CENTRE DIRECTOR
Stacey Long
DIPLOMA QUALIFIED
Hi, im Stacey,
This is my 11th year in the Early Childhood Education sector between Ireland and Melbourne. I studied in Ireland as a diploma qualified educator in Early Childhood and Education and a FETAC level 6 supervision in childcare. When I arrived in Melbourne my qualifications where assessed by ACEQUA and rated at diploma qualification in Victoria. I gained interest Early Childhood after being the caregiver with younger siblings and relatives. I have a great sense of achievement in helping children reach important milestones and watching them grow into individual people and wanted to learn more about early education and development. My aim for the service is to bring the community and parent involvement into the centre as much as we possibly can to help create a community feel for the service. For the children, to learn through play while respecting the rights of each individual child. I feel each child is unique and always has something to share. No two children are the same. I believe our role modelling is vital for children in the early stages of life. We must lead by example to guide these impressionable young people of our future.
“Children are not to be moulded but unfolded”
EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER
Mia Georgiadis
DIPLOMA OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES
Hi My names Mia and I am the Kindergarten Teacher at Donald Street. This is my eighth year in early childhood education. When I finished my Diploma of Children’s Services I was a team leader in the toddler and nursery rooms in a community long day care centre. When I went on to study my Bachelor of Early Childhood, I took the role of Kindergarten assistant in the 3 year old room and then moved up to the four year old room; to gain more experience. Now I have finished my degree and I look forward to practicing all I learnt at Donald Street. I came into early childhood education because I had always been a caregiver, to younger siblings and many younger cousins so it just came naturally. When I started studying and realised the impact and creative outlet I could have through my work; it really inspired me to create meaningful learning environments for children in my care. I run an emergent curriculum. This means the rooms experiences are set up with purpose that reflects; the children’s current and emerging interests, projects, themes, the community and has room for lots of spontaneity! The Kindergarten is very important to me in preparing the children for realistic expectation in school. The transition to school is vital in preparing the children’s expectation of time, routine, social behaviour, independence, listening and communication skills. These are all areas in which we explore in the room and practice on a daily basis. Through a play based program the children are learning life skills and understandings in fun, practical and creative ways.