Hello and welcome to our families! It has been a great pleasure getting to know you all. It can be hard to view life beyond what the last couple of months have held for us all, but it is good to remember that it was a very smooth start to the year for our kinder groups. All the teachers marvelled at how quickly the children settled into their groups and started forming bonds with friends and educators. I would like to warmly welcome you to our kinder – it has been delightful to see such a sea of eager faces (on parents as well as kids!). I would also like to thank all families for being so supportive, persevering, and considerate.
Covid response
Year 2022 has continued to ‘keep us all on our toes’. They cause us to remain alert and ready for anything that might happen. This year we recognise that every school and preschool is being affected by COVID -19 in different ways. Given the risks and complex management, I believe we are doing the best we can to navigate this season following covid safety measures. If nothing else, the pandemic has only taught many of us parents to cherish, be mindful of every present moment with our children and to live one day at a time.
Teachers and Staff
More than ever, Doncaster Kindergarten (DK) is blessed to have experienced and committed staff members - Meg, Letitia, Elva, Carina, Rachel, Melissa and Liz. I am impressed by your ingenuity, your passion, and strength as we navigate through this term. You hold the torch for children as they continue learning with you. I am proud to be a Doncaster Kindergarten president, and grateful to have such wonderful colleagues in all of you. Stay strong, be well, and know we appreciate all you do.
Parent Survey
In the Parent Survey conducted late last year, parents expressed an exceptionally high level of satisfaction with teachers and co-educators. Overall, we received very positive feedback and it confirms that our programs meet the individual needs of children, support their growth, and prepare them for the following year. We carefully consider all suggestions on possible improvements that are made in the survey and do our best to bridge the gap. A key finding in the survey was that parents suggested we integrate more family social events. This will be underway next term and will be held at various venues to make it more exciting for everyone.
Working Bee
A big thank you to all the families who contributed their time and skills attending the Term One working bee. Details of our second working bee for the year will be emailed soon.
Fundraising
We were fortunate to go ahead with the Bunnings Sausage Sizzle at the new Doncaster store. We raised $1018.10 on the day. Volunteers on the day had such a wonderful time even though we did not meet our target amount due to the new location. Thank you to those who assisted on the day as well as those who made donations towards the purchases required. We will be running a few more sausage sizzles, however we cannot rely on the same small pool of volunteers to be running the stall all day, so encourage all who can spare a couple of hours to put their hand up to help out in our next event. These events make a huge difference to the kinder and particularly with the past lockdowns, we don’t want to miss the opportunity to make some much needed funds that will go towards buying new toys, books, and portable equipment for our children. A huge thank you to Jasmine King, our Committee fundraising co-ordinator and yellow group parent for the time and effort put into the preparation for this event and her time on the day.
Doncaster Kindergarten Committee
DK is an independent, not-for-profit Kinder and is governed by a volunteer parent management committee. We receive funding for our programs from the State Government and align with their frameworks, but we are not owned/operated by them. That means we do not operate for profit or personal gain. Any fundraising profits made are used for kinder purposes. The committee is accountable for the long-term stability and viability of the kindergarten. They perform many of the support functions, such as treasurer, secretary, kinder maintenance, designing/maintaining the website, OH&S, fundraising, kinder fees, kinder uniforms, enrolments, and producing this newsletter, that are essential to the kinder’s functioning. Thank you to all Committee members for your commitment and bringing your skills and expertise to make a difference.
At the beginning of next term, you will see photos of the Committee Members in the foyer. Please get to know them and find out ways to become involved to make a difference to DK children in our community. At this point, our grants officer is working towards securing a government grant of the total amount of $500,000 to improve our facilities. We are working with the council as they develop plans to improve our facilities. If you have any experience in grant writing, please email us to find out more.
Finally, I want to express my sincere gratitude to Dirk Visser for being a wonderful President these past couple of years. Thank you so much for the amazing job you did. Your dedication to DK is much appreciated. Many thanks also to other outgoing Committee members - Dom Toscano (Maintenance), Biyun Chen (Fees), Melissa Briggs (Secretary), David Jeyashelan (Policy Officer), Nevania Visser (Enrolment) and Yishan Chan (past Secretary and General Member). Your contributions to the kinder over the period of your tenure were greatly appreciated and you will all be missed. Thanks also to Tiffany Williams (Uniform), Jasmine King (Fundraising), Shafaq Azad (Treasurer and now Fees), Lorena (Newsletter), Elena (OH&S) and Alex (IT) for continuing on the Committee this year.
I look forward to meeting many of you during the remainder of the year and invite you to contact me on president@doncasterkindergarten.com.au if you have any questions or suggestions.
Wishing you a very Happy Easter as you celebrate the holiday surrounded by friends and family.
Warm regards,
Emily Tabualevu
President | Doncaster Kindergarten