By Eleanor Wilson
The Fountain Gate Primary School community had plenty of culture to share at its inaugural community festival on Friday 10 March.
A school assembly kicked off the festivities at 2.30pm, with a First Nations welcome song – Gari Gynda Narmi- performed by Year 1 and 2 students, followed by an electrifying Bollywood dance and Dari music performance.
Its first community festival, the event saw the school grounds filled with fun activities, from henna tattoo and face painting, to a petting zoo, AFL handball workshop, book expo and a free sausage sizzle provided by the Cranbourne Lions Club.
The afternoon was attended by Narre Warren North MP Belinda Wilson, who celebrated the success of the school’s ‘community hub’ – part of the national Community Hubs Australia initiative.
The hub, one of five in Casey, supports culturally diverse families, particularly mothers with young children, to connect, share and learn within the school environment.
Established at the school in 2020, last year it serviced 89 families through a range of support activities, in collaboration with 13 different community organisations.
The Smith Family’s Community Hub support coordinator Jana Hovic, who works closely with community hubs in Casey and Dandenong, said the service is a great tool to connect young families through the school community.
“The idea of a hub is to create connections between the women but also between the school and the families,” she said.
“So when they’re little, people start in the hub, and they come to the playgroup, they have a bit of an exposure in the early years, then they do a transition program and then when they start school, they come equipped and so do the parents, they really understand the system.
“They understand how it works, how the school is run, what to expect and they can then engage with the school and there’s not that barrier where they’re not sure how they can really be part of the school community – which is really important, especially for our newly arrived families.”
The school’s community hub provides a scope of services and activities for young ones and their mums, including child-minding services, English classes, a play group and sewing group.
Families can also access allied health support from Monash Health, Sing and Grow music therapy and assistance from the Adult Migrant English Program.
“It’s a big partnership project between the parents coming to the hub, the hub leaders, the school, the teachers, have them all coming together and all the support agencies do an amazing job,” Ms Hovic said.
The hub would not thrive without the hard work of hub leader Naz Ramjaun, Ms Hovic said, who worked hard to realise the community festival.
“She works tirelessly to ensure our families have the opportunity to engage with each other and they learn in the process, which is great.”
