Welcome back to familiar faces and welcome to those who are joining the Centre for the first time.
One way of keeping families informed about what is going on at before and after care is via the newsletter produced every term.
As some of you know I haven�t been well. It was with overwhelming happiness that during this time I realised that not only am I a carer of your children, but that I am cared for by families. Thank you for the flowers, the cards, notes and well wishes.
Management Committee
The Centre is managed by parents � busy parents who give up their time to help ensure the centre runs smoothly. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Centre to thank the outgoing committee; especially Denise Duclos, Stephanie Halloran and Robyn Dagwell. These three women, have been the backbone of the centre for many years, all holding positions on the management committee, raising funds, going to meetings, attending working bees, helping at the discos. Your dedication and enthusiasm will be missed, and we wish you well in the next stages of your families� lives.
As many of you will be aware the Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday 19 February, thank you to Megan, Wendy, Holly, Gabriel, Anita for attending. In 2005:
- Wendy Walls is President
- Megan Cooper is Treasurer
- Anita O�Brien is Secretary
- Gabriel Pinter, Holly Wei are members of the management committee.
The staff are looking forward to working with these mums and dads in supporting you and your children. Please feel free to contact these people to discuss issues regarding the Centre.
Please also keep in mind that we will be calling on you during the year for support. As the old saying goes, �many hands make light work� so please give up some of your time, keeping in mind there are others giving up their time for your children.
Fee Increases
One issue that was discussed at the meeting was the budget forecast. Last year (as shown in the annual report) the centre operated at a small loss. This was due to increases in insurance fees, rising costs of food, craft materials, wages and replacement of items due to theft. The numbers of children have also decreased along with the overall number attending the school. As a result fees will rise at the beginning of term 2. Permanent books will cost:
Morning $6.00
Afternoon $12.00
Casual booking cost $1.00 extra per session.
Accreditation
Thank you to all those families who filled out surveys at the end of last year. Catching you in the afternoon and asking you to complete it on the spot, may not be ideal for you, but it ensured we had a very high response rate. This is the exact same survey that families will be asked to complete in early 2006 � at that time to gain accreditation we must have a high response rate and also have the majority of parents and children rate the centre satisfactorily.
What was pleasing for us, is that most parents rated that the Centre met the principles �mostly� or �all the time�. There were 2 areas however, (programming and evaluation; and health, nutrition and well-being) that were not rated as highly. The staff feel that this is probably due to parents being unaware of what we do, rather than a lack of Centre procedures. As a result we will be making a display board that covers some of the principles of accreditation as well as providing some information via the newsletter. It is up to parents to make sure they read and understand this information. If we don�t do well in accreditation, families will not be entitled to the child care rebate. Please feel free to ask staff any questions you have about accreditation.
This term we are focusing on health, nutrition and well-being.
The Centre provides a balanced, healthy eating program taking into account healthy eating recommendations, cultural diversity, individual children�s health needs, staffing and budget limitations. We asked the kids this week what they would like to eat. This is what they said: apples, pears, mangoes, tacos, jelly, nachos and pizza. If you have time, take a look at the weekly afternoon tea menu on the whiteboard to see when your child�s favourite appears.
All staff practice food handling standards (displayed over the sink) both for themselves and for the children. Children wash their hands before all meals and when participating in food preparation. We believe that this and general hygiene practices such as encouraging the use of tissues and correct handling of food helps reduce the risk of the spread of infectious diseases. We also comply with our illness policy which asks parents to keep unwell children at home and attempts to find replacements for staff who are ill.
Who looks after your children?
Kathie
Kathie has a teaching degree (primary school), and is currently working on her PhD in education. She teaches part-time at Macquarie University as well as occasionally teaching at schools within the local area. Kathie began at the Centre when Manni (her daughter) was in kindergarten and has tried to develop a sense of community, where families know and support each other. What she likes best about the Centre is watching families grow � the kindergarten children she started with are about to reach year 6, and it�s almost impossible to believe that these children, once the �babies� are now taking the lead in the Centre.
Sarah
Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education and teaches causally in local primary schools. She enjoys spending time with her family (you will sometime see Kye and Charlotte), friends and reading. What she enjoys most about the Centre is the relationships that she develops with children and their families. In 2005 she hopes that we have �heaps of fun�!
Jono
Jono is working towards a Bachelor of Arts with a Diploma of Education (secondary) at Macquarie University. He holds a Queens� Scout Awards and a Senior First Aid Certificate. His interests include abseiling, hiking, camping, ultimate Frisbee, movies and Rovers (part of Scouting). At the Centre he likes that the kids enjoy being there and that the staff are a pleasure to work with � overall a great environment. In 2005 he hopes to improve in programming and continue to enjoy working with the kids, their parents and the other staff.
Fariba and Lian
As many of you will know Fariba is also a hairdresser. Lately she has more wok than she can handle, and so has decided to give up Kent Road. Fariba worked at the Centre for 6 years and her willingness to always give a hand will be sorely missed. Lian finished her itching degree and moved to Adelaide over the holidays to be with her family. Lian worked as a casual with us for 3 years and it was great to see her confidence in working with children grow. We wish them both well.
Programming
Although we have programmed over the past years, we are going to attempt to focus on more regular good quality programming. This year we spent 2 weeks on lunar new year activities: making lanterns, money envelopes, asian cooking and making the dragoon (now adorns our kitchen area). We have also just spent a week at the beach making sand castles and finishing with a �beach party��.
Over the coming weeks we will be looking at activities that revolve around harmony day and easter celebrations.
Late Pick Up
We all realise that sometimes parents get stuck in traffic, or on public transport and that bosses can be demanding and very family unfriendly. The Centre however has a very strict policy regarding late parents. This is due to 2 reasons: firstly centre staff also have commitments (including their own families) and secondly the centre has the obligation to pay staff overtime after 6.00pm.
If you are running late please call the centre and let us know, this helps allay your child�s fear and lets carers know what to plan. If you are late (for the reasons outlined above) you will be charged a late fee of $10 per every 15 minutes. If you are late 3 times, you will be asked to seek alternative care for your child.