SWAN Hill North Primary and St Mary’s Primary School have teamed up to establish a new out of school hours program for students at both schools.
Swan Hill North Primary was the successful recipient of an Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) Establishment Grant, and St Mary’s have been successful in being appointed as the third party provider.
Swan Hill North Primary’s establishment grant funds will go towards establishing the service, by purchasing equipment and learning resources.
“It’s been so positively received, and it’s just gone from strength to strength,” St Mary’s Primary School principal Kate Quin said.
Both Mrs Quin and acting principal at Swan Hill North Primary, Brea Terris, have found the feedback from parents has been fantastic.
“We even have some children asking not to go home once the program’s over!” Ms Quin said.
St Mary’s OSHC program, commonly referred to as 2@Murlong, gets its name from the street where both schools are located.
The program is run on weekdays, from 7 am to 8.30 am in the mornings and 3.25 pm to 6 pm in the evenings.
2@Murlong is for children with a range of interests, with both planned and spontaneous, child initiated activities, Mrs Quin said.
The service has its own veggie patch and chooks and provides a wide range of indoor games, outdoor games and activities based on the children’s needs, ages and interests.
“Importantly, we try to find what the child is interested in, what they like as individuals,” Mrs Quin said.
“So if a child is keen on dinosaurs, we try to find activities which involve dinosaurs.”
St Mary’s OSHC program has provided a much-needed additional service in Swan Hill, for families and has eased pressure on demand for places at the existing Swan Hill Rural City Council’s Out Of School Hours (OOSH) program, hosted at Swan Hill Primary.
Mrs Quin and Ms Terris said the council had been an essential support to 2@Murlong, with OOSH coordinator Rebecca Carmichael and Family Youth & Children’s Services manager Jan McEwan in particular offering practical advice and support.
2@Murlong has been developed over the past six months, with Tom Sexton, the director of Catholic Education, Brea Terris Acting principal of Swan Hill North Primary School and Maree McLean, the St Mary’s business manager, also instrumental in the establishment of this service.
The need for more out-of-hours school care has been flagged as a critical one in Swan Hill, with many students on the waiting list at the Swan Hill Council OOSH before 2@Murlong opened.
The new service keeps families well informed about the programs and experiences offered as parents are provided with frequent photos of their children having fun, through an exclusive online portal.
“The children are just loving it, it’s very diverse, and it’s very child-centric,” Mrs Quin said of the program.
2@Murlong is based at St Mary’s Primary School gym hub and to register your interest, please contact the schools involved.
