Term 2 Centre Closures: Saturday 11 & Monday 13 June (Queen’s B’Day Long Weekend)
Term 2 Centre Closures: Saturday 11 & Monday 13 June (Queen’s B’Day Long Weekend)
Our early entry swim classes deliver personal aquatic survival skills and introductory swimming fundamentals such as:
1. The swimming adult is required to wear a loose fitting t-shirt over the top of swimwear. The T-shirt is to promote and develop the infant’s reaching and grabbing skills.
2. Long hair should be tied back neatly.
3. We recommend make up and jewellery (especially dangly or hooped ear rings), is not worn in the water.
4. Finger nails should be kept to a safe and practical length.
5. Be mindful of infant’s feeding time. Ensure feeding time isn’t too close to lesson time. It could get messy!
6. Sick infants are unhappy swimmers! We have a make-up lesson policy in place to take care of an illness absence.
We have one body of water at our swimming centre. To ensure our water quality remains the highest possible, ELSC have a Non-Negotiable Swim Nappy Policy in place which requires ALL children 3 years and under OR NON TOILET TRAINED children to wear:
ELSC reserve the right to ask any person that is not complying with this policy to exit the swimming pool. Lesson will be forfeited.
The Starfish class will focus on ‘water familiarisation’ as this is usually the very first formal introduction to an aquatic environment for infants outside bath time activities at home. Parents are in the water in this level. Lessons are delivered in a happy, relaxed and nurturing environment with safety and parental aquatic education a core element of the Starfish class. Continual movement in the water is encouraged to ensure babies as well as parents/carers do not cool down during passive learning activities. The aim of the Starfish class is to achieve basic aquatic skills, back float, propulsive movement and promoting a healthy water confidence through games and songs. Water trickled over the shoulder, head and face are small steps towards ‘breath conditioning’ leading to facial then total body submersion. Set skills relating to submersion drills will incorporate the use of Trigger Words such as ‘Baby’s Name’, Ready, ‘Go’. The instructor will educate parents/carers on safety in the aquatic environment and foster the transition into the next level of Starfish Plus level where skill level is further developed.
Infant Aquatic Familiarisation Class with Parent
Starfish Plus will focus on continual water familiarisation and skill enhancement for the older infant, 12 to 24 months. Parents are in the water with their child in this level. Starfish Plus will extend personal aquatic survival skills as part of our aquatic education program for both parents and infants. Infants will explore their aquatic environment through circuits and set activities aimed to increase an infants swimming ability and confidence. Skills such as ‘breath conditioning’ + submersion, monkey grip walk + pull out, ‘unforced’ back floating, simulation falls (self correction) and survival rolls are key learning areas in this level. Trigger words are still used in this level. As the infant increases their propulsive swimming ability and confidence, promotion of unassisted swimming and survival skills is extended.
Starfish Transition will focus on ‘transitioning’ parents out of the water allowing students to a build a relationship with the teacher in preparation for independent learning. Under the swimming teachers’ direct supervision, students will perform set aquatic drills and swimming activities with decreased parental involvement. This is a gradual process and is monitored closely and assessed by the swimming teacher at each lesson. At the end of the Starfish Transition level students are happy and confident in their independent swimming environment. Starfish Transition students will continue to increase their independent swimming and personal aquatic survival skills with key teaching areas focusing on safe platform etiquette, survival rolls and survival back floating. IMPORTANT NOTE: It is a requirement of the Starfish Transition parent to always be prepared to be in the water with their child as the class dynamic can change dramatically from week to week.
Here’s an email we recently received highlighting the importance of our Water Safety Program.
Hi East Lakes Swim Centre,
I just want to say a huge thank you for everything you do. But in particular I want to praise your Water Safety Program.
On the Easter weekend, myself and my girls were staying at a hotel in Sydney. The hotel had a pool. Both my girls are students at your swimming school. Miss 3 is not yet confident in the pool.
Miss 7 was in the pool. Miss 3 entered the pool when my back was turned and had a drowning incident.
On entering the water, Miss 3 sunk straight to the bottom of the pool. I turned around to see just the very top inch of her head above the water. She was standing vertically on the floor of the pool, nearly completely submerged. Miss 7 realised quickly that her sister could not breathe and swam and lifted her up. She held her above the water and brought her to the side of the pool, where I lifted Miss 3 out of the pool. Miss 3 was frightened and I was very concerned. I monitored her in the coming weeks. I will never be able to erase the image of Miss 3 standing under the water from my mind.
Miss 7 knew what to do and acted calmly and quickly. I believe that this is a credit to your Water Safety programmes at East Lakes. Thank you so much. You really are making a difference to the lives of our children. Please always keep doing what you are doing.
K.W.
28/04/2022