St Catherine's Gymea OSHC

St Catherine's Gymea Out of School Hours Care service educates and cares for children K-6 from St Catherine's Laboure Gymea. St Catherine's Gymea BASC operates 5 days per week, 7am – 9am and 3pm-6pm 40 weeks per year (excluding public holidays). We also offer vacation care for school holiday periods at Bonnet Bay OSHC centres.

In keeping with the ethos of St Catherine Labouré Catholic Primary School, our service works closely with Mon senior, the school and church community. This service is located at the St Catherine Labouré Church hall, alongside the Catholic school. There is also a spacious outdoor area alongside the hall that allows for children to participate in a variety of sports and outdoor activities.

Our qualified educators incorporate the “My Time Our Place Framework”, encouraging children to choose between exploring, experimenting, being active or finding a quiet area to read a book or just be. Our program provides for all children of all abilities. Our fun filled program includes a nutritious afternoon tea, craft, computer games, group games, outside games and sport. We are involved in the Active After School Communities Program provided by the Australian Sport Commission. We bring in experienced coaches from a variety of different sports to provide one hour of fun sport, catering for all abilities and ages.

We also take learning very seriously and if you choose to have your child do their homework at our centre, we will make sure they are getting the best support. We have at least one dedicated educator for this, ensuring that encouragement is given and questions and queries are answered.

We encourage you to click on the links below to explore more detailed information about our Before & After School Services:

We recognise that children's comfort and well-being extend beyond meeting the children’s basic needs. For that reason, we use Maslow's hierarchy of needs as a framework to ensure that children are supported beyond their basic and survival needs. We implement the 5 tiers of the pyramid, beginning with meeting the children's basic needs and ending with motivating them to be the best they can be (the pyramid's top).

Self-
Actualisation

Esteem Needs

Love & belongings needs

Safety Needs

Physiological Needs

The desire to become
the most one can be

Respect, confidence, recognition, strength, freedom

Friendship, intimacy, family, sense of connection.

Personal Security, resources, health, property.

Air, water, food, shelter, warmth, clothing, sleep & rest etc.

What we do

Self-Actualisation

We provide age-appropriate risk-taking activities to challenge and motivate children to do better
We provide experiences so the children can become active participants in the community
We build upon their strength and utilise them to inform our practises
We praise and acknowledge children's achievements

Esteem Needs

We teach children diversity and cultural acceptance. We value them for who they are and we embrace differences as strenghts
We value their opinion and encourage them to make choices
We let them take part in the centre's chores so they can demonstrate their competencies
We encourage them to pursue their interests and we extend on them
We show genuine love and care

Love and belongings Needs

We make time for each child equally so they feel valued and secure in our relationship with them
We encourage children to build relationships with others through play activities
We acknowledge children's emotions as valid and acceptable
We make an effort to build respectful relationships with their families and people in their lives

Safety Needs

Children's safety is our number 1 priority. Policies and procedures are develop to minimise any potential risks including:
Physical and environmental hazards,
Medical condition plans are developed,
Child protection procedures are in place and regular updated,
Staff are trained to respond to risk regarding children's safety and wellbeing.