Glen Education St Patrick's

Celebrating Connection and Wellbeing at Glen Education St. Patrick’s Kindergarten 

By Glen St Patricks Team

In 2025, Glen Education St. Patrick’s Kindergarten proudly celebrates two major achievements that reflect our curriculum goals: fostering connections and enhancing children’s wellbeing. Our team has focused on building strong, positive relationships among children, educators, and families, while nurturing each child’s emotional, social, and physical development. 

Strengthening Our Community Through the Success of the Trivia Night 

One of our greatest community achievements this year was the success of our Choose Your Own Adventure Trivia Night and all fundraising activities that were held throughout the year. Those activities highlighted the power of collaboration between families, educators, and the wider community in supporting children’s learning and wellbeing. 

With wonderful support from our Volunteer Parents Group (VPG) and event host, we raised valuable funds that directly enhanced our learning environment. A highlight of the evening was the auction of children’s artwork, which contributed to the purchase of a new climbing frame for our outdoor play space. This addition supports children’s physical development, confidence, and cooperative play, aligning with EYLF Outcome 3: Children Have a Strong Sense of Wellbeing. 

The children’s involvement—purchasing raffle tickets, contributing artwork, and celebrating the results—fostered their sense of agency, pride, and belonging. These experiences also reflected NQS Quality Area 6: Collaborative Partnerships with Families and Communities, as families and educators worked hand-in-hand to create richer learning experiences and strengthen our shared sense of community. 

Connecting to Our 2025 Program Goal: Building Strong Relationships 

The success of our Trivia Night embodies our 2025 program goal: building connections. Strong, positive relationships between children, families, and educators form the foundation of an inclusive, nurturing environment where every child feels safe, valued, and understood. 

We continue to build on this through: 

• Maintaining open, ongoing communication with families via regular conversations, newsletters, and invitations to participate in learning activities. 
• Creating intentional opportunities for children to form meaningful friendships and develop social skills within both classroom and community contexts. 
• Encouraging educators to develop trusting, responsive relationships with each child to support their individual interests and strengths. 

This approach supports EYLF Outcome 1: Children Have a Strong Sense of Identity, empowering children to explore their interests, express themselves confidently, and engage positively with others. 

Supporting Wellbeing Through the Pyramid Model 

Another key achievement this year has been the successful implementation of the Pyramid Model during group mat times. This framework helps promote positive behaviour, emotional regulation, and social-emotional learning. 

Together with the children, we developed clear and simple kindergarten rules such as: 

1. Be Respectful: Gentle hands, take turns, quiet voices, and listening ears. 
2. Be Safe: Walking feet, staying with friends, and cleaning up. 

3. Be a Friend: Kind words, helping hands, and playing together. 

    

These rules are displayed at children’s eye level using visuals to support understanding for all learners. We also introduced engaging social-emotional learning stories including Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think, I Am a Super Friend, and We Can Be Problem Solvers. These books help children learn to manage strong emotions, build friendships, and develop problem-solving skills in a positive way. 

Through this approach, children have shown improved self-regulation, empathy, and cooperative behaviour. This work supports our vision of developing emotionally literate classrooms where children can recognise, express, and manage their feelings confidently while showing kindness and respect to others. 

The Impact on Children’s Learning 

These achievements have had a profound impact on children’s learning and wellbeing. Our strengthened community connections have fostered a deeper sense of belonging and pride, while our focus on emotional literacy has empowered children to navigate social situations with empathy and confidence. Together, these initiatives have created a vibrant, supportive, and joyful learning environment that truly reflects what makes Glen Education St. Patrick’s Kindergarten special.