Coming together to embrace change and explore new possibilities, St Nicholas team members evaluated traditional approaches to early childhood education and care, and sought ways to innovate their practices. Built on the spirit of unity and resilience fostered during St Nicholas’ 2023 Staff Conference ‘Reconnect’, ‘Evolve’ brought to life a vision for our next phase of growth and innovation.
The conference began with opening remarks from Sean Scanlon, CEO of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. Sean reflected on the origins of St Nicholas, sharing how the agency is inspired by the story of St Nicholas, the patron saint of children, and Sean’s own brother Nicholas. He emphasised the core reason for our gathering: “We are here today because of why we do what we do, which is to support families. That’s why we started St Nicholas.”
During the first session of the day, Briana Thorne from Phoenix Support introduced attendees to The Phoenix Cups Framework, a powerful tool for understanding and meeting our most important life needs, as well as the needs of those around us. The session shed light on the driving forces behind our actions and emotions. Briana highlighted, “What drives us is how empty our cups are… Emotions are our prescriptions for action.”
Claire Wheeler of Kid Biz Academy followed, sharing her insights on children’s entrepreneurship. She discussed the importance of giving children the confidence and resources to accomplish anything they set their minds to.
Kate Higginbottom, Manager of Quality Practice and Programs at the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), explored the critical role of risky play in the learning and development of young children. She emphasised the importance of educators in role modeling behaviors related to risk-taking. Kate remarked, “Children look to you to identify and learn about risk.”
Hamish Tate from Wild Earthlings took attendees on a journey into the gentleness of learning and the importance of adopting the natural flow of the earth in our pedagogy. Hamish shared, “Patterns lead to rituals, rituals lead to culture, culture leads to identity.”
Tash and Nic from Inspired EC encouraged attendees to look beyond the possible and to find the magic in early childhood education and care. They urged us to think about what we want to achieve rather than focusing on limitations. They asked, “How can we, not why can’t we?”
The conference closed on a high note with an electrifying drum workshop by Earthen Rhythms. This energetic session was designed to leave our teams with passion and energy, ready to take on new challenges with enthusiasm and creativity.
Thank you to everyone who took time out of their busy lives to attend, as well as to those who contributed to the success of the conference, especially our Professional Learning team. Your commitment to personal and professional development is greatly appreciated, and it’s your participation that makes these events truly impactful.
Learn more about each of our keynote speakers below:
