St Paul's Lutheran Kindergarten, St Marys, NSW A Community Service of St Paul's Lutheran Church Established and Conducted under the Child Care Scheme with full accreditation by National Childcare Accreditation Council, Inc. and liscensed by D.O.C.S.

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St Paul's Lutheran Kindergarten is dedicated to providing

"The best of God's love through the best of child care."

Our Philosophy

St Paul's Lutheran Kindergarten has been established with the primary purpose of meeting the cognitive, language, literacy, physical, social, emotional, creative, and spiritual needs of each individual child and their families within the Kindergarten setting. Christian commitment underlies the centre's philosophy of providing quality care and education.

We recognise that the child is an individual with rights and therefore is treated with respect, fairness and equity, regardless of race, colour, religion, physical ability or gender. We are responsive to diversity of family life and perspectives of childhood and rearing within our community. This includes children from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander families and children from families whose home language is other than English.

We are committed to creating and promoting a holistic programme that assists the children to become successful learners based on their own abilities and achievements and promotes environmental awareness. Our programme is flexible and adaptable to the strengths, needs and interests of each child on a day-to-day basis. We appreciate the importance of interdependence and relationships with others, in children's developing identity and we foster cooperative and self-regulatory behaviour, while encouraging independence in skills.

We recognise children as competent and capable beings who bring to our service a unique set of experiences, hopes, and understandings. We acknowledge early childhood as a time of rapid growth and learning. It is also a time for children to explore, to seek and make sense of their world. It is our aim that we make provision for a stimulating environment that nurtures the child and encourages him/her to explore, discover and give expression to their ideas and thoughts within a safe secure setting.

We recognise that play incorporates enjoyment and valuable learning experiences for every child. Play stimulates the child's senses whilst developing their intelligence, growth and social skills. Play is recignised for providing possibilities for learning, inventing, being creative, imagining, for trying out ideas and testing theories, feelings and emotions.

We recognise the relationship between the child and their family and value the role of our families, working in partnership with staff within the Kindergarten setting. We actively encourage open communication, consultation and collaboration between families', staff and management allowing for positive outcomes for continuity of care between the centre and home.

As professionals we are committed to staying abreast of current theories and practices and exploring new approaches to teaching and learning. As such, the Kindergarten is committed to constant review and evaluation of the quality and structure of its services within community.

Our History

Pastor Lloyd Bougen opened St Paul's Lutheran Kindergarten in January 1973. It was established by the St Paul's Lutheran Church of St Marys to meet the needs of the growing Community.

The Lutheran Church of Australia financed the project originally; afterwards the Federal Government repaid the amount outlaid proportionally.

Both the federal and state governments together with parent's fees fund the Kindergarten. Today the site is still owned by St Paul's Lutheran Church. The Kindergarten continues to operate independantly with a Kindergarten Council, elected from the membership of the Church and parents of the children attending the Kindergarten.

The first Director was Miss Marie Simpfendorfer, followed by Miss Joy Tarrant who served the Kindergarten for more than 28 years. Our current director, Ms Helen Meredith, joined us January, 2008. Church members often worked on a voluntary basis in the early days. Currently the staff comprises of both full time and part time workers under a job share situation, as well as volunteers. The Authorised Supervisor heads the staff of teachers, assistants, and clerk.

As a contribution to the Community, the Kindergarten participates in the work experience schemes of local High Schools, University and TAFE Collages and also with Job Quest.

St Paul's Lutheran Kindergarten continues to provide
"The Best of God's Love through the Best of Child Care."

Our Director

Our Director is Ms Helen Meredith. Helen is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Centre. She is an Early Childhood Trained Teacher, and an experienced communicator with children, families, staff and management. Helen continues a personal program of regularly updating her knowledge and skills through seminars and workshops to maintain superior knowledge of National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC) principles and Department of Community Service (DoCS) Regulations. Helen is continuing the process of implementing the most current Early Childhood Practices, and she has a passion for the care and development of our young people.

Our Care and Teaching Team

St Paul's Lutheran Kindergarten is staffed by a team of trained, experienced, talented, skillful, professional and dedicated teachers and assistants, who are passionate about meeting the children's educational and caring needs. We liase with the Early Intervention unit to assess the needs of particular children and within the limits of available funding we provide the services of a special need's assistant.

Our Kindergarten Council

St Paul's Lutheran Kindergarten is served by a team of caring and dedicated volunteers, from the St Paul's Lutheran Congregation, who are interested in protecting, caring for, and providing for the children of our community. The Council is elected at the Annual General Meeting that is held in November each year. Families are given an opportunity to vote for two members to represent them on the Kindergarten Council. All families are given the opportunity to become Members in Association, of the St Paul's Lutheran Kindergarten Incorporated, upon attendance at the Centre. The Kindergarten Council is responsible for the management and operation of the Centre in conjunction with the Director (Authorised Supervisor) and the Kindergarten staff. The Director (Authorised Supervisor) is responsible for the care and education of the children on a day to day basis and the administration of the Centre. The Council meetings are held on a monthly basis (the 4th Monday of each month) in the evening. Families are notified of the next meeting on the noticeboard in the foyer. Reports of each Kindergarten Council meeting and Staff meeting are available to all families in a folder in the foyer. The Director (Authorised Supervisor) presents a monthly report to the Council regarding enrolments, programming, staff/family concerns, visitors, special children's events and general information. All management personnel, parent committees and staff members are aware that all information regarding children and their families within the Centre is strictly confidential.

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