St Joseph's Family Services

💛🎓 We are so excited to share that Lucy has successfully completed her Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care! 🎓💛

Lucy is such a valued member of our team and brings a warm, caring, and nurturing presence to our service each day. She is deeply loved by the children, families, and her fellow colleagues, and her positive impact is felt throughout our centre.

This wonderful achievement reflects Lucy's dedication, passion, and commitment to providing high-quality care and education to every child. Her enthusiasm for learning and professional growth continues to inspire those around her, and we know this is just the beginning of many more achievements to come.

Please join us in congratulating Lucy on this fantastic milestone. We are incredibly proud of you and can't wait to see all that you accomplish in the future! 👏✨💛

📚🙃 Upside down, sideways, under a tree, or snuggled up on the couch...

there are so many wonderful ways to enjoy a book! This little reader and educator are proving that sometimes the best stories are enjoyed from a different perspective!

What's your favourite way to read a book? With Book Week just around the corner (Mon 24th-28th August), excitement is building across all three of our SJFS Sister Centres.

We have a range of fun literacy experiences and Book Week celebrations planned for our children and families. 📖 Keep an eye out at your Early Education Centre for more information about the Book Week events happening.

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🖤💛❤️National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day 2026 💚💙🤍

The 2026 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day theme, "Living Our Truth", honours the power of truth-telling, the sharing of knowledge across generations, and the importance of telling our stories.

At St Joseph's Family Services, we celebrate the strength, culture, and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Across our three sister centres, we are committed to creating inclusive environments where every child experiences a strong sense of belonging. Together, we honour the pride, potential, and bright futures of all children. We are committed to embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, cultures, and histories into our daily practices and learning experiences throughout the year, while also recognising and celebrating significant days of cultural importance

On the 4th of August, children across our three sister centres engaged in a range of rich and meaningful learning experiences that celebrated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Throughout the day, children participated in storytelling, listened to Indigenous music, and explored rhythm and sound through the use of clap sticks. They investigated natural materials through creative play and discovery, created colourful Torres Strait Islander flag bunting, traced Aboriginal symbols using counters, and enjoyed matching games that encouraged recognition and understanding of traditional symbols.

These experiences encouraged children to learn about culture, connection, respect, and identity through hands-on exploration and meaningful engagement, supporting our ongoing commitment to fostering understanding and appreciation of Australia's First Peoples.

"Every child carries a story, and through sharing our truths, we create a future built on understanding, respect, and connection." 🖤💛❤️ 💚💙🤍

🎨 Artist in Residence Program at Joey’s House 🎨

Thanks to the generous support of the Mid North Coast Community Health Fund, we have launched our exciting Artist in Residence Program at Joey’s House.
This program provides children with opportunities to explore a wide range of art materials and mediums, encouraging sensory exploration, creativity, aesthetic appreciation, and self-expression. Through hands-on experiences, children are discovering new ways to communicate their ideas, emotions, and unique perspectives.

So far, our young artists have created self-portraits, clay sculptures, and still-life artworks, each reflecting their individuality and growing artistic skills. The creative journey continues, with children soon exploring weaving, wire sculpture, and 3D cardboard house construction.
We are excited to see where their imaginations take them as they experiment, create, and express themselves through art! 🖌️✨🏡💛

🌿🍃 Our Bush Kinder Adventure Has Begun! 🍃🌿

What an incredible start to our Bush Kinder program! Our very first Bush Kinder excursion was a HUGE success, bringing together children and educators from all three of our centres for a shared day of learning, exploration and connection in nature.
With the bush as their classroom, the children led their own learning through curiosity, imagination and discovery. Using sticks, leaves and natural materials, they created pretend campfires, built teepee houses and engaged in endless imaginative play.
Together, we explored bush walking tracks in search of koalas, listened to the beautiful sound of kookaburras echoing through the trees, and took time to notice the many wonders nature has to offer. Every moment provided opportunities for problem-solving, collaboration, creativity and a deeper connection with the natural world.
It was wonderful to see the children confidently leading their own adventures, making discoveries, sharing ideas and embracing the freedom that outdoor learning provides.
This is just the beginning of our Bush Kinder journey, and we cannot wait to see where the children's curiosity takes us next! 🌱✨
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At St Joseph’s Family Services school readiness is part of everything we do, every day.

Children are encouraged to recognise their written name and use writing implements with increasing skill.

We focus on Math Concepts such as shape, size, matching and measurement.

Self-help skills are encouraged such as children returning own belongings to their bag.