Kids Give Back with our Thrive Community Pantry

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The connection of a Community Pantry to our Thrive Curriculum!

At Thrive Early Learning Centres we know Early Childhood years are the most critical to a childs development. In these formative years our Educators have an obligation to create settings where children belong, experience respectful friendships with children from various backgrounds and learn how to respect diversity. Being able to acknowledge, understand and respect difference is an essential relationship skill and is deeply embedded into the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).

The Thrive Early Learning Community Pantry was developed to help those struggling with the effects of Covid 19. For those that may have lost their jobs or even just finding it difficult to make ends meet. Thrive have also partnered with local charities to help us, help others.

THRIVE KIDS GIVE BACK

Kids stocking up Thrive Community Pantry

Our mission is to create a respectful and socially inclusive environment in which everybody has access to nutritious food. The Thrive Community Pantry will be restocked every month, and any remaining donations at the end of the month will be donated to the Local Charity of choice.

This community initiative forms an intrinsic part of the Thrive Early Learning Program where our children learn how to develop compassion and appreciate the value of sharing. The concept of a community pantry offers invaluable learning opportunities for our future leaders as they learn the real sense of community, empathy, respect, and kindness for all people, particularly in times of need.

This simple, but powerful initiative shows our youngest members of society the role we each play in being active participants in our communities.

The Thrive Community Pantry will contain canned and tightly sealed non-perishable products. The following are some examples of what will be stocked.

  • Canned soup
  • Canned vegetables
  • Noodles and Pasta
  • Cereal
  • Baked beans
  • Tuna
  • Canned fruit
  • Pancake mix
  • Long life milk
  • Pasta sauce

Thrive Community Pantry at Coniston

See our article here published with The Leader

Meet Rachna our Thrive Early Learning North Ryde Centre Leader!

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Tell us about your career background

I was born in Delhi, India and lived there with my family. I completed my studies from University of Delhi and taught HSC classes in a convent school for 8 years. Once married I stayed in Delhi until my son was born. Thereafter, I migrated to Sydney with my husband and son. After my son started to walk, I began looking for a career in Early Childhood Education. I had an opportunity to pursue a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education while pursuing a traineeship at Bambini’s Child Care, Centennial Park. Over the next 4 years, I worked at several other reputable organisations including Only About Children Sydney CBD and Explore & Develop North Ryde.

At Thrive Early Learning Centres, I pursued my Diploma in Early Childhood Education, and took on more challenging roles within the centre. Transitioning to a Room Leader and 2IC. Now, I look forward to growing further in my career as a Thrive Early Learning Centre Leader and ensure I add more value to the organisations’ operations and growth.

 

Thrive Early Learning Centre North Ryde Centre Leader Miss Rachna 

 

Why is Early Childhood Education so important to you?

Early childhood education helps children in creating a life-long passion for learning, develop social skills, and encourages development of fine motor and sensory skills. It is an important time in a childs life because this is when they first learn to interact with others, including peers, teachers, and parents. They begin to develop their interests and form foundations that will have impact into their adolescence and adulthood.

What are some interesting initiatives and focus areas happening at Thrive North Ryde
Thrive North Ryde – licensed for 100 children per day, educate and care for children from birth to six years. We aim to provide an environment where children can feel safe, secure, and happy. Thrive North Ryde gives priority to nurturing relationships and providing children with consistent emotional support so that they become confident and develop the skills and understanding necessary to interact positively with others.

Thrive North Ryde is committed to the equality and belief in all childrens capabilities to succeed. Thrive North Ryde offers children the freedom to explore and discover through play-based learning, which include science, music, dinosaurs, sea life experiences, language classes, water safety, police talks, fire brigade visits, cultural inclusion workshops.

Parents can keep up with their childs curriculum, learning and care routines through the KinderM8 App. This is also a platform used for communication between families and the service.

What is one of your favourite things about working in Early Childhood Education?

Working in early childhood education and care is very rewarding. I have been working with children for more than 5 years, and as time progresses, I feel myself getting more creative, patient, and knowledgeable about the children and the variety of ways in which they learn. Every child is unique, and I am here to nurture their individuality.

What are the key aspects that contribute to raising a successful, independent, and confident child?

Right from birth, kids learn new skills at a rapid pace. And along with those new abilities, they also acquire the confidence to use those skills.

As children get older, that confidence can be as important as the skills themselves. To thrive, kids need to trust in their own capabilities while, at the same time, knowing that they can handle it if they are not successful at something. It is by experiencing mastery and rebounding from failure that they develop healthy self-confidence.

Positive thinking, practice, training, knowledge and talking to other people are all useful ways to help improve or boost the confidence levels of children. Confidence comes from feelings of well-being, acceptance of own body and mind (self-esteem) and belief in own ability, skills and experience.