Oak Street Kindergarten recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been nurturing and teaching children on this land for thousands of years. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of being and caring for children. We meet on the country of the Kurnai Nations people and pay our respects to Elders past and present for their traditional custodianship of the land.
Oak Street Kindergarten has built a strong connection with the local Aboriginal Kurnai Elders, leaders and community members over a long period of time, and look forward to this relationship growing and continuing into the future. To foster this relationship, we include cultural aspects to the program throughout the year by offering many rich cultural experiences e.g. learning about local Aboriginal history through our story boards, exploring the indigenous seasons.
At Oak Street Kindergarten, we believe that 'Play skills become Life skills'. We offer a child oriented, play based curriculum in which children are encouraged to participate, explore and learn. We see each child as a unique individual and offer experiences to challenge and nurture their learning skills.
We encourage families to take an active role in their child's education by assisting in the program when possible, by sharing their interest and talents with us and by joining us on the parent committee, at information sessions, working bees, excursions and other events. We explore opportunities in the local community to extend and reinforce the children's learning experiences through interaction with the Kurnai Elders, leaders and Aboriginal families, CFA fire-fighters, Drouin library staff, visiting children's performers and the inclusion of other relevant community members.
Oak Street Kindergarten values the learning of each child and endeavours to assist each individual to reach their potential. We value the "Belonging, Being and Becoming' principle and also have well established connections with the local primary school through the 'Drouin School Transition Group' and liaise regularly with school teachers to create a smooth transition to local schools.
Oak Street Kindergarten has recently undergone an extension to make us a double unit centre. Our kindergarten community is now working closely together to refurbish the playgrounds. In 2015 we reinstated our front playground and developed our 'Paddock' area by adding a fantastic and imaginative play-space with a decked area, bike track, digging patch and grassed area. We are now focused on redeveloping the front Tree-house Playground.
We are an established centre, well equipped with a wide range of equipment and facilities. Our 'almost 100 year old trees' offer shade and atmosphere to our playground and we have a large area for running and ball games.
Our kindergarten is situated close to public transport and the township of Drouin. We are centrally located to several local schools.
