Community Hub

What an amazing term it has been!

It was so lovely seeing everyone after a long summer break as well as getting to know and welcoming new families and community members.

The hub space is a safe, warm and supportive environment for the school and wider community.  We strive to create a feel of a 'home away from home', for people to come and connect with each other, find out about available local services and engage with school and community activities.

Term 1 highlights

Playgroup

Our playgroups are well and truly in full swing this term. We introduced an afternoon playgroup to cater for those who cannot attend the morning sessions - which was a success!

It was our aim to increase parent involvement within the playgroup program to ensure maximum benefit for the child. Therefore, our creative facilitators, Samiha and Nisa, have 

introduced a craft segment and sensory play as part of the playgroup routine. And... it was a hit! The parents loved it just as much as the children did! It was so heart warming seeing parents bonding with their children through these simple yet meaningful activities.

We have also had the pleasure of hosting Maternal and Child Health nurses and Tess Connell from Hume City 

Council in our playgroups to raise awareness and equip our parents with valuable tips and strategies around parenting, the importance of parent engagement in the developmental stages of children as well as introducing them to the numerous free services at the disposal in Hume.  

English Conversation

We run morning and afternoon English Conversation classes twice a week. The numbers are steadily increasing. In addition to the familiar faces, this term, we have welcomed several new attendees, which is very pleasing to see.

We also have a coffee and chat session, where community members can connect and have casual conversations before school pick up time.

At the hub, we strive to provide the community with a safe, warm and supportive environment. In addition to our language classes, all hub attendees are continually encouraged to speak in English at all times. This is to ensure improvement in their verbal language skills, which in turn will boost their self-confidence and independence. This strategy has seen some positive results in a very short amount of time.

Community Cooking

As usual, this program is always a favourite and a staple on our timetable. It is a wonderful opportunity for community members to bond, cook and share their traditional recipes. 

Community Pantry

We have set up and stocked a community pantry at the hub. It is free for all. It is stocked with items such as, bread, long life milk, a variety of cereals, snacks, ready-to-eat meals, canned food, preserved and fresh fruits.

You are welcome to access the pantry every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 2:30pm to 2:45pm; or whilst you're at the hub. No bookings or prior arrangements required.

Acknowledgments

We can't end the term without acknowledging the contribution of our valuable volunteers!

Thank you to Mona, Nuha, Hadeel and Zahra for assisting us in the hub. We are very appreciative of every minute you have spent helping at the hub.

Special thanks to Mona, for volunteering to run our English programs - and doing an amazing job as well!

Thank you to my amazing hub team, Samiha and Nisa for... everything!

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We hope you all have a lovely and safe holiday. For those celebrating Easter, hope you have a wonderful one! For those observing Ramadan, hope you have a blessed month and a happy Eid!

See you in Term 2.

Hub team,

Alaa, Samiha & Nisa