sherbrooke – mission accomplished

Me with centre manager, Karen. It's been quite a journey
to save long day care in the Dandenong Ranges, but we're
well and truly there.
 

It was great to attend Sherbrooke Family and Children’s Centre Open Day last weekend. It’s a wonderful centre providing community based long day care in an integrated setting.

The open day was in celebration of the final completion of the project which saw the Upwey Hall integrated with Sherbrooke Family and Children’s Centre.

The centre is significant in the history of my journey into local government, the fight to save the centre first started back in 2004 when the council of the day wanted the centre closed and I was one of the parents fighting to keep it open. Part of the campaign strategy was to run in the local council elections in 2005, and the rest is history.

Claire, the spokesperson the Save Sherbrooke Children's
Centre Campaign and centre chef, Antonio. We are all
immensely pleased with the end result - it's a fantastic facility!

It’s terrific 9 years later to see a thriving, vibrant $7.4million facility providing much needed good quality, community based, long day care to families throughout the Dandenong Ranges.

I have spent many long hours fighting for this centre and it’s great to see it now in all its glory, a great collaboration between all three tiers of government with federal funding of $1.6million, state funding of $0.5million and council funding of $5.3million.

The hall looks great, and it’s great to know it’s now back and available for community use.

The development is a great example of extensive community consultation as well as determination to see the project fulfilled.

samantha in the press - early years

Opening puts Upwey children at the centre of attention
Leader Newspapers
by Emily Webb
21 May 2012

samantha in the press - early years

Sherbrooke Children's Centre finally opened
Yarra Ranges Weekly
by Claire Thwaites
18 May 2012

samantha in the press - early years

Boost for hills childcare
Mail Newspapers
by Casey Neill
16 May 2012

sherbrooke children's centre - another milestone

It was wonderful to be able to join in the celebrations at Sherbrooke Children's Centre (SCC) over the weekend. The centre which provides long day care to locals is about to be demolished as part of the $7 million redevelopment of Sherbrooke Family and Children's Centre (see blog). The celebration was to farewell the old building to make way for the new.

Here I am pictured with current SCC parent and ex SCC Parent's Advisory Committee president, Claire Ferres-Miles. Claire and I were both part of the Save our Sherbrooke Children's Centre (SOSCC) campaign group and met every week over a two year period to continue to lobby council to keep the centre open.

Families past and present joined with staff and ex-staff to celebrate the service which has provided exceptional community based childcare to generations of children in the Dandenongs in this well used and well loved weatherboard building.

SCC Chef, Antonio Frisini, was on hand for the day. Here we are pictured with a a wonderful symbolic gingerbread SCC Antonio created to demolish as part of the day's celebrations.

SCC first opened in 1977 by a group of committed strong women who recognised a need for a local childcare service to assist and support women, the centre has always been a highly sought after childcare service for families in the hills with enormous waiting lists.

In 2004 the council of the day wanted to close SCC but an unrelenting community campaign kept the centre open till the lead up of the council elections in 2005. As part of the SOSCC campaign strategy to keep the centre open I ran for council and to my own great surprise was successfully elected to the Lyster ward.

Pictured with Cr Noel Cliff, ready to demolish the symbolic gingerbread Sherbrooke Children's Centre. Noel along with Cr Len Cox were the only councillors who supported the community in their quest to keep the centre open back in 2004.

Since that time I have continued to highlight the importance of the early years, community based childcare and the long term positive benefits of good quality childcare to my colleagues on council.

I had the great pleasure to speak to the assembled crowd about my part in the history of Sherbrooke Children's Centre and the quest to save long day care in the hills.

The children had a great time putting a hammer through the gingerbread house, it was a great way to farewell the old building and welcome the new.

It's been an interesting and challenging journey, but I'm pleased to say that through my constant efforts, not only have council supported the project but it also has funding support from both state and federal governments.

It wasn't a sad day, it was a day of celebration, although we're losing a building, it's the people that make the service what it is, not the building. It's not about the bricks and mortar, it's the people and their passion, dedication and commitment to children and families that are the essence of Sherbrooke Children's Centre and I have no doubt that essence will continue in the new facility, Sherbrooke Family and Children's Centre when it opens in 2012.

sherbrooke family and children's centre update

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of a site visit of the Sherbrooke Family and Children's Centre. Despite the rainy weather the construction is going well and keeping to timelines.

These timber columns are a wonderful part of the design (yes they are from a sustainable source and not native forest) and will support the roofline of the walkway between the various pavilions housing the kinder and long day care children.

It's a wonderful thing to stand amongst the construction site and see a political dream fast becoming a reality.

This project is very dear to my heart, the mooted closure of Sherbrooke Children's Centre in 2004 was the reason I ran for council. Since then I have been a keen advocate for children and long day care in the Dandenong Ranges. Click here for some of the background.

I've long wondered what the view is on the other side of the these windows, locals driving along Burwood Highway will be familiar with them from the front, but from the inside they provide a view, no matter how big or small.

The building has been designed on passive ecological sustainability design principles, this pipework is for the hydronic heating in the 'baby's room'.