Joy in abundance as Little Angels Salisbury Early Learning Centre turns one
Local
Archbishop Jeremy prayed a special blessing on Saturday as Little Angels Salisbury Early Learning Centre celebrated its first birthday with an open day
Archbishop Jeremy prayed a blessing, as parents, early learners, clergy, teachers and other Diocesan staff gathered to celebrate the first 12 months of Little Angels Salisbury Early Learning Centre on Saturday.
Quoting the Old Testament, the Archbishop prayed that God, who delights in all of creation, blesses the centre with joy and the connections of friends.
“There’s a great verse at the end of Isaiah that says, ‘Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.’ And one of the great things about early childhood and a place like this is that real sense of gladness and joy,” Archbishop Jeremy shared with those gathered, as a little girl ducked behind him to grab some cake.
“And wandering from room to room — even though it’s not quite full of the noise of children today — there are enough children here to get that sense of gladness and joy, and gladness and joy are at the heart of what it might mean to be a Little Angels child care centre.”
The Little Angels Salisbury centre, which is wholly owned and operated by the Anglican Church Southern Queensland (ACSQ), was built on the site of the former St Mary Magdalene Anglican Church in Salisbury, which closed in 2014.
So, the centre has a relationship with the nearby Parish of Sunnybank, whose community members have hand written prayers for the centre’s staff and children and gifted them with a stunning hand-painted cross featuring Jesus surrounded by young children.
The Rev’d Scott Windred from The Parish of Sunnybank presenting Little Angels Salisbury centre director Melinda Clark with a gift at the centre’s open day on 13 July 2024
Priest-in-Charge of The Parish of Sunnybank, The Rev’d Scott Windred, visits the centre several afternoons a week to connect with staff and parents and to help resource centre educators.
The Rev’d Scott, who was accompanied by his wife, Sarah, and their two young sons, said that Little Angels Salisbury early learner Ezra was first in line to sample the cake and that he enjoyed participating in the activities.
“He especially loved making a little angel out of paper plates and he loved the animals in the petting zoo,” The Rev’d Scott said.
The Rev’d Scott said that because the early learning centre is Anglican-run it seeks to provide care for the whole family.
“One of the things we’ve been talking about is the ‘fruit of the spirit’ — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, all these different things,” he said.
“It’s one thing to teach good values, but how much more do people need the things God gives, like love and joy and peace and patience?
“So, we’re looking at implementing those core principles — the things that we abide by and live by and cherish.
“That’s another part of my role in terms of faith and culture.”
He plans to write a weekly post for the centre’s staff and families about one of the values to explain and encourage them.
Former pre-school teacher Andy Addenbrooke, who founded Little Green Thumbs — which offers kids’ gardening programmes — is another enthusiastic parent advocate for the centre.
Andy’s toddler Charlie was on a waitlist for another early learning centre in the area, but he chose to send Charlie to Little Angels Salisbury after visiting the centre.
“I have the luxury of visiting about 200 childcare centres a year with my business, and I feel that I can judge a centre just by looking around,” Mr Addenbrooke said.
“I was a pre-school teacher, but I’ve been running Little Green Thumbs for about 18 years — I work with schools, councils and the Australia Zoo doing gardening and woodwork workshops.
“What I love about Little Angels is the nice, homely feeling you get when you walk in — it has an open, airy aesthetic.
“Other centres can be overstimulating, whereas I found this had the right balance of nature throughout.
“The play yard is a mixture of concrete, nature, and timber, and it’s somewhere I could live.
“There is a perfect sense of calm, which creates a great scaffolding for child development.”
Andy Addenbrook and his son, Charlie, at the Little Angels Salisbury open day on 13 July 2024
Group Manager, Property, of the ACSQ’s Finance and Diocesan Services Commission, Hiro Kawamata said he was pleased to see the centre in operation and hear positive feedback about the built environment in which children are learning and being cared for.
“The important thing was to build something that was in line with the educational philosophy of the Anglican Church and the right setting for the service that we were intending to offer,” Mr Kawamata said.
“The open day was lovely, and it was great to see kids and their families enjoying the space.
“I thought it was a nice collegial atmosphere among the staff, not only the early learning centre staff, who are always there, but also clergy and Ann St staff, who are not always there, but have been part of making this happen.”
Children enjoy patting a piglet, lambs and baby goats at a petting zoo at Little Angels Salisbury on 13 July 2024
The centre, which is managed by the ACSQ’s Anglican Schools Commission, has a capacity for 98 children from six weeks to five years in five rooms.
Centre Director Melinda Clark said that a measured approach to filling enrolment spots has been taken in the early stages of the centre’s operation.
“A lot of the chain services rush to fill spaces, whereas we wanted to establish the right team and support our staff to set the foundations as we grow,” Ms Clark said.
“The values of our centre are based around the fruits of the spirit, helping to support all our children to become positive global citizens.
“Our centre’s educators demonstrate these fruits of the spirit in the way they care for and educate our young children with love, joy, kindness and gentleness through their daily actions.”
(L-R) Some of the Little Angels Salisbury team members Gurpreet Kaur, Vivian Quach, Alena Selita, Lorna Cannon, Bruna Ribeiro Endo and Imogen Woodward at an open day on 13 July 2024
Mr Kawamata said that the next ACSQ-run early learning centre is under construction at The Parish of Ekibin.
“We look forward to getting the Little Angels Ekibin Early Learning Centre and parish centre ready for operation,” he said.
For all enrolment enquires, please contact the Centre Director of Little Angels Salisbury, Melinda Clarke, on 07 35147460 or via email admin@angelearlylearning.com.au.
Jump to next article
