The Point Preschool

16/09/2026

"Dogs have a way of loving us on our best days, our worst days, and all the ones in between." - Roger A. Caras

Yesterday, Jenny's dog Maeve came to visit Our Place for the day.
She spent time with the children in the playground and in the classroom and also had some quiet time in the office.

She was very calm, gentle and patient with the children, as were the children with Maeve.

"We need to be calm and treat Maeve nicely."
"She is so beautiful."
"She likes gentle pats and she loves cuddles, but she doesn't like pats on her tail. We know that because Jenny told us."
"I love patting her. She feels soft as a cloud."

Maeve enjoyed exploring the playground with the children, watched them water the garden and followed as they showed her all the things that they liked to play.

She listened to some stories that the children wanted to read, and the children took turns to practice some of Maeve's commands with her - touch, sit, shake, drop and spin, rewarding her with her special treats.

They also learnt about the foods she can and can't eat. "She can't eat vegemite and avocado on toast like me because that can make her sick." Maeve did bring carrots and cucumbers for a healthy afternoon tea!

At Our Place, we value opportunities for the children to engage with animals, developing deep empathy as they practice reading body language, understanding feelings, and treating animals with respect.

These positive interactions, in a controlled environment, help build the children's confidence and teach responsibility as they learn how to approach a dog safely and begin to understand their daily needs and how to care for them.

It was a joyful day all round and Maeve took home some beautiful pictures that the children had drawn for her.

"We love having Maeve at preschool. If we are kind to her and she likes it here and we tell her that she's a good girl, can she come again?" the children asked.....

We are sure Maeve will visit again soon.

11/09/2026

This morning we found a juvenile ring tail possum in the garden bed, under some trees, near our frog pond.

It wasn't there earlier in the morning, and we wondered where it came from. It was making noises, opening and closing its eyes, and moving its front paws, but not moving its back legs or tail.

The teachers quickly got a towel to wrap it in and called WIRES for assistance. We checked if it was a male or female and discovered that it was a female.

Meanwhile, some of the children investigated the area around where she was found, looking for clues as to how she ended up there.

They discovered what looked like claw marks on the tree and some tracks in the bark. "We think she was holding onto this branch and slipped off, and then crawled out of the bush," they told us.

The possum felt very cold, so we warmed some towels in the dryer to wrap her in. The children decided to name her 'Hush'.

WIRES asked if we could take her to a local vet, so Jenny took her to Southside Animal Hospital in Gymea where the team said they would take care of her.

One of the children told us, "I can take Hush back to my house because I have lots of possums in my garden. They like the lilly pilly trees and I can take care of her because I know lots of things about being a doctor."

The children at Our Place have a strong connection to Country and always show great care, respect and empathy for all living things.

We know that Hush is in safe hands at the vet and that we did everything we could to make her feel safe and comfortable while she was in our care.

28/08/2026

We had some special visitors at Our Place today.....

Over the last couple of terms, the children have been continuing to campaign for the installation of council dog waste bag dispensers and more bins around Oyster Bay.

The children have been documenting their observations, created posters which have been displayed in shops and by other community groups, helped put together a petition and we have installed a bag dispenser on our preschool fence.

Our petition has gained 252 signatures so far, and a couple of weeks ago we contacted our local Decision Makers.

The children helped to draft an email to ‘The Important People’ and we were grateful to receive a response from Simon Kennedy – Member for Cook, who praised the children for taking such pride in their community, their initiative, and commitment to caring for the environment and encouraging everyone to help keep Oyster Bay clean.

Today, Simon came to meet the children and hear what they had to say in person, accompanied by his two Dingoes. He shared joyful stories of Kobi and Nulla and listened as the children voiced their concerns about the amount of dog poo on Green Point Reserve and the surrounding streets.

The children later demonstrated how they identified the perfect position for a council dog waste bag dispenser so that it can be seen by people walking in different directions along Green Point Road and when entering the Reserve.

Thank you, Simon, for hearing the children’s voices and supporting our youngest members of our community. It was wonderful to see that you love dogs just as much as we do!

We have our fingers crossed that Sutherland Shire Council will approve our request.

28/07/2026

Last week we took part in Planet Ark's National Tree Day.

We were joined by our friend Bradley from Sutherland Shire Council, and some of our preschool families, to plant 50 native plants and trees on the reserve next to Our Place.

Bradley shared knowledge of the species we were planting and guided us in the positioning of the plants.

It was a beautiful morning connecting with each other and Country, and we are excited to nurture our new plants and watch them grow.

Thank you to everyone that contributed to the success of our event.

08/07/2026

https://c.org/hH2BbcMsVv

We have created a petition to help the children’s voices travel further in their quest to clean up the dog poo on the streets of Oyster Bay.

They are advocating for the installation of poo bag dispensers and signage within the community, along with the addition of more bins to encourage people to clean up after their dogs and promote a safe and healthy environment for the people and wildlife of Oyster Bay.

Please take a moment to read and sign our petition, and support the children at Our Place to help their proposal reach Council.

We love dogs but NOT their poo!

01/07/2026

We love to see dogs playing with their owners on the reserve and waving to them as they walk by our fence, and many of the children at Our Place have dogs of their own, but recently when we have been on Yanma Nura, we have noticed lots of dog poo on the ground.

The children have also noticed an increase in dog poo on the reserve next to preschool where they play in the afternoons with their friends and families.

We have been reflecting on this and what we can do to help. The children told us that some had stepped in poo many times.

"It's not safe when people leave their dog's poo on the ground."
"They should use a poo bag and pick it up."
"They should pick it up and put the bag in the bin."
"Dog poo is yucky. We don't want to stand in it."

Some children drew pictures. They thought that by displaying the pictures it would remind people to be responsible when walking their dog, so we decided to collate the children's pictures and words into a poster and purchase a poo bag dispenser for our fence to encourage people to keep Oyster Bay clean for everyone to enjoy.

The children also thought that by asking local businesses and other community groups to display their poster their voices would travel further.

30/05/2026

Our collaborative artwork, ‘Joy and Happiness’, is exhibited this weekend at Oyster Bay Art and Craft Festival.

The children used media of their choice to create individual artwork of something that makes them feel happy or brings them joy.

Together, we placed them onto a large canvas to create one big colourful explosion that we hope brings joy and happiness to the wider community.

Pop into Oyster Bay Public School this weekend to see our artwork and many more amazing pieces from artists within the community.

20/05/2026

Today, Michelle from Bunnings Warehouse Australia Kirrawee visited Our Place to help set up a new worm farm.

We were joined by our Nature Play families and learned together how to set up the worm farm with layers of cardboard and coir to make a comfy bed before adding the worms.

Once the worms were in their bed, Michelle covered them with a blanket to keep them warm.

We found a nice, shady spot to keep them in the playground and discussed the types of foods that they can and can't eat.

We learned that they love vegetable and fruit scraps, paper, tea bags and coffee grounds, but they don't like onions, chilli, citrus, bread or meat. The children are very excited to start feeding them and watch the compost build.

It was a wonderful experience to share with our wider preschool community, and we are looking forward to being able to use the worm juice to fertilise our garden.

Thank you Michelle for sharing your knowledge and love of caring for our environment.

06/05/2026

Nature Play is an opportunity for our feet to tread softly on Dharawal Country, where each step takes us on a journey of wonder, joy, connection, and respect.

This term, the children have begun to explore the ever-changing natural environment through slow and meaningful experiences.

Together we have wandered along Yanma Nura, listened to kookaburras laughing in the trees, searched for tadpoles in the tree hollow, discovered bright orange mushrooms after the rain, collected fallen gum nuts and leaves, and revisited our favourite red gum tree, “Looky Up La La.”

The environment continues to act as a teacher, inviting us to observe, question, investigate, and connect with the world around us.

Nature Play provides children with time and space to build relationships, develop confidence, express creativity, and foster a deep sense of belonging within the natural world. Through these shared experiences, children learn to care for Country, notice seasonal changes, respect living things, and develop an appreciation for the beauty and interconnectedness of nature.

01/04/2026

Last week, we ventured out onto Dharawal Country for our first Yanma Nura of the year, altogether with our families.

As we walked, we connected through conversation as we shared in the joy of noticing the difference in textures of the male and female trees, and the many flowers in bloom.

As we wandered along our route, we mindfully listened to the sounds around us, identifying the calls of the birds in the trees, hearing the buzzing of the boats on the water and the rumble of the train travelling across the bridge.

At the creek we saw hundreds of crabs popping in and out of the holes in the mud. Jet noticed that the shape of the creek was like a letter 'S', and as we followed the shape with our eyes, we noticed two spoonbills amongst the mangroves.

Beau's mum met us at the creek, near their house with his baby sister. She showed us a tree that they call the 'cicada tree'. It was covered in so many cicada shells that we couldn't believe our eyes!

Lastly, we began our climb up the many steps back to Our Place.
We are looking forward to walking in our groups next term and to noticing the changes on Dharawal Country with the change in seasons.