vacation Care Hours: Strictly 7:00am – 6:00pm with late fees accruing after 6:00pm.  If you are running late then please have the courtesy to contact the centre directly to ensure a staff member is able to stay after 6:00pm as this is not always possible.  Late fees apply at a rate of $15/five minute increments/child + a $7.50 non notification fee if the centre is not advised.

RHAC: 0434 584 881 OR IRPS: 0428 021 652

Fees: A lot of time and planning goes into Staff Development Days/Vacation Care and therefore last minute requests cannot always be accommodated due to staffing, logistics or supply issues.

Breakfast: During Staff Development/Vacation Care Periods Breakfast is from 7:00am – 8:00am with morning tea at approximately 9:30am.

Children’s Daily Requirements: HATS, CLOSED in SHOES & Socks, JUMPER, DRINK BOTTLE & a Back Pack/Bag.  During the Holiday Period Electronics will be allowed everyday with limited/set times throughout the day being allocated for play.

We would love to hear your feedback and suggestions so we can incorporate them in our future Vacation Care Programs.  Please click on the link below and complete the 3 minute survey………….

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZF3GMHV

Your input is much appreciated and we thank you in advance.

Bookings now OPEN for Vacation Care over the Xmas/New Year Period!!!!!!! 

Attending Staff Development Days/Vacation Care is easy!

If you are a currently enrolled KT OOSH family then simply email the service you would like to attend and list the days you would like to book in for prior to the closure dates listed on each program to gain the Early Bird Rates.  Click here to view Dec 2018 & Jan 2019 Vacation Care Programs:

Rouse Hill Anglican College:   rhac@ktoosh.com.au

RHAC December 2018 VC Program

RHAC January 2019 VC Program

Ironbark Ridge Public School:  irps@ktoosh.com.au

IRPS December 2018 VC Program

IRPS January 2019 VC Program

NOTE: If a Staff Development Day falls on your permanent Before &/or After School Care day then BSC & ASC fees apply if you do not book into the staff development day for your school, as per our fees policy.

Staff Development Day/Vacation Care Hours: Strictly 7:00am – 6:00pm with late fees accruing after 6:00pm.  If you are running late then please have the courtesy to contact the centre directly to ensure a staff member is able to stay after 6:00pm as this is not always possible.  Late fees apply at a rate of $15/five minute increments/child + a $7.50 non notification fee if the centre is not advised.

RHAC: 0434 584 881 OR IRPS: 0428 021 652

Fees: A lot of time and planning goes into Staff Development Days/Vacation Care and therefore last minute requests cannot always be accommodated due to staffing, logistics or supply issues.

Breakfast: During Staff Development/Vacation Care Periods Breakfast is from 7:00am – 8:00am with morning tea at approximately 9:30am.

Children’s Daily Requirements: HATS, CLOSED in SHOES & Socks, JUMPER, DRINK BOTTLE & a Back Pack/Bag.  During the Holiday Period Electronics will be allowed everyday with limited/set times throughout the day being allocated for play.