Front of House

Front of house

Term 3 has certainly been a trying one.   We welcomed all our families back, then four weeks later returned to remote learning.  But this time it was different.  We entered stage 4 lockdown, which saw families requiring a permit for their children to gain access to Haven Early Learning. Staff were also kept from their workplace as they worked from home and home schooled their children.  We had to use the same core staff for the whole stage 4 period, meaning that our team were split up for 2 months.  As a group this was incredibly hard, as we needed to try to keep connected. Through our educator’s lounge on Storypark, we had morning catchups which highlighted what everyone was up too.  Through zoom, we were able to connect and reflect about our roles, and what we wished to achieve over the coming months. 

 

As we navigated employees working from home, we looked at ways that they could support the team at the Centre.  Through this the teams came together, and everyone received an area of focus. This within itself was a positive way to achieve growth within our programming and documentation. We were challenging each other, to step up and take lead on areas they are passionate about.  You will see this coming through in the programs set up in each of the classrooms. Wellness and sports programs along with visual arts and music and movement. We focused on professional development which allowed our team to make progress on their professional growth. We had staff take some leave, some time off to rebalance.  The pressure and stress that COVID-19 put on employees, was hard.  So mental health was also a big focus.  Not just for this this period, but how we were going to ensure that it remained  ongoing. The team were outstanding throughout the whole period, as Centre Director I certainly could not be prouder. 

 

It is important that when planning our program children’s interests are included and without your children at the Centre to help us, we were faced to program mostly around intentional teaching.  This was exciting to see everyone step it up using videos and zoom to connect with the children at home.  We loved receiving photos and videos from your children, as they joined in and made use of the online program that the educators spent much time behind the scenes preparing, It also allowed the children at the Centre to connect with their peers.

 

We were delighted to welcome our families back on the 28th September.  An exciting time for both staff and families.  The children came back and settled in well.  This showed us just how connected they feel to our educators and environment. We are all looking forward to term 4 and will be focusing on your children’s readiness for classroom and Primary School transitions in January 2021. 

 

I would like to thank each of you for your continued support.  On the 7th October we celebrated 1 year with Evolve Early Education.  We are grateful that we had this amazing company step in and and help our Centre's growth.  We have always known of its potential. Having Evolve behind us, means we can continue on our path to an exceeding Early Learning and Education Centre.  We look forward to seeing what the next few months brings.  We hope with the easing of restrictions, and COVID-19 cases continuing to lower, life will settle down for us all.

 

Best Wishes,

Claire Doyle

Centre Director