Harmony Early Education Hope Island

Vision

Our vision is to nurture and assist every child to develop their unique abilities and discover their future unlimited potential.

Harmony Early Education is a value-based early learning environment where your child can develop into a strong, confident, happy and healthy individual – in both mind and body.

Values

Our values are embedded into everything we do – with every child. In addition to believing these values, we live them out every day at Harmony.

* We believe all learning is integrated and interconnected and unique for each child.

* We value and respect cultural diversity, individual differences and development.

* We see value in adapting the learning environment to each child’s developmental stage.

* We allow children to take initiative and experience freedom while playing.

* We discover and encourage the living beauty of childhood imagination.

These values are integrated into our high-quality educational programs based on the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and emergent curriculum play-based learning.

We aspire to:

* Provide an atmosphere which awakens the love of learning.

* Nurture a sense of wonder and inspire the spirit of human imagination.

* Follow a holistic approach encompassing a connection of mind, body and spirit.

* Cultivate a child’s self-awareness of their body, feelings, thoughts and attitudes.

* Support the discovery of each child’s unique personality.

* Foster an understanding and respect for the natural environment.

* Encourage sustainable practices to nurture children’s understanding of their responsibility to care for the environment.

Our commitments:

All our educators are guided by our ‘Statement of Intent’ which outlines our philosophy, ethics and social responsibility. We are committed to:

* upholding the rights of all children and acknowledges the place of childhood as a unique and critical part of human lifespan development.

* supporting educators as lifelong learners who will always act collectively and collaboratively in the best interests of children and each other.

* recognising families as children’s most important social and cultural community, where they learn about who they are and their place in the world.

* ensuring the broader community share a united obligation as advocates for and on behalf of our youngest citizens, attentive to the international mandate that the voices of children should be heard and acted upon.

* guaranteeing the principles and practices which frame the early childhood profession in Australia and underpin our work with and alongside children, families and colleagues.

Swimming lessons: the centre is next door to a swim school, and the children enjoy taking part in swimming lessons there. 

Centre pets: the children help to look after the centre’s five chickens, ensuring they have enough food and water, and collecting the eggs each day.

Indigenous program: the children take part in an Indigenous cultural curriculum with local elder Uncle Allan each month.

Active program and physical literacy: to improve the children’s gross motor skills, build confidence, boost self-esteem, increase enjoyment, improve vocabulary and communication.

I am passionate about collaborating with families, educators, children and the community to provide children with a safe, nurturing and welcoming learning environment.  I believe all children are individuals and have their own way of discovering the world around them.  I hope to provide inviting and warm spaces that evokes inquiry-based learning and provides children with a valuable start in life and build foundations for a good education. 

I have a vision for Harmony Early Education Hope Island to be a home away from home.  For our families to feel a part of our Harmony community. I hope to form strong alliances and long lasting relationships with the children and their families, and to offer an inclusive education environment with a focus on high quality care and open communication.

Jasmine, Centre Manager, Harmony Early Education Hope Island

At Harmony Early Education Hope Island, the educators are focused on supporting each child’s health, wellbeing and creative expression. Each day, healthy and nutritious meals are offered to the children, using a four-week rotating seasonal menu which was designed by a nutritionist. 

Educators understand that healthy food, drinks and habits greatly impact the learning and growth of each child. The educators teach the children to practice the art of mindful eating. With relaxed mealtimes, each child will share their eating experiences with educators and friends. 

The on-site chef prepares nutritionally balanced meals using fresh, wholesome ingredients. Each day, the children will meet a significant amount of their daily nutritional requirements by eating at Harmony.

The centre follows Nutrition Australia national guidelines and recommendations for the menus. This is a nut free centre and is accommodating of individual allergies. 

Mealtimes at Harmony are relaxed and supervised to encourage healthy eating practices; include a range of textures and tastes appropriate to the developmental stages of different age groups; offer a variety of foods such as vegetables, fruits, lean meat, fish, chicken, milk, yoghurts and cheese; and are accompanied by water and milk.

The children enjoy lunches such as pumpkin and spinach fettuccine, chicken and pesto pie, tomato and basil soup with bread, or beef and mushroom stroganoff. For their snacks, they enjoy homemade scones and muffins, yoghurt, cheese and fruit, apple crumble and sandwiches.