GEKA Centre Road

An Educator Reflection:  What does 'Community' Mean in Practice

Elspeth Marson-Thomas, Early Childhood Teacher 

My idea of community are the people who surround me, support me and believe in me, whether they are my family, my best friends, my wonderful GEKA Centre Rd colleagues, my greater GEKA community or the families who walk in our door at kindergarten each day.

These are the people who are part of my daily life, who believe that what I do is something important and who value the work I do, whether as a mum, a wife, a sister or a GEKA teacher each day.  

My community at GEKA Centre Rd Kindergarten makes me want to come to work each day, knowing that my day will be brighter when I see my team’s smiling faces, then the warm embrace of each child as they walk through that door. I love hearing about what the families have been up to over the weekend, being a supportive ear when things are tough at home or at work. My role as teacher goes beyond teaching your children that day, that week or that year, as we never forget them. I know we all love hearing from past families and receiving those photos of how the first day of school went. 

The children and families at kindergarten become part of our community from the moment they walk in the door on the first day of kindergarten. They become part of our village and we hope they feel the same way.

Thanks to one of GEKA Centre Rd Kindergarten mums, Ani, for her generous words after her daughter Frankie had only attended a couple of sessions:

Hello GEKA Centre Road Kindergarten educators, I just wanted to write a very quick note to let you know how incredibly impressed I have been with the program so far. I know it seems a bit premature since it's only our third orientation day, but when you have a child who has severe separation anxiety, you can tell almost immediately when things are going well (or worse, pear shaped!). We have not yet (fingers crossed) had a drop off meltdown and it's been largely due to the calmness and smoothness with which the start of the session operates (although I completely expect it will be a bit more crazy with double the number of students come Thursday). There's always a teacher available to whisk Frankie away before her bottom lip quivers too much and from what I can already see, she is forming some great bonds with the teachers. 

We are so excited for Frankie to develop her independence, sense of self and security this year before she starts prep and we honestly feel like we are in the best place for that to happen. 

Just a brief note to show our appreciation and that we are very excited to be part of the GEKA experience.

Parent, Ani