About Bulumbeer Kindergarten
The Program
Bulumbeer - Cherbourg State School Kindergarten program is an early education program for children aged 3½ to 4½ years, and operates for 15 hours per week. While kindergarten is not compulsory, regular attendance is important for establishing a sense of belonging and increasing opportunities to achieve well at school. All areas of a child's development can be greatly enhanced by attending kindergarten regularly.
Cherbourg State School Kindergarten follows the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guidelines (QKLG) curriculum. It also uses The Foundations for Success Guideline for extending and enriching learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the Kindergarten Year (Foundations for Success), which guides teachers in developing a learning program that aims to bridge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's home experiences with the experiences they will have in Kindergarten. It emphasises solid early childhood principles for learning and development. It also acknowledges that a quality Kindergarten program is built upon a strong relationship with children's parents/carers, their family and community.
A copy of Foundations for Success is available at the Kindergarten service, online, at http://www.foundationsforsuccess.qld.edu.au/resources or please ask a kindergarten staff member if you would like more information.
The kindergarten program focuses on:
- reinforcing personal and cultural identities
- connecting with families
- providing the foundations for children's successful learning.
Kindergarten early learning programs support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to be strong in the cultures and languages of their family and community and the wider world, by taking every opportunity to immerse children in environments rich in their home and traditional languages, and Standard Australian English.
The planned learning based on Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guidelines (QKLG) is communicated across five learning areas that lead to achievement of the outcomes of the national Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF):
QKLG
Learning and Development Areas | EYLF Learning Outcome |
Identity
- Building a sense of security and trust
- Acting with independence and perseverance
- Building a confident self-identity
| Children have a strong sense of identity |
Connectedness - Building positive relationships
- Showing respect for diversity
- Showing respect for environments
| Children connect with and contribute to their world |
Wellbeing - Building a sense of autonomy
- Exploring ways to be healthy and safe
- Exploring ways to promote physical wellbeing
| Children have a strong sense of wellbeing |
Active - Building positive dispositions towards learning
- Showing confidence and involvement in learning
- Using technologies for learning and communication
| Children are confident and involved learners |
Communicating - Exploring and expanding language
- Exploring literacy in personally meaningful ways
- Exploring numeracy in personally meaningful ways
| Children are effective communicators |
The Service
Bulumbeer Kindergarten operates on the grounds of Cherbourg State School, situated on the traditional lands of the Wakka Wakka Aboriginal people. In 2021, the people of Cherbourg are the descendants of many tribal groups from across Queensland, NSW and the Northern Territory. The range of cultural languages brought to Cherbourg in conjunction with demands for Standard Australian English, have resulted in most Cherbourg people using “Cherbourg lingo", an English based creole, as their primary language for communication. Numerous members of Cherbourg community are currently endeavouring to showcase the linguistic uniqueness of Cherbourg by supporting young people to revive traditional languages, use home language and learn Standard Australian English (SAE).
Bulumbeer Kindergarten supports the unique needs of our Kindergarten learners and encourages the children to play and learn in both indoor and outdoor environments, whilst developing awareness of cultural traditions and relationships to country.
Service Philosophy
At Cherbourg State School Kindergarten, we believe that childhood should be valued and enjoyed in its own right. We recognise this is the time where foundations are laid for future health, learning and wellbeing. We value children growing up with the understandings, skills and dispositions to be caring people and effective learners, able to contribute to their world and enjoy rich and successful relationships with others.
We acknowledge that Cherbourg has a rich and vibrant living culture and the need to interweave aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and practice within our program. Cherbourg State School values of being “Strong", “Smart", and “Safe" underpin our daily practices, processes and interactions with students, families and community members.
In our work with children we:
- acknowledge children as active and competent learners;
- create a safe, welcoming and stimulating learning environment to encourage purposeful play;
- promote secure attachments and warm trusting relationships and interactions;
- seek to strengthen resilience, critical thinking and informed risk taking;
- promote communication and problem-solving skills, together with social learning, awareness and the capacity to express and acknowledge feelings.
Working in partnership with parents and families we: ·
- recognise parents as their child's first and most influential educator;
- share knowledge and promote confident parenting;
- seek to develop and maintain positive relationships based on trust and mutual respect;
- respect and value the individual backgrounds and unique culture and customs of families;
- build genuine reciprocal relationships between children, families, staff and carers that are strengthened and sustained over time;
As a community of learners, we:
- encourage children's learning by providing for their interests and expanding their knowledge and skills;
- document children's experiences, and share these with children, parents and colleagues;
- promote sharing of information and expertise between parents, staff and carers;
- reflect on our practice, commit to continuous quality improvement, and support each other's ongoing professional and personal development.
In our wider community we:
- connect children and families with each other
- share and connect with local child and family support services;
- share our expertise with the field;
- promote our services within the community;
Culture & Language
We value children's diverse cultural backgrounds and relationships with families in our community. We recognise and respect that their families as their “First Teachers" are highly influential in the development of the core of our students' identities.
Knowing who you are and where you belong is central to children's social, emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual wellbeing and is the foundation upon which children learn.
Cherbourg State School offers all its students from Kindy to Year 6 the opportunity to engage in a specialised cultural program 2 hours a week, which provides children culturally rich learning experiences. Uncle Farron runs the cultural program with the support of Aunty Mary and Aunty Sylvia.
Program and Practice
Our program honours children's home and traditional language/s and creates a learning environment rich in shared and sustained conversation and resources. This rich language learning environment utilises home language/s to support children's awareness and use of Standard Australian English. We prioritise time for uninterrupted play because it creates opportunities for investigations and extended projects that encourage numeracy, literacy and oral language acquisition.
We also believe play empowers children to be decision-makers, communicators, thinkers, negotiators and collaborators.