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Connecting People To Natural Spaces: The Story of Skids

Shrouded in the mists of a Peruvian jungle, our very own Kylie “Skids” Skidmore took time from her travels to share her journey with Cire Community School. With her strong passion for connecting people to natural spaces, Skids believes that our kinship with the environment is an integral part of being a whole, balanced human being. Seeing the bush as a place of healing, restoration and reflection, she aims to create spaces where people who’ve felt like failures can excel and experience a sense of accomplishment, building communities based on trust and a lack of mainstream cultural or societal norms.

Skids became the first Australian to graduate from the University of New Hampshire‘s dual Master of Science/Master of Social Work in Adventure Therapy, a unique course only they offer. With three to six people selected to complete the qualification each year, it is a casual environment but also one of deeply significant and special connection. Their graduation ceremony looks nothing like the American stereotype of gowns and formality, with graduates dressed in jeans and awarded t-shirts before sharing a potluck dinner with their professors, families and friends.

 

 

The Australian Association for Bush Adventure Therapy Inc describes Adventure Therapy as “a diverse field of practice combining adventure and outdoor environments with the intention to achieve therapeutic outcomes for those involved”. Skids describes it as “getting alongside people, and spending time living life together; cooking around a fire, paddling down a river or watching a sunset together. It’s beautiful, it’s fun, and there aren’t the same rules or expectations that exist elsewhere”. She also sees it as an important tool for teaching immediate, natural consequences. “If you don’t set your tent up correctly, you get wet. If you eat all your snacks day one, they’re gone. It’s much easier to see that our choices have power and determine outcomes, which can be incredibly empowering”.

Skids has a background in P.E/Outdoor Ed teaching and student wellbeing. Before departing for America, she was working with pre-dominantly indigenous youth in NSW. “The schools I worked in were really trying to catering for these young people, but the end result was still often a hostile environment, which didn’t truly acknowledge the layers of trauma these adolescents, their families and communities had and were continuing to endure at the most profound level”, Skid writes. “I also felt like the school system, as it was, was not a healing or ‘rebuilding’ place. At the time I wanted to create an alternative outdoor space, connecting people to natural spaces, where these students might flourish and reconnect to culture and country”.

Returning home to undertake her internship, while completing the associated classes online, Skids successfully applied to work with Cire. She saw it as an opportunity to research and reflect upon work she truly cared about: work that is real, immediate and important. Skids describes Cire as a place that will “take risks and follow research which invites an ongoing commitment to examining evidence, reflection, and innovation for the sake of helping our young people access tools and resources to live freer, fuller lives”.

This year, Skids will be working with Cire Community School across Outdoor Education and Student Wellbeing.

But first, she has Patagonia to explore…

For more information on Cire Community School, or to book a campus tour, please visit our website at www.cire.org.au or contact our team on 1300 835 235.

Breaking Down Employment Barriers For Parents

A recent research report has highlighted the barriers to re-entering the workforce after raising children. These barriers included time limitations around holidays and school hours, lack of experience or out-dated experience, low confidence, constrained job opportunities and insufficient employer flexibility. Geographical distance was also a large consideration, with most families wanting at least one parent within a short distance of their children’s child-care or school, in case of emergency.

Parents who were able to return to work, whether full-time or temporarily, generally experienced positive outcomes. They felt that work provided them with a sense of purpose and achievement, as well as independence, self-esteem and the opportunity for social connection. They felt that being part of the workforce set a positive example for their children, in addition to financial benefits, with a number of parents concerned about their lack of superannuation.

The most difficult aspect of work/life balance for families to juggle is the desire to “be there for the kids” and to not miss out on important moments or milestones. Flexibility was mentioned numerous times: The flexibility to work hours that fit with school and child-care, the flexibility to work part-time or casually, the flexibility to work around school holidays.

Cire Training are pleased to be offering three qualifications in fields that address the concerns of our local parents who wish to re-enter the workforce. Our Certificates in Early Childhood Education & Care, Individual Support (Aged Care/Disability) and Education Support (Teacher’s Aide) will give you the skills you need to find work in these rewarding growth industries.

We identified these industries as avenues to employment for families in the region as they’re already experiencing high demand, which is projected to increase over coming years. They offer a range of options from casual/relief work to full-time hours and allow you to design a work schedule that works for your lifestyle, allowing you to spend more time with your family.

These industries each allow you to play a vital role in the story of our community and its residents. You will finish each day with the knowledge that you work in a job that enriches the lives of others, as well as your own.

Our unique blend of theoretical learning with guaranteed practical placements mean you’ll finish your studies work-ready, with 85% of our students obtaining paid work post-graduation. Our one-on-one student support and qualified trainers will enable you to learn at your own pace, at one of our three locations, conveniently situated across the Yarra Ranges.

With no waiting lists and enrolments now open for 2020, don’t hesitate to take the first steps towards a new career. Cire Training will be hosting three free information sessions where we will describe the qualifications we have available, discuss possible career pathways and answer any questions you may have.

Don’t miss out! Visit our online Career Planning hub to reserve your free space now or contact a member of our friendly training team on 1300 835 235.

Everyday skills can be hard for some

A surprising statistic for you – around 44% of adult Australians has literacy levels that make everyday tasks very difficult. Sadly, our numeracy levels are worse with over half of Australian adults scoring low on international surveys.

If you have been able to read this so far, fortunately, you are likely not a contributor to this statistic.

Low literacy or numeracy ability is not just being able to read this blog. It is so much more. Social exclusion, financial hardship, struggle to pay for a coffee, not being able to help your kids with their homework or hearing your child tackling with their first words and dreading when they ask, “What’s this word?”, in their high pitched inquisitive little voices.

More worryingly, however, is the health impact this can have on individuals. Not being able to read instructions on a medical prescription and let’s not even start with reading the health benefits of chia seeds, matcha powder and goji berries – what berries?  Low fat, reduced fat, no added sugar, aaargh.

More practical low literacy levels can have a real impact on one’s employment prospects.

Workplaces never used to require as much arduous paperwork or there may be a entry exam as a part of the recruitment process.  Now there are logbooks for trucks drivers, OH&S requirements for factory workers to follow, policies to read and seemingly endless forms to complete.

So what can we do?

Here at Cire we have a number of Everyday Living Skill courses to not only improve your literacy and numeracy, but also improve your life skills, and in turn, your confidence and social interaction, all in a supportive and fun environment.

From Everyday English and Maths to Independent Living and cooking in Kitchen Kaos.  There is such a diverse range of courses to help anyone who wants to learn.

One day you can be going to the laundry mat or cooking up spaghetti bolognaise and the next increasing your reading and writing or setting out a simple budget in maths.

“My reading, writing and maths have really improved since starting at Cire. This makes me feel happy and more confident”. I also like coming to class to socialise with others – Robyn, Student, Everyday Learning Skills

Here are just some of the great courses on offer,

  • Independent Living
  • Kitchen Kaos and healthy living
  • Tech Hub
  • Everyday English
  • Intermediate English
  • Everyday Maths
  • Smart Money

If you or someone you know wants to learn more about our courses, please contact Cire on 1300 835 235 for further information. We also offer a free trial where you can attend a session to see whether the course suits your needs. ­­

From Student to Employee

My name is Rebecca and I’m an employee and student at Cire Services.

I first started at Cire as a student in the Step Ahead Program at the Cerini Centre in Warburton 2013.

I became aware of the program through my family, as they had previously been students and staff members of the organisation. The program was suggested to me I didn’t enjoy the mainstream school I was attending and I was looking for another option in order to continue my education.

The Step Ahead Program was designed for early school leavers under the age of 16 to participate in literacy, numeracy, art, drug education, cooking and other life skills. The classes were held in the comfort of a small classroom with a small number of students. The difference was the hands-on and creative learning techniques; it was not just about completing worksheets and keeping up with homework.

In 2015 I moved to the new location in Yarra Junction to finish off the rest of my schooling. The Yarra Junction campus was so different compared to Warburton, it had nice buildings, gardens, and was super spacious, it had a different atmosphere, and tons more people.

I started year 10 at the Yarra Junction campus, but being in a new environment with new people made it hard for me to complete all my school work, and as a result, I had to repeat year 10 the following year.

By the time the next year came around I was much more settled in my environment and with all the people around me, so I was able to get all my work finished and could move up into year 11.

When people hear the term ‘community school’ they think of a school for drop-outs or really troubled children, but a community school is more than that, it’s a place where you can be yourself and build ever-lasting friendships. It’s a place where you’re not only getting an education; you’re getting life skills and building up your self-confidence. Coming to Cire Community School was definitely the right choice for me.

From student to employee

Anna-Louise Allen (Executive Manager – Education and Training) presenting Bec with flowers after her inspiring words about her educational journey

Last year I was offered an amazing opportunity to complete a Certificate III in Business Administration as a school-based trainee two days a week. A few months into my traineeship Cire offered me a further two days a week as a Customer Service Officer at the Yarra Junction office.
I now work between our two campuses four days a week, as well as also completing my VCAL Intermediate at the Community School one day a week. I even shared my experience at a graduation ceremony where I received some flowers for my presentation.

Thinking back to when I first became a student at Cire to where I am now is such a strange feeling, I never thought I would one day be working for the organisation and alongside the people who helped me through my schooling and through some of the most difficult times in my life.

Being part of the Cire organisation is such a rewarding feeling and I love being able to help out in our amazing community.

Cire has helped boost my confidence and change my whole outlook on the struggles of achieving an education and has shown me that no matter where we are in life, or the struggles we are facing, we can always achieve the goals we set and become someone greater than who we were yesterday.

Please call 1300 835 235 if you would like more information on Cire Community School or if you would like a tour of any of our campuses.

Connecting Generations

Since July the kindergarten children from Cire have been lucky enough to visit the Estia Health Aged Care Facility. As part of their experience, the children got to complete different activities to engage with the residents. They have painted artwork for the art show, played games, completed puzzles, been hands-on making threaded necklaces, worked together on craft activities, they sang songs, played musical instruments and had a chat. The residents even got to show off their favourite songs and share their memories with the children. Guiding the children through their past times and experiences was a highlight for them with the children eager to learn more.

On one of the excursions to Estia some of the children had made cards for their newly found friends, it was on this day that one of them was having a very special birthday, Elsbeth was turning 94. The children were able to celebrate with her and her friends by singing happy birthday and joining in on the fun. It was a joy to see Elsbeth have so many little friends celebrate her big day.

It’s wonderful to observe the two groups of people becoming more comfortable and open with each other, learning to communicate in different ways. There was even an animal resident that was a big hit with the children, a fat cat called Elle. She meandered her way through the centre collecting hugs and pats as she went. The children learnt that Elle the cat’s role was to make the residents feel calm and make Estia feel like home.

The interactions that have occurred have been simple and easy going, there has been some small talk, discussions of how to play games and what each other enjoys doing; some even mentioning what they had liked when ‘they’ were in kindergarten. One of the residents told me,

“It was so lovely seeing the children when they visited, they bring life back into my heart and I smile so much when they are here”. Resident of Estia Health Aged Care Facility

Through this exchange, the children have had the opportunity to connect, develop and experience what it means to have respect and to care for people of all ages and abilities.

We look forward to further developing our relationships and are excited to be working towards a fun Christmas concert for our new friends, with the possibility for them to attend our end of year graduation ceremony.

Thank you so much to the Estia Health Aged Care Facility for the having our children come and visit.

If you would like to find out more about our Cire Children’s Services kindergarten program or would like to come to the centre for a tour contact 1300 835 235.

 

Back to Grass Roots Community Support

Exciting times ahead for the Upper Yarra region with the re-introduction of grass roots community engagement at Cire Services. In the coming months, Cire Services will be focussing on a new community house structure that aims to bring people together to connect, learn and contribute in their local areas. We will be providing locals with the opportunity to identify and address their own needs, to do something for themselves in order to develop and grow their own personal skill set and wellbeing. We welcome people from all walks of life and provide an approach that opens up opportunities for individuals to broaden and enrich their own experiences, in turn enriching their community.

Cire Community House will operate from the Yarra Junction office using a unique community development approach in order to engage, connect and develop community members. We aim to provide a safe learning and social environment where community members feel they belong, can meet new people and learn something enriching and new along the way. We will be a hub of fun activities that not only provide locals with an outlet to channel their passions, but a space where valuable life skills can also be learnt.

In order to develop a strong community offering, we want to provide exactly what the community wants and needs. So to kick off Cire’s new Community House we are seeking input from our local communities in the Upper Yarra to assist in developing ideas that will strengthen our community and lead to diverse and innovative outcomes.

Some of the activities and services recently developed in response to your needs are; community lunch, community events, health and wellbeing, numeracy and literacy, digital literacy, leisure and life style activities. Have you got any more ideas of what you’d like to see us deliver?

We invite you to join our first community lunch on Wednesday 3rd May; 12.30 to 2.30 pm at Upper Yarra Family Centre, 2444 Warburton Highway Yarra Junction. Bring with you your appetite and ideas to share. Please call 5967 1776 to book your seat click here Hoping to see you there

 

 

 

Cire Children’s Services toy and equipment drive – we need your help

Over the coming weeks Cire Children’s Services  will be reaching out to the community for donations and support for new educational toys and equipment.

Young children learn by imagining and doing. Their education and learning development is imperative to their early years’ learning; it helps to build social skills, problem solving skills and language skills. Our children’s services want to provide the best possible learning space for the children ensuring they are provided with the specific learning outcomes as outlined in the early years’ framework, which is why it is so important to offer them a variety of educational toys, equipment and experiences.

Our childcare centres, and out of school hours care programs, always need to replace or upgrade educational toys and equipment the children use due to their extensive everyday use.

We are seeking assistance from the general public and local businesses who are able to help with donations with any of the following items:

Dress ups: junior hi-vis jackets, hard hats, overalls, play costumes;

Sports: basketballs, soccer balls, tennis balls, footballs, skipping ropes, hula hoops, mini trampoline;

Vehicles: matchbox cars, little boats, trucks, aeroplanes, trains, motorbikes, wooden trains and trains set, tractors;

Animals and wildlife: Replica Australian animals, plastic bugs, butterflies, spiders, dinosaurs, horses, sea animals, farm animals, bug catchers, magnifying glasses;

Kitchen: Plastic/wooden shop/kitchen equipment, pretend food, cooking utensils;

Construction: Wooden blocks, Duplo, Lego;

Dolls: Doll prams, doll cradles, dolls house, dolls furniture, Barbies;

Puzzles: peg puzzles, floor puzzles, large 1000 piece puzzles;

Puppets; hand puppets, marionettes;

Garden tools: mini shovels, spades, rakes, straw brooms, watering cans, plastic wheelbarrows;

Hardware equipment: PVC and bamboo piping, fake grass, water trough.

If you are able to assist in any way please feel free to drop off any of these items to our office locations below.

Cire Children’s Services appreciates in advance all support and donations received and know that our children will value receiving new toys and equipment to play, learn and discover.

Yarra Junction: 2463 Warburton Hwy, Yarra Junction.
Mt Evelyn: 20 Old Hereford Rd, Mt Evelyn.
Please contact 1300 835 235 if you have any queries.
Local collection is also available. Please contact us to discuss.

If you would like to know more about Cire Children’s Services please call 5967 2776 (Yarra Junction) or 9736 1918 (Mt Evelyn).

Getting Work Ready tips – writing a resumé

Resumé writing can be hard so Cire training have put together some tips to help you make that important first impression.

Contact details
Make sure your name and contact details are included and most importantly your phone number and email address. Please remember to use a professional email address. If you don’t have one it only takes a few minutes to create a new one, jsmith88@hotmail.com is far more appealing than fordlover88@hotmail.com.

Lay out
Keep it simple and streamlined. Refrain from using colour, and if you decide to use dot points keep the same theme throughout your resume, using a bold text for headings is also a good idea. It is also a good idea to Google resume examples so you can get some ideas before you start. Remember to keep it simplistic, don’t get carried away with trends and busy designs, these resume types distract and look unprofessional.

Key strengths
A number of specific short statements listed as dot points outlining your key strengths. For example;

  • High-level computer skills including Microsoft Office, MYOB, Outlook

Employment history
List your professional working history starting from the most current position you hold or have held. We recommend listing them as follows; Job title, employer, and dates. Dot points are a good way to include a short list of position responsibilities and any achievements you accomplished whilst in that role.

School leavers and people re-entering the workforce after a lengthy absence with limited or no paid employment to list, could consider including work experience positions, volunteer position and any school leadership roles or club activities. If you have been the primary guardian of a child or a carer for a family member you can list the daily weekly tasks that you were responsible for. These tasks can include;

  • Meal planning and preparation
  • Transport
  • Finance administration including managing the the home budget
  • General home administration and management

Education and Training
Start with your highest qualification first. It’s a good idea to list it in the same format as your employment history; qualification, institute/provider, dates. Remember to include education and training that is relevant to the position you are applying for. If you were thinking of applying for an administration position the relevance of including a life guard qualification that you gained ten years previous would be questionable unless of course the administration position was within an aquatic centre. Include in-house training, university, TAFE, RTO and industry courses completed.

Hobbies and interests
The jury is out on whether to include hobbies and interests on your resume or not, we think if brief and thoughtfully completed, it is a way of helping you stand out from the crowd and makes you a real person to the reader. Just be mindful of what you include as some hobbies and interests may be viewed as offensive or inappropriate by the reader and therefore could impact on your chance of gaining the position or being shortlisted.

Referees
References/referees come at the end of your resumé. Include the referee’s name, phone number and whether it is a professional or personal referee. I would include two professional and one personal referee. A new trend of simply adding a sentence: “Referees details available upon request” has become common.

Above all make sure your referees are aware that you have included them in your resume and that you are actively applying for positions, it is a common courtesy that many people forget to do.

Length
Two pages; try and keep your resume to two pages in length.

Important note
Always send a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria of the job advertisement and position description (if one is available). By including a cover letter and writing your resume using the above tips your success rate for being shortlisted will be greater. Stay tuned for our next Getting Work Ready Tips on interview techniques.

Resume writing is just one of the topics covered in Cire’s Getting Work Ready short course. From cover letters to interview techniques this training is highly recommended if your goal is to re-enter the workforce. This course is currently only $25 so now is the perfect time to enrol, click here to learn more.

Kindergarten – a child’s garden

Take a moment to imagine the kindergarten world: letters, numbers, and stories, sharing blocks, puzzles, play, paint and play-dough. Imagination and creativity fills the air. As you talk with your child about their day and celebrate their best effort on the work they do, remember that kindergarten is a “child’s garden.” Many times the process is more important than the product, and learning is accomplished by doing, touching, and experiencing.

Kindergarten has many benefits and plays an important role in your child’s educational journey, these include:

  1. Social skills, like how to play with other children in a calm, sharing and rewarding way
  2. Self-awareness and respect for others
  3. Emotional skills, for example understanding their feelings and considering others
  4. Language, literacy and numeracy skills, such as reading stories and counting objects
  5. Participating in group activities, such as talking, drawing and making things together with other children their own age
  6. Making new friends
  7. being exposed to new ideas and concepts

You can find out more by visiting the Victorian Government Kindergarten Benefits webpage.

Bush Kindergarten 

A Bush kindergarten is a type of preschool education for children held outdoors in the natural environment. In many forms of weather, children are encouraged to take the lead in playing, exploring and learning in a natural environment.

“Imagine a place where the carpet changes every day, the ceiling is a myriad of different colours, light, shadow and movement. The feelings and movement completely surround you, sometimes breezy, sometimes cold, others warm. Unexpected wonders fly by, sometimes full of colour and sometimes full of noise and movement. If we really want children to thrive we need to let their connection to nature nurture them.” Claire Warden Educational Consultant and primary advocate for nature play.

UYCH Bush Kinder program is based on our beliefs of:

  1. Children having uninterrupted time to play in natural environments with open-ended materials allows them to engage in a range of activities that foster their development and learning, encouraging them to become flexible thinkers, develop self-confidence and independence.
  2. Children develop strong connections with nature and sustainable practices, developing a deeper awareness of the impact the environment can have on them and future generations.
  3. Through play in a natural environment, children are able to learn through their own curiosity and willingness to explore their surroundings, becoming involved learners they develop a stronger sense of achievement when completing tasks and making new discoveries. This helps children to have a more positive sense of them, giving a stronger sense of identity and enhances their self-esteem.
  4. Physical skills are enhanced and developed in natural outdoor settings that provide multiple affordances through natural and open-ended materials. This allows for children to increase the coordinated functioning of the central nervous system, aiding in balance, control of body movements, dramatic gains in motor coordination as well as supporting connections between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex which supports thinking, memory, planning and language.
  5. Children are provided with opportunities to develop risk assessment skills through play in the natural environment. Through this play, children are able to engage in challenging experiences that acquire confidence, achievement as well as an awareness of limits and boundaries.
  6. The play is child initiated and is based on their thoughts and ideas. This form of play is used as a platform for intentional teaching by educators and allows for children interests in the natural world to be continually explored and built upon with the children being active participants in their learning and development.
  7. Through the bush kinder program, children are able to develop attitudes and dispositions about the natural world as well as each other. Social development is enhanced through children being provided with opportunities to explore their thoughts and ideas with their peers, developing relationships with others based on respect for individual identity.

The bush kindergarten program scaffolds the children’s understandings of our local history, Australian folklore and Indigenous culture. It enables the children to engage in outdoor spaces with plants, trees, rocks, mud and water to invite open ended interactions, spontaneity, risk taking and a connection with nature.

If you would like to know more about UYCH kindergarten programs click here.

A visit to the library

As a part of our kindergarten program the children visited the Lilydale library. This was the children’s first excursion on the bus, and they were all very excited. It was important to talk beforehand about safety on the bus and the children helped by thinking of ways we could all stay safe together on their first excursion. On the bus, the children spoke in quiet voices, and some held hands across the aisle. When we arrived at the library, we made our way to the children’s area. There were so many books. They didn’t hesitate and started selecting the books that they wanted to borrow, and soon we had a pile of books so high that it almost toppled over. Of course we couldn’t borrow all of them so a smaller selection was made. Next up was story time which was a huge hit and before they could say “reading is fun”, it was time to get back on the bus.

Libraries can play a strong role in early learning for all children, with the key role being in the development of early literacy skills. Early literacy is knowledge and skills required to become a successful reader and writer. These include cognitive development of the brain and its responsiveness to the environment, language development, listening and oral skills and relationship building. We’re very excited about our library visits and aim to continue them fortnightly for the year.

Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts. They listen and respond to sounds and patterns in speech, stories and rhymes in context by viewing and listening to printed texts and respond with relevant gestures, actions, comments and questions. They begin to understand key literacy concepts and processes, such as the sounds of language, letter-sound relationships, concepts of print and the ways that texts are structured. By introducing children to books at an early age they become familiar with words and appreciate illustrations that help tell the story and keep them intrigued.

As educators we continually strive to find equitable and effective ways to ensure that all children have opportunities to achieve learning outcomes. We recognise the connections between children, families and communities and the importance of reciprocal relationships and partnerships for learning. They see learning as a social activity and value collaborative learning and community participation.

If you would like to know more about our early childhood education services click here or call 03 5967 2776 Yarra Junction or 03 9736 1918 Mt Evelyn. Our services range long day care, 3 and 4 year old kinder to OSHC.