Annual Report 2016

1 | P a g e

2016 COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT

POSITION NAME

President Rebecca Hitchcock

Vice President Kate Solomon

Treasurer Justin Adams

Secretary Tamara Campbell

3 Year Old Enrolment Officer Caroline McKean

3 Year Old Fee Collector Anna Selby

4 Year Old Enrolment Officer Sarah Caffrey

4 Year Old Fee Collector Jenni Thom

General Member – Policies Jill Hannan

Social Secretary Brooke Bogdan

2 | P a g e

2016 STAFF

Yolande Moulton - Educational Leader, Nominated Supervisor and 4 Year Old Group Educator

Emma Toniolo – 3 Year Old Group Leader, 4 Year Old Additional Educator & Administrative Assistant

Rhonda Sharman – 4 Year Old Group Educator

Lisa Kenny – 3 Year Old Group Assistant and 4 Year Old Educator

Lalin Cheam – 4 Year Old Educator

Vicki Dezso – Music Educator

3 | P a g e

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Welcome to the 2016 Annual General Meeting. It is so fabulous to see familiar faces and

bright eyed new comers to our wonderful community preschool.

I would also like to welcome Colin Stebbing from KALC who will officiate as our

Independent Returning Officer and conduct the election of our new committee for 2017.

The AGM is an important event in the preschool calendar as it celebrates the years’ events,

hands over the batten of responsibility to the next parent committee of management and is the

collection point for the enrolment packs for the next year of lucky children coming to start

their educational journey with Acacia Avenue Preschool.

My name is Beck Hitchcock and this year I have been the President. For the past two years I

was involved with the Social and Fundraising sub-committee, so it has been a big step up to

the role as President but one that has provided me with the opportunity to learn so much more

about the workings of the preschool and I have been fortunate to work alongside our

dedicated and hugely experienced Director Yolande Moulton and the other beautiful

educators who have taught my daughter Annika in 2014 in Red group and my son Sebastian

in 2015 in Yellow group and 2016 in Red group.

I would like to share with you some of the efforts of our voluntary parent Committee of

Management so you can appreciate that so much happens behind the scenes of an

organisation such as this. The committee members have consisted of:

Vice President Kate Solomon who worked tirelessly on the Grant application to upgrade the

heating and cooling system in the kinder room, only to be denied due to the impending works

due to be occurring in the next few years to the Preschool. She also conducted a huge

successful parent survey both online and in paper form, which yields glowing reports about

the outstanding job that the Educators do with supporting our precious young children to

open their minds to play, friendships and exploring the world around them. There was also

invaluable feedback about areas for improvement which we will take forward to the planning

stage for the new facility once the grant is confirmed and also has been reflected back to the

Educators and the Committee on the issues that parents would like to see amended in the

future.

Treasurer Justin Adams- thank goodness we had Justin who has stepped into this financial

whirlwind and has been able to translate for us the profit and loss statements, establishing a

working budget and worked collaboratively with the fee collectors, social secretary and

myself to managed the banking process effectively.

Secretary Tamara Campbell stepped into the role after the year commenced, following a 2.5

year overseas sabbatical from Acacia Ave committee duties and hit the ground running with

agendas, minutes, a new IT system and has ensured that our meetings are legally

documented, followed up and auctioned accordingly.

3 year old Enrolment Officer Caroline McKean who has acted in other committee roles in the

past so was no stranger to the process and managed the waiting list and enquiries with such

grace and efficiency that even after we extended the number of places for 2017 to our legal

4 | P a g e

capacity to ensure we could accommodate all the children on the waiting list, she still has

more parents signing up to a waiting list for 2017.

Our 4 year old Enrolment Officer Sarah Caffrey. Thank you for your years of service. This

role requires a constant balancing, checking and liaising with council, and despite the low

birth rate year that has affected all Preschool’s across the City of Kingston your efforts to

ensure that everyone has been given their first preference of groups must be commended. We

are grateful for your ongoing commitment to fill the vacancies and your calm approach to

managing the huge number of requests and enquiries from near and far.

3 year old Fee Collector Anna Selby has worked with understanding and precision this year

to enable the financial lifeline of the preschool; the fees to be invoiced, receipted and

followed up when necessary. I am grateful for your compassion and commitment to the role.

4 year old Fee Collector Jenni Thom has worked incredible hard this year to establish a

system that effectively manages the invoicing, receipt and following up on the payment of

fees. Now that she has the role down pat, I am so grateful that she is staying on for 2017 as

the 4 year old Fee collector.

General Member Policies has been in the very capable hands of our longest standing

committee member Jill Hannan. Jill has been on the committee for the past 5 years, while her

3 gorgeous children attended. Her wealth of experience and knowledge has been invaluable

in the decision making process and as well as ensuring our compliance with the updated

policy and procedures to support all of our roles and responsibilities.

Social and Fundraising Coordinator was held by Brooke Bogdan for the second year in a row.

It has been a very busy role coordinating a sub-committee consisting of Donna-Lee

Mavroudis, Gina Ingle, Chinita Arulanandam and Chris Hitchcock to facilitate the fabulous

social and fundraising events. Every preschool event/activity generates funds that are critical

to ensure that new resources can be purchased, the outdoor play space is updated as required

and the children are able to have the extras that enrich their learning and development.

Special thanks also to Mel Cox, a past parent whose spectacular efforts of generating

donations for the Comedy night continued its huge success both socially and financially for

the preschool.

2016 has been a huge year at Acacia Avenue Preschool.

We started the year with the new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) for the Teachers

and Assistants, which had been in the pipeline for over 2 years. It consisted on a change to

work conditions, pay rates and levels of qualifications. The teachers voted through our

governing association of Early Learning Association of Australia (ELAA) on the proposed

EBA and it was passed into legislation by Fair Work to create the Victoria Early Childhood

Teachers and Educations Award (VECTEA) 2016. This prompted new contracts, and a whole

raft of issues with salaries and back pay. But ultimately the new work conditions ensure

educators are paid for every hour that they work and they receive paid holidays in line with

their school colleagues.

We then had an external outdoor play ground audit which led to some repair work and

upgrades to equipment so that our beautiful outdoor space remains compliant to Australian

standards and a safe place to play.

5 | P a g e

In Victoria, responsibility for administering the National Quality Framework is shared

between the Department of Education and Training (the Department) and the Australian

Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) and every three years, we are assessed and

rated to ensure standards are being met across 7 key areas. This was a significant piece of

work for the Director and educators to compile and then experience the intensive day of

observations and exploratory questioning. Acacia Avenue Preschool achieved “Meeting

National Quality Standard” rating and I am so grateful to the Educators for all the time and

preparation that went into the documentation and interviews required for this process.

And finally the Relocation grant submission by the City of Kingston for Acacia Avenue

Preschool to have a new facility on what is currently Department of Education land that is

Mentone Park Primary school. I am very aware that this came as a shock to many, both

current and past families and that the Preschool nor Committee were not the first to share this

news and for this I am sorry for any concern or upset that it may have caused. This project

has been a topic for discussion over the past 18 months and without any definite information

we were unable to make public such discussions. However we are all very aware of how old

the building is and as a rented space from the City of Kingston, it is their responsibility to

maintain the building. So it is very exciting that Acacia Avenue Preschool has the

opportunity to be involved from the very beginning of the planning and design phase of the

project to ensure that the space accurately represents the needs of the children, the wants of

the educators, while maintaining the unique charm and personality of Acacia that makes this

preschool such a special place for children and their families.

My heartfelt thanks to the amazing committee, dedicated staff, beautiful children and

wonderful parents for your support towards me as President. I will be stepping down as

President but staying on the committee as a General Member to support the Relocation

project.

Merry Christmas and Happy and safe 2017!!!

President Rebecca Hitchcock

6 | P a g e

ACACIA AVENUE STAFF REPORT

Welcome one and all to the Acacia Avenue Preschool Annual General Meeting for 2016.

My name is Yolande Moulton, Preschool Director, Educational Leader, Responsible Person

and teacher of the 4 Year Old Groups. I am responsible for the daily running of the preschool

program with the assistance of my fellow educators. I would like to introduce the teaching

team.

Rhonda Sharman is our 4 year old co – educator on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Rhonda is

currently studying her Certificate of Education Support. This course is to further her

knowledge and be able to support and share her knowledge with the staffing team so we can

have an increased understanding of children’s needs, and are able to better support both the

child and their family.

Lisa Kenny is our 3 Year Old co-educator and 4 Year Old groups co-educator on Monday,

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Lisa is currently studying her Diploma in Early Childhood Education. Lisa is wanting to

extend her already valuable knowledge to offer new ideas and support the program for both

the 3 and 4 year old groups.

Emma Toniolo is our 3 Year Old Group teacher and co-educator for both 4 Year Old groups

on Tuesday and Wednesday. Emma is also our Administration Assistant on a Thursday.

Emma’s role as an Administration Assistant is there to offer support to all the staff as well as

the committee.

Lalin Cheam shares my educating role with the 4 year old groups one day per week.

Vicki Dezso is our Music Teacher. She attends the preschool each week to run the 4 Year Old

Music Group Program.

Our roles are supported and guided by a Committee of Management, a group of volunteer

parents of the children who attend the preschool.

Acacia Avenue Preschool is implementing “The Early Years Learning Framework for

Australia: Belonging, Being & Becoming” in conjunction with “The Victorian Early Years

Learning and Development Framework”.

The Early Years Learning Framework ‘forms the foundation for ensuring that children in all

early childhood education and care settings experience quality teaching and learning’

(DEEWR 2009a,p5).

It was the Committee and educators role back in 2012 to develop a Quality Improvement

Plan (QIP), outlining the quality of the service in accordance with the regulations and NQS.

The QIP is a document that is used on an ongoing basis. It assists educators and committee

members to look at their practice and work out the quality of the service and education and

care they are providing.

The next step of the assessment and rating process was the assessment and rating visit by an

authorized officer to observe practice, engage in discussions with educators and sight relevant

documentation. This took place in February, 2013. Acacia Avenue was rated overall at

7 | P a g e

Meeting NQS. We were assessed again this year in May and it followed the same protocol as

2013. We were happy to receive the same rating as we did before. Acacia Avenue Preschool

is currently rated overall at Meeting NQS.

There are 72 children enrolled at Acacia Avenue Preschool this year; 50 children in the 4

Year Old Group and 22 children in the 3 Year Old group.

As stated in our Preschool Philosophy, it is our strong belief at Acacia Avenue Preschool

that children learn through play. We provide the children with a structured routine

environment in which they learn to make choices. While children are engaged in their own

play, they are involved and motivated learners. It is the educators’ teaching task to ensure

that play opportunities are appropriate to the children, providing scope for self direction, as

well as stimulating thinking.

Co-operation with parents in every aspect of the program is encouraged. Family involvement

is a significant part of the program and preschool experience.

We have been able to achieve many projects at the preschool with both time and financial

contributions that families have made.

OUR PROGRAM

We are very fortunate at Acacia Avenue Preschool to run a specialized music program with

our music teacher Vicki. The music program has been running on a weekly basis for both 4

Year old groups. Incorporating the music group into the program has worked well and the

children have participated enthusiastically! Vicki has been teaching the children a variety of

songs, music notes, poems and dances. We are looking forward to singing some of the songs

that the children have learnt this year on our Music recital day in December.

The Victorian Framework uses five outcomes to describe the key elements of children’s

learning and development. These are:

Identity - Children have a strong sense of identity.

Community - Children are connected with and contribute to their world.

Wellbeing - Children have a strong sense of wellbeing.

Learning - Children are confident and involved learners.

Communication - Children are effective communicators.

It is recognized that children acquire learning across these outcomes at different rates, in

different ways and at different times.

The programs must therefore cater for a range of differing abilities. Children also have

varied interests, personalities and backgrounds, and the programs will reflect this, as the

educators plan the program to facilitate the learning of individuals, as well as the group as a

whole. The daily program content is planned on a two weekly basis. Topics of interest are

chosen and children’s and their families’ interests are integrated into this program.

The preschool program each year begins with many and varied challenges. Our aim in the

first few weeks of term is to make each child feel comfortable, happy and accepted at

preschool. The program focuses on learning one another’s names and developing

communication skills to aid in establishing friendships and playing together as a group. The

children learn the routines of toileting, snack-time, packing away, mat-time, group

experiences and investigating the rules that make the preschool environment a safe place to

play. Topics of interest are colour recognition, shapes, sea, beach, summer and Easter. The 3

8 | P a g e

year olds follow these topics too but their main focus for term one is settling and

familiarization.

The children return in term 2 with enthusiasm, ready to build on their experiences.

This year the 4 Year Old Program focused on several topics including Mother’s Day,

Autumn, body awareness, healthy eating, senses and emotions and dinosaurs. The children

showed an enthusiastic interest in Pirates and a treasure chest and an assortment of treasures

were regularly discovered in our sandpit. We also had a visit from the dentist who did a check

up on all of the kinder children.

During term 3, all preschool groups had the opportunity to observe chicken hatching. An

incubator and fertile eggs were delivered from a company called Living Eggs. This

experience gave the children the chance to observe the birth and development of a chicken

and bought the preschool community together. Families would come into the room at pick up

and drop off times to observe the eggs and chicks.

As we all know Christmas is near and 4th

term is a busy time with celebrations for various

occasions, people visiting the preschool, incursions/ an excursion and children from the 4 YO

group attending transition programs in preparation for school. It is busy but rewarding time of

year as our 3 year olds are getting ready to embark on their next year of kinder and our 4 year

old groups move on to the next chapter in life, beginning school.

Thank you to all involved with the Acacia Avenue Preschool Community.

To the children of Acacia Avenue, a group of diverse and lively individuals thank you!

To all the parents, relatives and friends, thank you for your support and understanding.

To the committee we appreciate your contribution to the preschool and wish you all the best

as you move on to other volunteer ventures.

In closing, the educators would like to extend their sincere thanks and warm wishes to all

families and friends in the preschool community.

On behalf of all of the staff we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and safe

New Year.

Thank you

The Educators at Acacia Avenue Preschool Yolande Moulton, Emma Toniolo, Lisa Kenny, Rhonda Sharman, Vicki Dezso and Lalin Cheam

9 | P a g e

TREASURERS REPORT

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the current committee for their support throughout the year. In particular

the fee collectors, Jenni and Anna of whom I have liaised closely with over the year.

I would also like to thank our accountant Colin from KALC for his ongoing assistance and

support throughout the year.

Audit

The annual accounts have been audited and are finalised – Copies of the reports are available

for viewing.

Full Year Results Summary

A summary of the financial report for this year is as follows;

Total Income for the Year ending 30 September 2016: $310,850

Total Expenses for the Year ending 30 September 2016: $337,594

End result is a net operating deficit of: $26,743

The overall financial position remains strong with cash holdings of $99,003 that comfortably

cover total liabilities of $54,448.

This year has been a challenging one from a financial perspective. The increased cost of

operating the Kinder (primarily due to additional staff costs resulting from a new EBA).

Many kinders in the local area have struggled financially this year, and this is not isolated to

Acacia Avenue.

I’d like to acknowledge the hard work of our fundraising committee & I would like to thank

all the families who have supported the various activities throughout the year. I’d also like to

thank the work of our fee collectors – never an easy task.

I’d like to take this opportunity to again thank the Bendigo Bank Mentone East, which

donated in excess of $500 towards our Comedy night, as well as O’Brien Real Estate

Mentone, who also contributed $500 to this event.

Conclusion

It has been a great pleasure working closely with Yolande and all of the various committee

members. I have acted in the role as Treasurer for this year only, and given Kiana is moving

to prep in 2017, I have decided to pass on the Treasurer role to parent of a student attending

the kinder in 2017. I still live locally & am able to assist with any questions our new

treasurer may have. The treasurer role has been greatly streamlined and together with the

help of the assistant treasurer it has become a less demanding over time. A job description

for the Treasurer Role & Assistant Treasurer Role is available & I am more than happy to

answer any questions.

I have found being part of the Committee rewarding particularly with meeting other parents.

Finally I’d like to wish you all a fantastic Christmas and a happy 2017.

This concludes the Treasurer’s Report – Can the report please be passed

Treasurer Justin Adam

10 | P a g e

FUNDRAISING/ SOCIAL REPORT

Firstly I would like to thank the great team I have had helping me out this year- Chris

Hitchcock, Chinita Arulanandam, Gina Ingle and Donnalee Mavroudis and thank you also to

Mel Cox(who this year doesn’t have children at the kinder) for her amazing work with

helping me for the Comedy night.

And secondly of course I have to thank all the parents, friends and relatives for all your help

and support you have given the kinder over this year with donations, purchases and time

given up to help each activity.

This year has been another successful year of fundraising and we have managed to raise

approx. $17.067. Even higher than 2015. So Congratulations to all.

The kinder has benefited from this in many ways with new outdoor equipment, the beautiful

new sandpit and cover, new indoor equipment and many new learning aids.

We raised these funds in a variety of ways. The now annual comedy night was a huge success

for the kinder raising just shy of $10,000. It is great to see all the hard work that goes into the

night raising such great funds and everyone having such a fun night.

The other big fundraiser this year was the Bunnings BBQ held way back in February. This is

always such a fun day. This raised $2000 for the kinder.

Just a date saver for 2017 the Bunnings BBQ is Sunday 10th

September, so please save the

date.

The fundraising component of a kinder should definitely be seen as a social aspect also.

People have suggested why not pay a levy for fundraising but personally I think it’s

impersonal and beneficial to no one except the kinder. The fundraising component create

chances to make new friendships, socialise and even chances to remember your child’s kinder

years.

So please get yourself involved in the kinder embrace the social/fundraising efforts of the

new committee and if you’re interested even put your hand up to help out.

Thanks

Fundraising Coordinator

Brooke Bogdan

11 | P a g e

APPENDIX 1:

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS