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• 50 Things To Do In Mount Gambier Before You Turn 13

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  CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.
  

  The ‘Mount Gambier 50 Things To Do Before You Turn 13’ project invited people to share their ideas to develop a list to inspire Mount Gambier families to explore our special part of the world. We heard from children, teenagers, grandparents and parents about the great things on offer in and around Mount Gambier, including our well known, and hidden treasures.

  The List was distributed to families across Mount Gambier in late 2014.

  Background;

  The ‘Mount Gambier 50 Things To Do Before You Turn 13’project was launched in May 2014, as part of National Families’ Week, to the theme of Strong Families, Strong Communities.

  In the previous 12 months, there has been extensive work undertaken by the Early Childhood community in Mount Gambier, along with the City of Mount Gambier to identify opportunities to better support our families and young children from all across the City, to thrive and embrace the many opportunities Mount Gambier has to offer young people.

  The Australian Early Development Index forum hosted in Mount Gambier in July 2013, highlighted an evident disparity in our community, identifying there are large numbers of children under 4 who are not doing as well as other children of the same age. The aim of any healthy community is for all its’ children to have the same opportunity to grow and thrive. So when that is not happening, we need to act.

  We also knew through the Perspectives of the Child project that many young children from Mount Gambier, had difficulty discussing and identifying with their own home town, yet were able to easily discuss other areas of the country that they had visited on holidays such as Adelaide, Queensland and Warrnambool.

  Identifying opportunities to better support our families and young children from all across the City, to thrive and embrace the many opportunities Mount Gambier has to offer young people became a key focus.

  The ‘Mount Gambier 50Things To Do Before You Turn 13’ project was developed to help provide local families with a checklist to inspire them to further explore our special part of the world, and by doing so, encourage children to feel a sense of citizenship and belonging to our community.

  The '50 Things' concept is not new, we have been inspired by previous communities that have completed similar projects for their own area, but this one is specifically Mount Gambier's.

  making the list has been a joint effort from a wide group of people who know our children are capable, competent and contributing citizens.

  If you missed out on a list, and would like on, please contact the City of Mount Gambier on 8721-2504.

  Thank you to everyone who took part.

  A short film detailing the project can be viewed at this 'Film It All' link;

  http://www.filmitall.com.au/video/50-things/

  For more information about this project, please contact Fiona Pulford, Community Development Coordinator, Mount Gambier Children’s Centre on 8725-7375 or email: Fiona.Pulford@sa.gov.au.
  

• Mount Gambier Education Leaders Fourm 2014

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  The 2014 Mount Gambier Education Leaders Forum was held in City Hall on Wednesday 7th of May, providing an opportunity for Educators across the lifelong learning spectrum from Early Childhood to Tertiary, to gather and inform one another what their organisations are doing to effectively engage community. 

  
  

  Hosted by Cr. Jim Maher, Presiding  Member of the City’s Lifelong Learning Sub-committee, and building upon the Relational Learning workshops offered in September last year,  the forum aimed to challenge leaders to think differently when considering  the Education Models we work within.  

  
  

  Featuring guest speakers Adam Box, DECD Education Director of the new Blue Lake Partnership, and Tenison Woods College Principal David Mezinec, these leaders presented on significant changes occurring across our private and public local learning landscape.  

  
  

  Focusing on opportunities and challenges linked to community engagement, both speakers recognised the significant role collaboration plays in successful partnerships and the importance of this to ensuring our children thrive. 

  
  

  Adam Box discussed some of the challenges under the new DECD partnerships structure, providing a Victorian case study of school’s shared resourcing and collaborations across the Corangamite Shire for consideration.

  
  

  Expanding their learning focus at Tenison Woods College, David Mezinec, identified some of the local collaborations which influenced the model of education developed for their new Early Learning Centre.

  
  

  With strong representation from the early learning field, through to Mount Gambier’s Tertiary sector, over 40 people gained exposure to the online platforms hosted within the new Our Mount Gambier Village online hub, which was launched earlier that morning, and were encouraged to consider how they might participate with, gain and bring value to the site.  

  
  

  The forum launched the Draft Mount Gambier Charter for Children to Education Leaders for their consideration.

  
  

  The Our Mount Gambier Village online hub will play a vital role in providing feedback on the nine key principles which form the Draft Charter.  

  
  

  Stage One of the consultation closes at the end of May.  All Education Leaders are encouraged to review the Charter and have their say by completing a short survey. 

  
  

  The City of Mount Gambier wishes to thank all of those Education Leaders who attended the Forum, and shared about what they are doing to successfully engage their communities, and we look forward to working with you as we grow into the future. 

• Mount Gambier Charter For Children

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  Following the series of forums and workshops held in Mount Gambier over the past two years the City of Mount Gambier’s Lifelong Learning Sub Committee is developing partnership projects which enhance our community across each stage of the learning cycle.

  With a goal of making Mount Gambier the most liveable City for all of our citizens, we recognised the importance of developing a pledge with local services to allow our children to flourish in their earliest years.

  To date the sub-committee has primarily focused on partnerships in the early childhood stage of the lifelong learning cycle. 

  Through the Perspectives of the Child project we have listened to young children as well as the early learning educators who support them.  This has been important as the City recognises the value in encouraging and respecting the perspectives of children and responding to their requests and interests. 

  We appreciate it takes a village to raise a child, and that villages are enhanced by having inquisitive, active, happy children who explore and participate actively in community life.

  The City of Mount Gambier welcomes the opportunity of working with our “whole village”, as we work towards developing a Children’s Charter for this City. 

  In late 2014, we met with a broad representation of local champions, to draft the Mount Gambier Charter for Children. Check out the video here.

  This charter aims to serve as an aspirational set of principles, to guide the work of Council and early learning services who wish to subscribe to the Charter’s principles.

  Though the focus is early childhood, with the aim of decreasing rates of developmental delay in the region (recorded independently by the Australian Early Childhood Index -AEDI) we recognise the Charter principles have relevance and application across childhood.

  For further information on the Mount Gambier Charter for Children, please contact City of Mount Gambier Community Development Officer, Alison Brash on (08) 8721 2504 or abrash@mountgambier.sa.gov.au. 

• Perspectives of the Child Project

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  Under the auspice of the “Perspectives of Children in the City” project the views and aspirations of a wide range of young people from across Mount Gambier were gathered.

  These views were delivered in a series of presentations to Professor Carla Rinaldi by early childhood leaders from kindergartens, childcare centres, preschools, children’s centres and OSHC who had sought the views of young people on a range of questions that included:

  • What are the places you like to visit with your friends and family?
  • Where do you like to play and why?
  • What makes your place special?
  • Where don’t you like to go and why?
  • What do you think would make Mount Gambier even better?

  The presentations reflected the thoughts, ideas and understandings of the children in their own words and drawings. Take a look at what Mount Gambier's children have told us here.

  Outcomes from “Perspectives of Children in the City”:

  • Council recognises early childhood learning and development as fundamentally important
  • Council acknowledges that the experts on childhood are the children themselves
  • Play settings which reconnect children to nature also encourage children to problem solve, think creatively and develop their own growth and knowledge (moved)

  As part of the “Perspectives” project we sought to understand the way children view their own City. We asked them to tell us and to show us. By doing this, we’ve already learned that:

  • Not every child in Mount Gambier knows the name of the City they live in
  • Mount Gambier children like places that allow them to explore their imagination, seek adventure, nature and height.

   These outcomes were particularly illuminating, and will support the future directions of Council.  

• Australian Early Development Index Forum

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  In July 2013, Fiona Pulford coordinated a seminar in Mount Gambier conducted by Dr Sally Brinkman; explaining the value and complexities of the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI).

  The AEDI is testing which occurs across Australia and is all about measuring children's development domains as an indicator of their being ready to learn when they start school. 

  This index is fundamentally important in our goal of better understanding and respecting our young people.

  This seminar presented for the City of Mount Gambier the true purpose and value of a Children’s Charter for our community.

  The AEDI highlights that here in Mount Gambier there are a number of geographic clusters in the North and the East where AEDI figures pose a considerable concern. 

  Find further information on Mount Gambier collated by Fiona Pulford here. 

  During this seminar and the discussions around the AEDI and what it means for Mount Gambier, Dr Brinkman encouraged us to consider the following questions

  • What is special about Mount Gambier?
  • What do we need to create?
  • What do we value in our community?
  • What do we care about?

  Take a moment to think about these questions and what they mean to you before reading our discussion notes from the seminar.

  It was this discussion that enabled us to develop the top five priority areas for Mount Gambier:

  1. Transport
  2. Access - What is accessibility?
  3. Family Support and Education
  4. Family's knowledge of services
  5. Breaking the cycle

  Target groups were formed with attendees registering their commitment to delve deeper into one of the five priorities. The outcomes of the continuing conversations and connections made within these sessions is crucial in the development of Social Capital, whilst highlighting the importance of developing a Children's Charter for Mount Gambier.

• Professor Carla Rinaldi

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  South Australia’s Thinker-in-Residence Professor Carla Rinaldi, internationally respected for her expertise on early childhood development based around the Reggio Emilia approach visited Mount Gambier in April 2013.

  Professor Rinaldi worked with a number of local people from the community and practitioners in the early childhood sector, hearing presentations from parents, children, schools, kindergartens and City of Mount Gambier Elected Members explaining 'this is what a child is in the City of Mount Gambier'. 

  Professor Rinaldi promoted the concept of early childhood spaces being places of and for learning for children, teachers, parents and the community. As she stated in her “Vision for South Australia’ ……

  “The competent child is amazing if we are able to make them visible. The competent child, the competent teacher and the competent parent can and do exist in South Australia. They are waiting for our pedagogical, cultural, social and political decisions”

  A workshop facilitated by Trish Tranfa explored Professor Carla Rinaldi's "Vision for South Australia" and what that means for Mount Gambier.

  The following key questions were raised for consideration during this workshop:

  • What's next?
  • Where to from here?
  • Challenges/Provocation?
  • How do we promote the message?

  Take a look at the discussion notes here.

  The City of Mount Gambier Lifelong Learning Sub-Committee have identified that the Relational Learning philosophies of Dr George Otero dovetail powerfully with the Reggio Emilia principles, and we are most fortunate to have them supporting our work. 

• Social Capital & Community-Based Education & Learning: From Agency to Relationship-based Services

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  Over the past two years the City of Mount Gambier have been privileged to partner with Flinders University, bringing education professionals Dr George Otero (Director of the Centre for Relational Learning in Sante Fe, New Mexico) and Professor John Halsey (the Sidney Myer Chair of Rural Education and Communities in the School of Education at Flinders University) to Mount Gambier; developing a commitment to the relational learning process in partnership with our community. 

  Dr Otero's fundamental philosophy is simple: 

  "We believe that our relationships hold the keys to educational success"

  2012 saw a Sidney Myer Rural Lecture Series 'Rural Communities...Education for the 21st Century' hosted in Mount Gambier (watch it here). This lecture was an incredible success and received an overwhelming response from participants wanting to be involved in further workshops to challenge the traditional education paradigm and develop a local whole of community, relationship based approach to educationand learning; raising the question where to from here?

  A two-day workshop with Dr Otero and Professor Halsey titled 'Social Capital and Community-based Education & Learning: From Agency to Relationship-based Services' was held in Mount Gambier in 2013. 

  The aim of the workshop was to reconnect with the content and input from the Sidney Myer Rural Lecture Series 'Rural Communities...Education for the 21st Century' lecture; engaging participants in the process of moving toward relational, whole of community based ways of providing education, human services and support.

  Topics covered included:

  • Social capital and community-based education and learning: Rural contextual factors specific to Mount Gambier,
  • Exploring partnerships: Identifying opportunities to make them work and how,
  • From agency to relationship-based services: Exploring being and working in a relationship-based way, and
  • Progressing being and working in a relationship-based way: Identifying areas of change and what needs to be done.

  The strong attendance at these sessions emphasised that relational, whole of community based ways of providing education, human and support services will form the pillars of our approach to developing a sustainable community learning model, specifically designed to meet the ongoing needs of our community - with our community.

  Please visit the 'Library' for further information and extensive documentation relating to Dr Otero's philosophy.