Community Connections
Collaborative partnerships between our Kindergarten and the Community enhance children’s inclusion, learning and wellbeing. Our effective partnerships support children’s access, inclusion and participation in our program.
Mermaid Waters Community Kindergarten proudly acknowledge and thank the following organisations.
KALWUN
Welcome to Kalwun Development Corporation Ltd (Kalwun). We deliver and facilitate access to:
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Doctors
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Allied health services
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Dental services
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Community health programs
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Child protection initiatives
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Playgroups
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Family support services
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Aged care and disability support
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Kinship and foster care support
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Wellness centre
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Early education programs
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In-home care
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Community housing
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Housing support.
Kalwun also owns and manages Jellurgal Aboriginal Cultural Centre, which offers guided tours of Burleigh Headland (Jellurgal), cultural services such as Welcome to Country ceremonies and dance performances as well as the sale of Aboriginal artwork and gifts/ souvenirs. The cultural centre fulfils Kalwun’s moral responsibility to preserve, promote and share Aboriginal culture.
The name Kalwun comes from the Aboriginal name for the rainforest lyre-bird, a bird of deep significance for original inhabitants of the area. The bird still lives in the Gold Coast hinterland and national parks. Its name and picture are retained by the Group as a symbol of respect for the ancestral base of the community of the Kalwun service area.
ACT FOR KIDS
“Act for Kids is very proud and grateful to be associated with the Mermaid Waters Community Kindergarten. Over a number of years, we have been the beneficiaries of fundraising from the annual Spotlight Theatre fundraiser and raffle.
We are also very grateful for Director Michele Hoskin’s personal advocacy and commitment to children who have experienced abuse and neglect. The affiliation between our organisations is based on the mutual focus on the wellbeing of children and providing them every opportunity to thrive”.
Dr Katrina Lines - Executive Director of Services Act For Kids
GREEN THINGS
Contact: debtracy2@gmail.com
Phone: 0417 198 776
Deb, early childhood teacher and Kevin, beekeeper, share sensory learning about Honeybees and Australian Native stingless bees.
Children discover that bees are important for our world, observe bees at work and taste delicious honey! They also hear about how our indigenous Australians have used honey and products from native bees for thousands of years.
Kevin educates and trains beekeepers through BEE ZONE Apiaries and we supply RAW honey locally.
We love to come and share about bees at Mermaid Waters Community Kindergarten. The educators and children are always enthusiastic about environmental learning within their amazing natural environment.
‘Bees are intriguing animals,’ Kev says. ‘Hives are very complex and act as a super organism where it’s never about the individual, but about the colony. We’d be a more peaceful world if we learnt from them.’
PAINTED MURAL
Lisa Sorbie Martin and her family are from the Moa and Murray Islands in the Torres Strait. ‘Aka Sorbie’ (Grandma Wild Cherry) as we know Lisa created our beautiful Mother Turtle art in our mud patch. Aka Sorbie is mentor and friend to our Kindergarten and visits both groups of children every term.
Lisa is a painter and textile artist whose work has been included in a number of major group exhibitions including 'Great South Land' at the New Parliament House in Canberra in 1999.
SLSQ
SLSQ educates our children every year about surf safety. This allows the children and their families to make informed, and potentially lifesaving, decisions before even stepping onto a beach.
BUNNINGS WAREHOUSE
Bunnings provides hands-on assistance with projects and teams to assist us with garden makeovers and D.I.Y. support. An annual Bunnings sausage sizzle is an appreciated and valuable fundraising opportunity for our Kindergarten.
KINDY KIPPERS
Kindy Kippers products are Australian owned and made from quality durable materials and professionally sewn to commercial standards.
Exclusively designed to encourage young children’s independence in their use and, are tailor made for our Quiet Time stretchers. The products come with a sewn-on generous sized name label.
LIFE EDUCATION QUEENSLAND
https://www.lifeeducation.org.au/
Life Education is Queensland’s largest children's charity providing health education to students right across the state, from pre-school to high school.
We proudly partnered with Life Education in their recent launch of their new early learning nutrition program and welcomed Healthy Harold as he visited our kindergarten.
DIVISION 12
~ CR Nick Marshall
Contact: division12@goldcoast.qld.gov.au
Nick and his family are locals to Division 12 with children in the local school, swimming and surf club. As a local business owner and strong advocate for the community and inclusion, Nick was the 2020 Australian of the Year Local Hero in Queensland and awarded an Order of Australia in 2022.
Division 12 is in the south-east of the City of Gold Coast and includes the suburbs of Burleigh Heads, Burleigh Waters (part of), Miami, Mermaid (part of) and Mermaid Waters (part of).
We acknowledge and are appreciative of the community partnerships with our local member, which have resulted in successful grant applications and projects.
CROCKER PARK
Our children and educators enjoy access to the beautiful wide open spaces and market garden of our local park.
The children have the opportunity to explore this natural space and become involved with the growers of the Mermaid Waters Multicultural Gardens.