By Callum Ludwig
The Wandin Preschool community came together to celebrate the kindergarten’s 60th birthday on Sunday 10 November.
Just under 70 previous staff, students and families of the kindergarten returned for the celebratory Open Morning where they were also able to enjoy old photos, a commemorative video, a sausage sizzle, birthday cake and a raffle.
Among the esteemed guests were founding members of the preschool Ray Taylor and Valmae Gaudion, who were among the local families keen to start a kinder in Wandin over six decades ago, as well as opening year student Wendy Bartsch.
Wandin Kindergarten teacher Geni Kogelman said listening to the community members tell their stories about how the kinder began and the devotion and dedication to three years of fundraising, meetings and working with other community members was extraordinary.
“The efforts and determination to get a kinder up and running in Wandin, for the Wandin families is a credit to them all, we continue to have these strong community connections with our families 60 years later, they have created such a legacy,” she said.
“It is amazing that these community members are still here to help us celebrate their efforts and to think that Valmae’s great-granddaughter is in the kinder program this year, experiencing Wandin kindergarten all these years later.”
Back on Friday 23 August, current students and their families also celebrated the milestone with a Famly Fun Night at Ace Space in Chirnside Park including a magician, ‘lucky envelopes’, crazy hair and raffle prizes to help with some fundraising.
Ms Kogelman said it was interesting to hear the list of fundraising ventures the original local community members came up with to raise the funds to build the kinder.
“Some of which included waste paper drives, bottle drives, fabric drives with Fred Guadion (Valmae’s husband) taking a truck load of paper all the way into the city to cash it in, there was a fishing competition in a local dam, with the lucky tagged fish, that never seemed to get caught,” she said.
“There were over 300 people catered for in a local dance where mothers donated their time to do the catering making some items like two dozen jelly cakes or 10 sponges, Ray Taylor recalls in our commemorative video that actress and singer Tony Lamond came and sang giving up her time for the event,”
“In the planning process a significant donation was made by Percy (PJ) Mould a local councillor, who heard of the plight of the parents in developing a kindergarten for Wandin and he came forward and donated a block of land, this gave the committee a wonderful gift and great hope in their efforts as this was one aspect of their work and fundraising efforts that they now didn’t need to find additional money for.”
In 2021, Wandin Preschool amalgamated into Yarra Ranges Kindergartens who took over the administrative demands from the parents on the Committee of Management who had done so over the previous 57 years. Wandin Preschool subsequently became one of 22 kinders under their stewardship and parents can still remain actively involved in the kinder’s Parent Support Group who support the preschool’s fundraising and social events, maintenance and other aspects of the kinder.
Ms Kogelman said in 2025, Wandin Preschool will be offering 7.5 hour sessions for children in the three and four-year-old programs, which will be the longest sessions they have ever offered at the kinder, as a result of the Victorian Government’s Early Years reforms.
“We always have dreams and plans to make modifications to our setting, we can only do this
through our fundraising efforts and we are in the process of developing some new ideas to
incorporate more playscapes into the playground, there is hope that we may be able to apply for
grants in the coming year to help us achieve these goals,” she said.
“Once again, the community spirit shines through with these celebrations with the Parent Support Group assisting to coordinate the events, seeking donations from local business, creating promotional signs, running stalls and donating their time in support of our kinder,”
Our staff have also supported events by being involved with the planning, promotion, attending events and also seeking community support and creating take-home appreciation cookie gifts for attendees on the Open Morning.”
