Annie Dennis

Angela Ditchmen will be giving a session on Behavioural Guidance this Thursday night 7.15pm to 9.15pm at the Centre.

Angela has been working with families and children for over 20 years, and currently teaches and trains childcare workers. 

The session aims to provide practical strategies based on experiences and age/stage development that can be implemented across all age groups.

Tickets ($5) are available from the office or at the door. 

Parents, carers, children and staff are invited to join in the festivities at Annie Dennis Children’s Centre as the end of 2009 draws to a close. See you there!

Grand final day is almost here, and footy fever is continuing to spread throughout the Centre.

This Friday is Football Day, so come along dressed in your favourite team’s colours.

Bring your footy too!

The Open Day is nearly upon us, and what a fun day it’s going to be.

We hope you can come along to help celebrate 80 years of child care, with staff and parents from the Centre, as well as the broader community.

The gates open at 11am, and a gold coin donation gets you a chance to win the gorgeous hamper raffle currently on display in the foyer of the Centre.

At noon there will be speeches to mark the occasion, by Mary Crooks, Executive Director of the Victorian Women’s Trust, and Barbara Romeril, Executive Director of Community Childcare Association.

In the Possums Room, you’ll find  displays about the history of the main building, the Centre and Annie Dennis (including an audio-visual presentation depicting the Centre from the 1940s on).

This is  also where you’ll find the sustainability display, which tells the story of the changes made to the Centre to make sure it is as environmentally sustainable as possible.

In the Bastings St yard check out the market stalls (including craft, handmade recycled accessories, propagated plants and seedlings, homemade playdough and more), a kids bazaar (quality secondhand clothing and shoes in sizes 0-5), eco-displays (including home assessors), a cakes and treats stall and sandwiches and coffee.

There will be two storytelling sessions (in the Rainbow Room) and a treasure hunt (in the sandpit) for the children.

And to top it all off, the  Tim Pledger Trio will be keeping it cool with their jazz sets.

PS, if you’d still like to help out on a stall, there are a few spots left - check out the noticeboard in the foyer. And a big thanks to everyone who has already signed up. See you then!

It’s all hands on deck for the next working bee at Annie Dennis Children’s Centre. We need as many people as possible to help spruce up the play areas. Green thumbs and handy people are especially welcome! It’s also a good chance for a catch-up with other families.

- Please bring the kids
- Hot soup for lunch

Let us know if you can make it by putting your name on the list in the foyer. And while you’re there, check out the display for ideas on what you can do/bring.

Guest speaker Shona Bass will be in the Maternal & Child Health Centre (next door to ADCC) from 7pm to 8.30pm to discuss the issue of school readiness.

How do you know when your child is ready? What does readiness mean? Why is it important?

To attend this session, please book and pay ($5) at the office by Wednesday 27 May.

The fantastic adventures of Dreamer are back - and this time Dreamer takes a trip in outer space!

The Dreamer Puppet Show will be at the Centre on 20 May, starting at 9.30am. All children who attend on that day can attend this very popular show. Make sure they are here by 9.15am, so as not to miss out!

A parent information night will be held 7.30pm-9pm on Thursday 23 October at the Centre. The topic is ‘Learning matters’, and the presentation will give parents an insight into early childhood development and the important role parents play as the primary educators of their children. It will provide parents with ideas for balancing your busy life with positive parenting skills.

Drop in at the office, and let Lara or Anna know if you would like to attend.

Footy finals are almost upon us, and footy fever has spread through the ADCC. Wednesday 10 September is Football Day at the Centre, so come dressed in your favourite team’s colours. There’ll be footy hot dogs (both meat and vegetarian) for lunch. Bring your footy too!

REPORT ON AUTUMN WORKING BEE MAY 2008

A great big thanks to all staff, parents and children who came along to the working bee last Saturday. 

It was a fantastic effort by all (especially the little ones who helped cart soil!) and the changes to all of the play areas have really made a difference. Some of the innovations to look out for:

- a new digging patch in the Bastings St yard, with surrounds built from bamboo trellis, old gate and screen door
- wine barrels used to make vegetable gardens
- tyre gardens planted with native grasses
- new tee pees
- planting of herbs in all playgrounds
- digging up of dirt patch in the kinder yard and topping it up with fresh soil
- repair of hammocks in kinder yard
- general clean-up of all playgrounds
- weeding and pruning.

The weather was just right, and the lunch of hot dogs and pumpkin soup with crusty bread made for the perfect end to the day. Thanks everyone!