TEACHING AND LEARNING EARLY LEARNING

Kindergarten | Care

3-year-old kinder: Mudlarks + Sandpiper Groups

4-year-old kinder: Banksia, Sheoaks Groups

Daycare: Gumnuts Group

Kindergarten | Care

3-year-old kinder: Wombat + Emu Groups

4-year-old kinder: Bilbies, Koalas + Wallabies Groups

Daycare: Possums Group

Programs + Practice

A more settled year with no lockdowns for kindergartens helped families and children establish solid routines again, which generally resulted in the new 4-year-old children settling more confidently into their learning environments in 2022.

With many of the 3-year-old children not having had much socialisation outside of their family over almost two years, educators found that the children needed to be provided with many calming and sensory spaces and a gentle orientation into kinder.

All our programs were in full swing in 2022, with regular bush kinder outings, excursions to various locations and specialist classes.

As a result of the Department of Education announcing up to 15 hours of funded 3-year-old kinder, both Butterfield House and Williams House underwent analysis of their programs and community needs/wants to determine if more hours of 3-year-old kinder was needed/wanted and viable. The results of these findings lead to Butterfield House continuing with their current structure, and Williams House embarking on a Major Workplace Change, to increase the hours of 3-year-old kinder available to families, with the exciting changes to be implemented at the beginning of 2023.

School Readiness Funding

For the second year, both campuses were included in the Department of Education and Training’s School Readiness Funding grants. Both campuses prioritised the areas of Wellbeing and Communication and were able to build lending libraries which provide valuable resources for parents and children. With their additional funding, Williams House gifted each preschool child a book that supported their preliteracy skills.

The funding also allowed both our teams to engage in additional professional development, whilst also providing families with information sessions and support.

Specialists

In 2022, we continued to enjoy our connections with the junior schools. We are grateful to Deanne Elliss and Kevin Smith at Belmont, and Katie Moore and Kate Notini at Surf Coast for brilliantly accommodating opportunities in Library, Japanese and Music for our preschool children. Additionally, Williams House, has continued to engage in a much-valued Japanese program funded through the Department of Education.

Other Collaborative CCG Connections

We remain grateful for the support from our junior school leaders, Ann-Marree Weigl and Debbie Riddle, and for all the behind the scenes support from Jonathan Ryan to Brenda Lyons, Belle Holmes, Bree Manning, Marketing, People and Community, and more practically, Jack Sim and his grounds and maintenance team.

Staffing Butterfield House

In 2022 we farewelled our director, Berna Johnson. A huge thankyou to Berna for all she has contributed to both our kinder communities over nearly 20 years – we wish Berna well with her new endeavours.

We also farewelled Stephanie Egan from our daycare team. We wish her all the best with her future endeavours. We welcomed Chelce Powell to the daycare team.

Jilly Floyd’s role continued to evolve over 2022, with Jilly moving full time into the administrative role.

Congratulations to Monique Bernard on the birth of her daughter Lottie. We look forward to welcoming Mon back in 2023. We also look forward to welcoming back Kath who has been on a period of extended maternity leave after the birth of her son Levi in May 2021.

Williams House

In 2022, we farewelled Merrin Wood, after almost 30 years of service at Williams House and CCG. We wish Merrin all the very best as she enters a new chapter of her life.

We also farewelled Tori Goulter and Vesna Radivojevic who were part of our Possum daycare team, which will not be a part of our program in 2023.

In Conclusion

We are thankful to God for the opportunity to partner with so many wonderful families in their child’s early years, and for the opportunity to work in such positive and supportive environments. We look forward to the growth in both our centres in 2023, with Michelle at the helm at Butterfield House and with the new kinder structure at Williams House.