Congratulations to all the early childhood education and care services across NSW that have been selected as Finalists for the 2019 Excellence in Early Childhood Education Awards! This year's nominations have set a new record in both the number of submissions (+47.6% increase) and the number of services participating (+55.6% increase)! The Excellence in Early Childhood Education Awards was already NSW's largest early childhood education and care-related awards event (with up to 470 attendees), and these records make the Awards even more competitive!

The 269 Finalists vying for 35 Awards in 2019 are from across the following NSW state and federal electorates:

• STATE - Auburn, Balmain, Barwon, Bathurst, Baulkham Hills, Bega, Blacktown, Cabramatta, Campbelltown, Canterbury, Castle Hill, Cessnock, Clarence, Coffs Harbour, Coogee, Cootamundra, Davidson, East Hills, Epping, Gosford, Granville, Hawkesbury, Heathcote, Heffron, Holsworthy, Hornsby, Keira, Kogarah, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Liverpool, Londonderry, Maitland, Manly, Miranda, Monaro, Newcastle, Newtown, Oatley, Pittwater, Prospect, Riverstone, Ryde, Seven Hills, Shellharbour, Strathfield, Swansea, Terrigal, The Entrance, Upper Hunter, Vaucluse, Wakehurst, Wallsend, Willoughby, Wyong
• FEDERAL - Banks, Bennelong, Berowra, Bradfield, Calare, Chifley, Cook, Cowper, Cunningham, Dobell, Eden-Monaro, Fowler, Grayndler, Greenway, Hughes, Hunter, Kingsford-Smith, Lindsay, Macarthur, Mackellar, Macquarie, Mitchell, New England, Newcastle, North Sydney, Page, Parkes, Parramatta, Patterson, Reid, Riverina, Robertson, Shortland, Waringah, Watson, Wentworth, Whitlam

Click here to download the mailing/contact list by electorates of
2019 Finalists for the Excellence in Early Childhood Education Awards

Night of Nights for Early Childhood Education and Care

The following Ministers, Shadow Ministers and Parliamentarians have already RSVPed to attend on 26 October 2019:

• The Hon Mark Coure MP, NSW Assistant Speaker (representing the NSW Premier)
• The Hon Damien Tudehope MLC, NSW Minister for Finance and Small Business
• The Hon Kevin Connolly MP, NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Education (representing the NSW Minister for Education)
• Ms Jodie Harrison MP, NSW Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education
• The Hon Daniel Mookey MLC, NSW Shadow Minister for Finance and Small Business
• The Hon Mark Latham MLC

If any NSW-based state or federal parliamentarians wishes to attend, please contact the Australian Childcare Alliance NSW on 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

What is International Day of Peace?

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.

2023 GLOBAL PEACE DAY THEME:

'Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #Global Goals'.
It is a push for us to recognise how our individual and collective actions can affect and foster global peace.

When is International Day of Peace?

Thursday, 21 September

Activities:

• Observe a minute of silence at noon on Sept. 21
• Bring in a guest to teach basic mindfulness skills for stress reduction or download a breathing activity. 
• Plant a peace pole, peace rocks or a peace garden on your grounds.
• Bring in different cultural foods for a special lunch or have children talk about the tradition of the food they bought to share.
• Create a collaborative peace collage with images and words that communicate peace.
• Make and display “Pinwheels for Peace” with art images on one side and wishes for peace on the other: www.pinwheeelsforpeace.com.
• Make a painting, collage, mural or drawing of children around the world.

Areas marked in orange refer to 10-hour on-street car parking spaces.

Parramatta City Council's parking meters on Saturdays cost $2.00 per hour with a maximum charge of $8.00 at those 10-hour on-street spaces.

Defibrillators save lives.  Is your Centre equipped with this life saving device?

A Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the largest cause of death in Australia.  30,000 people die every year.  That’s 600 per week. If you have a Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Australia, there’s a 6% chance of surviving. In Seattle it’s 62%. This is a telling stat. It’s proof that people are dying in Australia for no good reason.

There is a distinct difference between a heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest.  Heart attack occurs when there is a blockage of the coronary arteries, involving a cut off in the supply of blood to the heart, causing parts of the heart muscle to begin to die.  In contrast, a sudden cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating resulting in a blood supply to the vital organs being cut off.

In the event of a sudden cardiac arrest, a defibrillator is an essential piece of first aid equipment.  A defibrillator has just as much place in your business as a smoke alarm or fire extinguisher.

Are you and your staff equipped to step into action should a parent or grandparent suffer a sudden cardiac arrest on your premises at drop off or pick up? What about the children in your care? A defibrillator can be used on any age group.

If your centre has a defibrillator – are all your staff trained and confident to use the device?  Is your defibrillator easily accessible in the event of an emergency?

All childcare educators should undertake training on defibrillators to:

• Learn how to resuscitate someone and get confidence in using a defibrillator
• Understand how safe defibrillators are
• Know your legal obligations and requirements for owning and using a defibrillator

Modern devices are simple to use with easy to understand visual and voice prompts and automated features to make saving lives easy and help users remain focused and in control.

Having a defibrillator puts the odds in your favour and remember in order to give them the best chance of survival the defibrillator should be on within 180 seconds!