Family Learning Centre

Welcome to the NBC FLC for 2025!

Happy new year to all our new and returning young families. It’s been such a vibrant start to 2025 – we have all had so much news to share! 

The Family Learning Centre is as always a welcoming place for all local families with children from pre-birth to 6 yrs. All parents are recognised and celebrated as the first educators of children.

Also on behalf of the Family Learning Centre leadership team, a big welcome to Toni Hanlon as new manager and pedagogical leader of FLC. Toni will oversee the growth of all of our Centre’s early years education programs and community services. 

In each newsletter edition we will introduce some key new members of our team, and some new programs your children are enjoying. In this this FLC newsletter edition we celebrate play-based learning as we reflect upon our ELC values of Connection, Kindness and Curiosity, values that underpin our service philosophy, early learning and community partnerships.  

February is Welcome Month!

It was wonderful to see many families at the ELC Welcome morning tea this month. There was a sense of community and excitement around the year ahead. Thank you to those families who were able to attend and enrol in programs. 

If it takes a village to raise a child then the Family Learning Centre is your village. We hope and aim all members and all families from across our service enjoy a strong sense of belonging, connection and community, making life-long friends along the way.

We take this opportunity to wish all our families all the absolute best for 2025 and  hope that we have much to celebrate together throughout the year.

😊  from the Family Learning Centre Leadership team 

• Helen, FLC Coordinator 
• Mandy, ELC Director and 
• Toni, FLC Manager and Pedagogical Leader
• Narelle Smith-Haslett, Community Hub Leader

Northern Bay Family Learning Centre

Operating hours Monday – Friday 7:30- 5:30 pm., excluding Victorian public holidays.

What we offer 

We offer a quality early years childhood education, playgroups and parenting support programs providing children and their families with a positive early learning play-based learning and experiences and environment, family supports and services including:

• Long day care for children from 6 weeks to 6 years.
• 3 x kindergarten programs for 3 and 4 year olds 
• Parenting programs for young new mothers – Bumps 2 Bubs (Pregnancy -1yr) and Bubs 2 Tots (1- 2+yr). (Facilitated by Meli, Early Help Program)
• Specialist family support and drop-in services, provided by our partners Meli and Drummond Street Services. (Monday – Friday)
• Community Hubs programs, including Beginner and Intermediate English classes provided by Wyndham and weekly onsite sewing classes for CALD families. 
• Toy library (funded by Toywell) open on Monday 2pm – 3pm and Friday 11am – 12.30pm
• Facilitated Playgroups 9:30-11:30 each Monday and Friday. A focus on child-led learning means that each day at playgroup offers a variety of learning and play experiences such as building, baking, painting, dressing up, singing and sand and water play.

News from our Kinder programs (K3, K4 and K3&4)

From 29 January all students K3 and K4 including Early Learning Centre commenced the 2025 school year. Students, staff, families were eager and excited to see each other and the playgrounds and rooms were filled with laughter and conversations. 

2025 promises to be another year full of opportunities and growth.

Reflecting on our ELC values of Connection, Kindness and Curiosity

Breakfast Club 🍏🍓🍎🥣 and Welcome families breakfast 

The social and supportive environment of breakfast clubs ensures that children gain the confidence and independence necessary for success in their learning journey.  Kinder children in 3 and 4 yr old are loving breakfast club and starting the day with lots of positive energy. 

The Kinder teams have enjoyed introducing themselves and welcoming ‘old and new’ families for morning tea, breakfast with our allied health team, OY and Child Psychologist, and our new kinder teachers and experience the new spaces. 

Just think of all the positive connections we make over breakfast !

• Building Independence and self- Confidence: By practicing tasks like managing their own food, pouring drinks, serving themselves, buttering their own toast, and washing dishes, children build important self-help skills that foster independence. 
• Kindness and Connection – developing positive peer relationships requires positive communication skills. Here we are making decisions, asking for help, demonstrating with their peers by taking turns. 
• Curiosity and independence. Language and numeracy skills require asking many questions about the ingredients used, practice measuring, pouring, mixing, mashing, and other fun skills related to cooking and baking.

Community Hubs Australia 

We are very excited about another great year in the Northern Bay College Community Hub!

Last week we spent the week registering participants for classes and this week we launch our Term 1 program with lots of great classes on offer.

Playgroups love Sensory play 

Come join our playgroup fun with you child each Monday and Friday from 9:30-11:30. 

It’s a great way to make new friends, relax and have fun with you child in a child safe play environment. 

Welcome back to all our playgroup families – it really has been the best and wonderful to share our summer stories, meet new friends and see so many happy smiling faces. Each day is a great day to play outdoors – summer is the best.

Sensory Play with Water and Ice– 

Water and ice play is also a great learning opportunity for your child, learning the basics of matter and language building – changing from frozen to liquid form, will it float or sink, predicting how water changes once everything is melted or by predicting how cold the water will be when melted. 

The fun and learning opportunities are endless, and having fun with water and ice play with friends is the best way to keep cool - and of course who doesn’t love a little friendly splashy play!

See this link for more ‘at home’ play ideas 😊

http://fourcheekymonkeys.com/play-love-learn/frozen-water-play-sensory-play-kids/