I am SO excited and proud to be able to announce that our very own Mel has been shortlisted as an Early Childhood Teacher of the Year finalist in the 2015 Early Years Awards. These State Government awards celebrate exceptional work being done to improve the health, learning, development and wellbeing of Victorian children from birth to eight years and their families. The Early Childhood Teacher of the Year Award highlights exemplary teachers who are going above and beyond to engage children in their learning programs. Mel’s nomination focuses on her incorporation of long-term inquiry projects to support children’s collaborative exploration of ideas, feelings, misunderstandings and questions about “big” issues. If she wins, Mel will receive $10,000 to support her ongoing professional development.
The 2015 Early Years Awards will be presented by The Hon. Jenny Mikakos MP, Minister for Families and Children, in the Great Hall at the National Gallery of Victoria International on Wednesday, 28 October. Fingers crossed!!
I felt so very proud of my fabulous team at Clarendon Children’s Centre when we got the news this week that ACECQA has awarded us the rating of “Excellent”. I had been quietly optimistic, because I felt that we had been able to make a very strong application but we had also been informed that only 35% of applications for the “Excellent” rating are successful – so we knew that it wasn’t going to be easy.
News has traveled fast, and we have been very touched by the messages of congratulations from members of our community both past and present – there is a great sense of shared ownership which speaks to many years of sustained commitment, passion, enthusiasm, collaboration and hard work! We have had messages from past educators and also colleagues from other service; from current families and from families whose children attended 15 years ago.
For educators, the “Excellent” rating is a great validation of their professionalism and for parents it confirms what they already knew in their hearts – that their children are benefiting from really high quality education and care at CCC.
