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Emanuel Woollahra is a unique early learning centre, with the charismatic Fiona Ozana (Director), leading her vibrant team to make the ordinary into the extraordinary on a daily basis and instil a sense of wonder in our world.
We offer a unique and innovative learning environment filled with many repurposed treasures collected from the side of the road that have been given a new life in our centre. These treasures reflect our commitment to recycling and re-using and inspire a culture of thinking, creativity and investigation as children explore the workings of an old telephone, typewriter, sewing machine, record player, television and really anything weird and wonderful from another era. Fiona Ozana is a collector of note, and on a regular basis arrives with her arms overflowing with her ‘finds’ from someone else’s trash!
We believe that every day brings a new opportunity for learning and joy, providing an enriching environment that invites discovery. Our holistic and responsive approach to teaching and learning recognises the connectedness of mind, body and spirit which is reflected in the way our children care for each other, respect and care for the environment and learn to help others. We are passionate about connecting our children with nature and believe that immersing ourselves in nature enhances children’s wellbeing. With this in mind, we have embedded our ‘Bush Kinder’ nature program, bringing nature into the hearts of our children, teaching them alongside nature to develop a love and respect of the natural world. Although we are based in the city, we bring the forest to our children in unique and creative ways, as well as heading out into the bush or forest environment once or twice a month. Our Bush Kinder program gives children the freedom to learn through nature on a regular basis, instilling a sense of adventure and experiencing the exhilaration of being immersed in a forest of towering trees, the discovery of a tiny bug, or the accomplishment of having created a cubby from fallen branches. Gathering around a campfire to roast potatoes or bake damper and tell our stories instils a sense of belonging and being, filling our hearts with warmth and a strong sense of community.
Social justice is a theme we endeavour to bring to our children throughout the year, following the ethos of the Emanuel synagogue, with whom we share premises, community and like-minded progressive, pluralist philosophy. We encourage our children to be aware of social justice and have a voice, be it in through our support of many charities, interfaith program with Muslim children of the same age or our engagement with our local aboriginal communities and beyond. We have formed ongoing relationships with Aboriginal educators who regularly come in to engage with our children on multiple levels, either through our nature/bush program or for visits to enrich our learning of culture and respect for the land on which we play and learn.
We are all about community! We work in partnership with our families, building wider community connections at the same time. Our philosophy of ‘beyachad’ (together) embodies our belief that everyone is welcome, and everyone belongs – ‘we are all in this together’ at Emanuel Woollahra Preschool.
Dear Members,
Choosing the right uniform is an important decision. A well chosen uniform not only contributes to the professional reputation of your service - it also reinforces the pride that your staff have in their work and helps build a positive team morale.
When selecting a team uniform, the obvious considerations are the practical nature of the work and the day to day activities of your team. Additional things you might like to include in the thought process are the brand image of your service and the key colours, the values of your service, and feedback from your team. You may like to offer a few key piece options to allow some flexibility for personal preferences, with an overarching consistent theme throughout.
Our friends at Cargo Crew have worked closely with many early learning services to create a unique look and feel that aligns with the brand image, practical requirements and ethos of each centre.
Below is a case study from one of their valued clients based in regional Victoria, which illustrates the importance of choosing a uniform that ticks all of the boxes.
Cargo Crew is offering a free uniform consultation, free shipping on your first order $350+ and discounted embroidery to ACA members - you can check out how to take up this offer further below.
CASE STUDY: Willowbank Early Learning Centre (ELC)
Willowbank Early Learning Centre (ELC) is located in the beautiful townships of Gisborne and New Gisborne, in regional Victoria. The centre was purpose-built a little over four years ago, to offer the community a modern, fun and engaging space for the children which encourages their curiosity, imagination and play-based learning. It's also the only privately owned and operated early learning service in the local area.
We asked Company Director Jamie Vella and Assistant Director Kirri Keet to talk us through the importance of the team uniform and the decision process thev went through to select the final range.
The team at Willowbank ELC consists of almost 50 staff each with their own strong connection to the local community. That strong community connection means that Willowbank's reputation for professionalism and high quality is even more important to the team. "After all, we live within the community that we service." explains Jamie.
Why is the team uniform such an important part of Willowbank ELC?
There are a number of reasons why the uniform is so important - firstly, a great uniform gives your team a sense of pride, and helps them feel that they belong to our wonderful, supportive team.
Secondly, we feel it's important that our team of early childhood educators are easily recognisable for all the children and parents at our service - the uniform makes them stand out clearly, in a positive way.
How did you decide on the key elements of the uniform?
Firstly, I knew I wanted the staff to represent the philosophy of our centre in every way, and I wanted them to stand out as different from the competition.
The uniform needed to be modern and fresh - I didn't want to see our staff in a typical brightly coloured polo top. I wanted to make sure the uniform we chose ticked the practical boxes, but just because our team works closely with children in what can sometimes be a messy environment, that doesn't mean they have to sacrifice style for practicality.
Why did you choose Cargo Crew?
I came across Cargo Crew online, and I felt that the suite of uniforms tor the early learning sector on their website aligned with our philosophy of being fit for the nature of the job, whilst also looking stylish and modern.
We're extremely happy with the end result - the team enjoy wearing the uniform as it contributes to their sense of professionalism and being part of a team. Parents have also commented that the girls look smart and professional.
What advice would you give to someone else looking to refresh their team uniform?
I would recommend taking into account the look and feel of the uniform and the "out of work" test - if your staff are proud to be seen in their work uniform before and after their work day, that's a great outcome.
Listen to your team - we rely on feedback from our staff to ensure they are comfortable with the uniform and it meets their needs.
We highly recommend Cargo Crew as a uniform provider. My goodness - I had trouble choosing our uniform because I loved everything in their online store!
But on top of their gorgeous range, they offered a fantastic service from start to finish. They were very helpful and accommodating to our needs.
To help ACA members get started on a uniform refresh, Cargo Crew is offering ACA members:
To claim your ACA member offer, just get in touch with the team at Cargo Crew and tell them you're an ACA member.
TEL: 03 9411 9850 EMAIL: hello@cargocrew.com.au
WEBSITE: www.cargocrew.com.au
SHOWROOM: 4 Scholar Drive, Bundoora Victoria 3083
(Showroom temporarily closed under COVID-19 restrictions)
Little Angels at Pagewood Green opened their doors a little over a year and a half a go. We are a family owned and operated business, lead by our wonderful director Kelsey who has over ten years experience in the sector. Keeping it in the family we also have Kelsey’s mother and father who have both completed traineeships to become fully qualified educators who work both on the floor and behind the scenes.
Undergoing our first Assessment and Rating visit in 2020 was a difficult task with our owner, director and educational leader 8 months pregnant at the time
SUZANNA CHIDIAC - Centre Manager, Woodstock Childcare Centre, Sydney Olympic Park
What makes this person so amazing/talented as an educator?
Suzanna is an amazing educator whom puts the needs of both the children, and fellow educators before her own. She is a talented educator who makes strong connections with all children across the centre despite their age, and an even stronger connection with the families. Most of our existing families return to the centre after their eldest child graduates, to ensure their siblings are educated by Miss Suzanna. Passion, strong work ethic and warm embrace are just a few of many qualities and characteristics that make up the foundations of a great educator, in which all of Miss Suzanna possesses.
At PK Business Advisory we understand childcare: our services to the early education and care industry stem from first-hand experience in owning and operating early education and care services. Our range of advisory and tax compliance services are designed to not only keep track of your portfolio’s performance but boost its value.
Get more out of your childcare portfolio:
Click on our Brochure for further information!
