Dear families,
Welcome to all existing families and new families that have recently joined us at one of our MEYM kindergartens. We hope you are all well and that your children are in a routine and enjoying Term 2 at kindergarten. As our existing families already know, we are incredibly fortunate to have very experienced, professional and friendly staff who are dedicated to the development of each child in their care. They aim to empower, inspire and equip our little learners with the skills and the curiosity to be independent lifelong learners.
We would like to encourage all families to participate in any of the opportunities there are for family involvement at your child’s centre.
General Manager’s Update
Dear Families
MEYM held its AGM at the end of May and there were a few significant changes for the organisation.
Firstly the Board voted to adopt the new Constitution that the board have been working on the for the past couple of years and secondly the Board voted to change the name of the organisation to Merri-bek Early Years Management in line with the Municipal Councils name change last year. The official date for the change will be 1st July however we have already commenced notification of the name change to key-stakeholders, staff and clients.
We have seen a slight change to the membership on the Board and we would like to thank Nick Karolidis for his contribution over the past three years as a member and recently as the chair of the Board. We also welcome Cath Williams to the Board who brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise on Human Resources.
We are also about to commence building works at Turner Street in the coming weeks who will temporarily relocate to Pascoe Vale Community Centre until Term 4. We are also waiting for final plans to commence building works at Oak Park Kindergarten.
It is exciting times for Merri-bek Early Years Management and look forward to the next 6 months.
From the General Managers Anne McGregor and Sarah Vallance
Pedagogical Leader’s Update – Meet Meredith Bardwell
I’m delighted to be working with MEYM in the position of Pedagogical leader and so grateful for the opportunity to engage with such a vibrant community of learners.
A little about myself. I’m a qualified early childhood teacher & have worked in long day care services & sessional kindergartens across Melbourne for a number of years. I have completed post graduate studies in educational leadership & research in respect to early childhood teacher’s wellbeing.
My recent work before joining MEYM was as a consultant and lecturer at two of Melbourne’s top universities. This work consisted of building partnerships with early learning services & schools across Melbourne & to support pre-service teachers to scaffold their learning & development.
In my position of Pedagogical leader I aim to support all educators in developing their practice & sense of agency. Through this support strong links to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) & the National Quality Standards (NQS) will be evident.
At the heart of the work that I do with MEYM is to build strong foundation for all children to learn & develop socially & emotionally so they feel a connection to their community, country & their future.
Enrolment Officer’s Update
When to start Kindergarten?
All children who have turned 3 years of age before 30 April in the year they attend are eligible to enrol for 3yo kinder. It is important however that families consider carefully whether or not their child is ready for the start of their kinder journey for once a child starts in 3yo kinder they are then on the path to move into 4yo kinder the following year and school the next. Children are no longer able to repeat 3yo kinder and are expected to transition to 4yo kinder the following year, and then on to primary school.
Giving your child a little longer to mature socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively will help them to be more prepared for their two years of preschool and for school and they will get much more of of their experiences. Children who turn 3 between January and April may benefit from waiting a year and starting 3yo kinder the following year and there are other options to consider if you decide to wait. Play groups are great to start to develop skills in the year prior to 3yo kinder.
A second year of funded 4yo kinder will only be approved if it is determined that your child is significantly behind in two or more key areas of development as assessed by an early childhood teacher, in discussion with early childhood professionals.
If your child turns 6 years of age before or while attending kindergarten, families must obtain an exemption from school by applying to the Department of Education. A copy of this exemption must be provided to The Enrolment Officer, MEYM
Timetables
Timetables of our kinder programs for 2024 for all of our kindergartens are available here.
During Term 4 all registered families with a confirmed position at one of our kindergartens will receive enrolment documentation from us to complete for 2024 enrolment. At this point you will be able to submit program preferences for our consideration.
All children in our current 3yo programs should have received an email from Council asking families to confirm the roll over of their position to a 4yo position at the same kindergarten. If you feel you haven’t received this communication please email me at enrolments@meym.org.au
Kindergarten Family Handbook
We have updated our Handbook – please have a read through at your leisure.
Important: Please keep the Enrolment Officer updated of the following change in family circumstances:
Change in address or phone number, update of concession card or visa status, update of your child’s Medical Action Plan, Court orders, Child Protection or Child and Family Services support.
If your child will be absent from the kinder program for a period longer than 2 weeks please inform us in writing to enrolments@meym.org.au with the length of time your child/family will be absent.
If you wish to cancel out of a kindergarten program again, please advise us in writing giving us 14 days notice of cancellation.
For families wishing to have a tour of our kindergartens please book a visit through our Book-a-Tour on our website. Families have an opportunity to view our wonderful kindergartens and meet some of our educators who will be able to answer any questions and provide information on our programs.
Important Dates
Our kindergartens will be closed on the following dates:
Monarch’s Official Birthday: Monday 12 June
AFL Grand Final Parade: Friday 29 September
Staff Professional Development Day: Monday 6 November
Melbourne Cup: Tuesday 7 November
Term Breaks
Term 1 Start Date 27 Jan Finish Date 6 April
Term 2 Start Date 24 April Finish Date 23 June
Term 3 Start Date 10 July Finish Date 15 September
Term 4 Start Date 2 October Finish Date 20 December
You will be notified of the last date of kinder for the year nearer the time.
Facebook and Instagram
Please visit and follow our facebook and instagram pages as we are posting information, notifications and photos of our programs there!
For any enquiries regarding kindergarten programs, enrolment or orientation, please email Samantha, Enrolment Officer at enrolments@meym.org.au
Thank you, Samantha Zuccarelli, Enrolment Officer, MEYM
Reports from our MEYM Kindergartens
Gowanbrae Children’s Centre
This term at GCC all programs have been exploring indigenous ways of being and perspectives. This has involved exploring a range of dream time stories and books by indigenous authors, having indigenous resources through all learning spaces, and exploring the native and natural world. We have updated our Acknowledgment of Country so the language used is more reflective of Aboriginal ways of being. It was important to us to involve the children in creating how the updated Acknowledgment of Country was displayed in each room to signify the importance of the Acknowledgement to Country.
As part of our nature program we are working on building community links with children and supporting them in developing their connection to the local land. It is important to us that we have connections between what happens in the service and when we are partaking in our nature program. We have done this through collecting natural treasures from the environment and talking about and using them with the each program. Part of this involves talking to the children about collecting nature items that have fallen rather than picking directly from the trees. In preparation for this the children were invited to collect natural treasures over their holiday break. These have been used in the program, as part of creative expression and loose parts play. We have also used these natural items to frame our Acknowledgement of Country. We have also talked with children about what it means to leave the service and how we keep everyone safe.
We are looking forward to an Aboriginal artist, Bayley Mifsud (Merindah-Gunya) who will be visiting our programs, in the week beginning 6th June. In preparation for this we have been looking at and discussing her art work. Bayley has a large piece of her artwork on the wall at Airport West Shopping Centre.
From the team at Gowanbrae Children’s Centre
Lake Park Kindergarten
Dear Lake Park Dragonfly families,
I can’t believe we are already heading towards the end of Term 2 and how wonderful it is to see our children settling very quickly again at the start of the new term since returning from school holidays.
The Mother’s/ Special Person Day which commenced on Friday,12th May, resulted in an astonishing 95% attendance from our families. The Dragonfly team really appreciated your presence since you were able to witness the children’s learning, development and enthusiasm during the session. Thank you to all the families who provided us with positive feedback regarding the children’s concert performance. This was a short snapshot of some of the songs the children were learning during term one and some currently in term two. The Dragonfly team had asked the children what type of songs they wanted to share with their mother and/ or special person so hopefully you all enjoyed the show. We would also like to mention that it was very valuable for Clare, Gary and myself to socially interact with the families during the picnic in our garden/yard. This also gave us an opportunity to speak to some of you, one on one without having the parents dashing off at drop off and pick up time.
Currently, the dragonfly class is exploring exciting new interests in the program such as Bunjil the Eagle and now singing the Aboriginal Hokey Pokey which originated from the children’s interest after the song Taba Naba (traditional song in Meriam Mir, a language of the Torres Strait Islanders).
Please see the following links of what your child has been singing in session for your reference:
Bunjil the Eagle
Taba Naba (The Wiggles version)
Gumtree Family
Presently, our Italian teacher, Siobhan has been teaching the children and the staff to sing Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Italian. With repetition, the children are slowly remembering the words and making the connection with their own body. Siobhan has also supported the popular shopping board game by teaching us the shopping items in Italian too!
Many of you are now aware that our nature program started last week and we took the opportunity to collect a lot of natural materials for our upcoming group project! Watch this space…
The current books we are exploring and learning at the moment include Don’t be a bully, Billy; How the birds got their colours and Colour Monster. Please ask your child about these books!
We would also like to pass our congratulations to Xavier and his parents, Jess and Alejandro, on the arrival of their new baby. Congratulations to Xavier on being a new big brother!
Finally, a reminder to all families to please pack extra clothes for your children to change as many are into sensory play especially the new play equipment outdoors. In the meantime, the Dragonfly team would like to wish you well, keep warm and dry this coming winter.
Dear Lake Park Kingfisher Families: Term 2 has been a busy one for the Kingfisher group! Our Mother’s/special persons day picnic had a great turnout of mums, grandmas, great aunties and even a few dads! Thank you to all of those who attended and I hope you enjoyed the afternoon. The children were so proud to have you there and share aspects of their kinder learning with you. If you were unable to attend and would like the opportunity to see what your child has been getting up to at kinder, please remember our door is always open (figuratively speaking of course not literally) and we love to have family helpers in the kinder program so please let us know if you are interested in helping out during a session, either in the kinder room or attending one of our nature program outings.
Speaking of our nature program outings, we have recommenced them last week to great success! The Kingfisher group went for an outing on the 23rd to the parklands across the road and the children enjoyed tree climbing, playing “What’s the time Mr Wolf?” and discovering and observing a collection of snails under a rock (there were 10!)
Lastly, exciting news for the kinder as a whole, our yard renovations have commenced! They are coming along nicely and everything is looking great. The children are loving watching the construction workers and we can’t wait for them to be finished so we can start playing with our new play equipment.
A couple of remembers:
- we have one more nature program outing for each group in the last week of term, Monday 19th of June for KF and Thursday 22nd of June for DF. Please let your group’s educators know if you are able to attend as a volunteer.
- If you wish to be a part of a parent group for organising social events etc. please let Jess know via email.
Thanks and bye for now, Lake Park Kinder Team
Moomba Park Kindergarten
Moomba has had a busy busy few weeks! We have been enjoying the change in weather, exploring outside in rain and loving jumping in the resulting puddles.
Carp productions came and and all groups enjoyed a fun filled space themed show. The children loved all the strange characters and learnt about the planets and the sun. Educators enjoyed all the excellent jokes and puns that the actors snuck in.
Some of the older groups are enjoying exploring some cooking experiences. Smoothies, muffins and ginger bread have all been on the menu.
Groups in Room 2 have been enjoying exploring a dramatic play Pizza shop which has supported more role playing around cooking and making tasty treats. We have brought the bikes out for the first time this year and the children have been having a great time using them. They are working on loads of gross motor development as they use their legs to ride. Having them out is also a great way of having children navigate the tricker aspects of turn taking.
The groups also discussed reconciliation and the importance of indigenous culture in the last couple of weeks. We are working on some collaborative art works that help us explain these tricker topics to our community.
We look forward to the final few weeks of term. A quick reminder that Kinder photos will occur in the last week of term. Your teachers will let you know times and days for each group.
From the team at Moomba Park Kindergarten
Newlands Preschool
Wominjeka Ida and Mona! It has been lovely to have Ida and Mona join the 4-year-old group in term 2. They have both settled in well in their new positions and have begun to form strong relationships with the children.
Even though it has been a short term, there has been a lot going on. Both our 3’s and 4’s participated in a Drama Toolbox incursion, where they let their imaginations run wild as they pretended they were part of a circus (3-year-olds) and in a fairy-tale (4-year-olds).
We have had a large focus on connecting with the land, using the beautiful space we have around us as part of our learning journey. We have learnt about a number of bugs that we have found within our yard; made volcanoes in the mud pit; used loose parts to extend on our water pump in the sand pit and use this to build dinosaur swamps and watering holes; dug; ran and explored throughout the outdoor space. We will continue to run an indoor/outdoor program throughout winter, please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the conditions (raincoat, gumboots, spare change of clothes).
It was fantastic to have so many mums and other special people come visit us at kinder and share an afternoon tea with the children. The children were very excited about showing their kinder to their special people and strengthening connections between home and their learning environment, instilling a sense of belonging.
We have begun our parent help, with a calendar set up near the sign in book if you would like to choose a time to spend with your child at kinder. We are currently limiting this to 1.5 hour blocks.
During term 3 we are aiming to begin our excursions within the 4-year-old program, and continue with them within the 3-year-old program, extending on our connection to land by utilising the space just outside our kinder to explore, discover and appreciate the natural world.
Important dates:
June 15/19/22: Parent teacher interviews 4-year-old group (sign up sheets next to sign in book)
June 21st: 3-year-old pyjama party and last day of term 2
June 23rd: 4-year-old pyjama party and last day of term 2
July 10th: First day back for 3-year-old group
July 12th: First day back for 4-year-old group
July 20th: Responsible pet program 4-year-old group
We will let you know of any other important dates that come up during term.
Reminder: Please ensure you sign your child in and out each day while they are at our service.
From the team at Newlands Preschool
Oak Park Kindergarten
It was lovely welcoming our Mum’s back to the Kinder for the first Mother’s Day celebrations since 2019. Each group did something different with their Mum’s which were a Devonshire tea, morning tea and pamper evening. We thank all our Mum’s and special people for joining us.
Working on implementing the MEYM Reconciliation Action Plan into our programs, both 4yo groups had an incursion with Didgeridoo Australia. 4yo Purple did the Australian Art incursion to follow their interest in mixing paints and 4yo Yellow did the Didgeridoo and Beats incursion to get the children up and moving. Both groups got a lot out of these incursions.
Our 4yo’s also participated in the Responsible Pet Program which is a government funded program to teach the children on how to safely approach dogs and we also commenced our community walks around Oak Park.
Our 3yo’s participated in an Australian Reptile incursion with Reptile Encounters and bravely touched and held a good variety of Australian reptiles. It was very informative and we learnt a lot about what these animals eat and where they live and sleep. They have also been pretending that they are too old for Kinder and grabbing their backpacks and “going to school”. The upper playground is the school yard and it is very interesting to listen to their perspective of what happens at school!
This term we hosted 4 work experience students from different schools in the area, but the most exciting part of this was that they were all ex Oak Park Kinder Kids! It was wonderful catching up with them and their families and hearing what they remember about their Kinder days.
We are currently waiting for news on our extension works and are slowly moving things out of the office and garden bed in preparation for when we get a starting date. One morning we had a big fish hunt around the yard because where the fish pond once was, was now just a big hole! Thankfully we found them and they appear to be adjusting to their new location.
From the team at Oak Park Kinder
Turner Street Kindergarten
At Turner Street we have had a busy and engaging Term 2.
The parent committee organised and celebrated Mothers day Morning tea, it was lovely to have both groups attending together at the service. A raffel was also organised for the morning with some fabulous prizes won.
Both groups have had 2 incursions this term, One on Sustainability, teaching the children the importance of keeping our environment free of rubbish and the impact it can have on a water system. The second incursion was presented by a lady from Melbourne water who talked to the children about the local Merri creek and the fascinating animals that habitat the area.
This term we have also had a new deck installed in the outdoor space, children are loving this new space, we are using it for lunch times and to play games. We will be looking to line the side of the deck with some planter boxes with small shrubs to soften the area.
Turner Streets renovation is nearly upon us, we will be re locating to Sussex Street Neighbourhood house while the kindergarten gets it’s much need renovation.
From the team at Turner Street Kinder
Our Community
MEYM would like to thank you for taking the time to read our Newsletter