Good Shepherd Early Childhood Services (GSECS) is a long day care and kindergarten service located in Hamilton, Victoria. The service caters to over 100 children per day, providing care and education for over 250 children in 2024. GSECS enjoys a strong connection to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church congregation with daily visits from the church’s lay worker. This relationship provides Christian education programs for children as well as support for the service’s staff.
Children in our funded kindergarten programs began their 2024 journey last week with orientation sessions before commencing full days. Children attend a minimum of two days per week which allows them to access Free Kinder programs, an initiative of the Victorian Government. Our kindergarten programs are supported by a team of early childhood teachers and educators who work collaboratively to deliver programs for over 100 kindergarten children each week.
For many GSECS children, kindergarten is their first learning experience out of the home and forms the first step in their educational journey. Our first days were met with plenty of excitement, and a few nerves, as children (and their parents!) learned about our programs and what they might expect of the year. Educators will work on helping children to settle in, with classroom routines and building strong educator/child relationships being our first focus for the year.
We are looking forward to an exciting year of learning within our kindergarten. Our Bush Kinder program will provide opportunities for children to step outside their comfort zone and enjoy the benefits of extended periods of outdoor, unstructured learning. Our team are also looking forward to the introduction of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program across the service and a more project-based approach to learning in our Kinder 4 program. We can’t wait to see what else 2024 might bring and look forward to seeing our wonderful learners grow and develop.
