6:15am - 8:30am
2:30pm - 6:00pm
6:30am - 6:00pm
St Mary’s Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) is located at St Mary’s Primary School.
Our program support working families by providing a safe and welcoming environment before and after school and during vacation care. These programs have been designed to cater for children’s ages, interests, abilities and skills and aim to extend each child’s abilities and to assist them to achieve their goals. At St Mary’s OSHC we value the individuality and uniqueness of every child, parent and educator.
Before school we provide breakfast with time to relax before the busy school day starts. In the morning the children have the opportunity to participate in child directed play.
In after school care, children in prep and year one are collected outside the prep rooms and walked to the OSHC area. On arrival children are greeted by educators, seated into groups and provided with an afternoon snack. During this time educators discuss with the children the afternoons planned experiences. Once they have finished eating everyone moves on to their selected experience. Programming is a collaboration between children, parents and staff as we strive to meet the individual needs and interests of each child.
Our vacation care program is released four weeks before each holiday period and can include excursions and incursions as well as a wide range of centre based experiences. Free play and child directed play is also encouraged and expanded upon.
Each day after a big day of school, the children enjoy more than just a healthy afternoon tea of sandwiches, fresh fruit, and yoghurt – they are building friendships and learning important life skills. As they share meals, participate in fun activities, and take responsibility for tidying up, including sorting their scraps into compost, recycling, or waste, they are developing key social and emotional skills.
The native garden at St Mary’s Outside School Hours Care connects children with First Nations culture and fosters respect for the land. Guided by their First Nations peers and families, the children selected and planted local indigenous plants like midyim berries and native limes. As the children care for the garden, they learn about the traditional uses of these plants for food and tea. Nestled on the hill where the school stands—a historic teaching place for First Nations people—the garden celebrates the area’s heritage, with painted handprints from NAIDOC Week symbolising the children’s growing respect for the land’s original caretakers.
