2015 Reports

Playpatch
St. Luke’s Preschool
St Luke’s continued its long tradition of providing
quality, Christ-centred, Early Childhood Education
and Care in 2015. We were blessed with a staff team
and management committee who worked tirelessly
for the children and families within our centre and
the community. Each person was supported in their
own journey of learning throughout the year as they
took on new areas, which in turn enriched the
preschool.
In 2015 Playpatch grew in numbers and
saw many new relationships built! We
have seen a shift in who attends with
the children, we now have many
grandparents bringing along their
grandchildren and we have brought
Heather on team to help us know better
how to serve and connect with these
grandparents. They often stay for lunch
in the cafe and continue to connect!
A huge praise point has been families
from Playpatch coming along to 10am
church regularly! And many playdates
have been had, extending relationships
from just Playpatch time!
Each week we have been able to share
God’s Word with the families and teach
the children songs that praise God! We
have sent home bibles with some
families who were interested in
continuing to read the Word with their
children.
In 2016 Belinda Monkman will be
stepping down from leading and Sarah
Doughton will be stepping up to lead.
We will be looking at new ways to
further relationships by linking with
Women’s ministry!
- Sarah Doughton
The preschool went through assessment and rating
under the national regulatory body for the first time.
We were awarded “Exceeding National Quality
Standard” in the 7 areas assessed and then were
awarded overall “Excellence”; the highest possible
rating! We are the first centre in the Illawarra to
receive this and one of only a handful in NSW. We
are thankful for the support of the DAC family in this
process and the years of partnership that have
helped St Luke’s to be where it is today. We
continued to evaluate and reflect on practices to
ensure we are continually implementing “Best
Practices” for the children, staff and families.
The preschool would like to thank the DAC
community for your ongoing support and
partnership with us; we feel blessed to have this
relationship. The management committee offered
great support and guidance for Julie and the whole
team and their input in the service is invaluable. We
continued to implement and trial new initiatives to
help bridge the connection between the church and
preschool families. We enjoyed offering social events
in The Café space, as well as connection events and
Picnics. Thanks to Jill and The Café team for their
support of these events and for welcoming staff and
families into the space day in and day out. Families
continued to enjoy attending Holiday Clubs, Easter at
the Lake and the Dapto Community Carols; thankyou
to the Children’s ministry team for their inclusion of
us within these opportunities and for joining us for
our combined Christmas Party.
- Eliza Batten
18