New Lambton Playgroup

A little bit about…… NEW LAMBTON PLAYGROUP Welcome! We are a small group of parents/carers and children aged 0-5 years who meet each week to play and socialise. Where: New Lambton Uniting Church on the corner of Regent Street and Portland Place, New Lambton. Entry is via the single glass door on Portland Place. When: Wednesday 9:30 – 11:30am and Thursday 9:30 – 11:30am. We hold playgroup sessions every week except on public holidays and through the summer school holidays Cost: First 2 sessions free, then $4 per session per family or $30 per school term, plus annual membership to Playgroup NSW ($39 per family) Routine: 9:30 - sign in to day book and pay session fee, everyone helps to set up tables, chairs, toys and craft or other activities 9:45-11am – General play, morning tea for adults and children, craft/activity 11-11:15am – Everyone helps pack away toys and craft, tables and chairs, sweep floor, wash dishes and put the rubbish out 11:15-11:30am – Sing songs and dance with our pianist Dorothy Johnson 11:30 – lights off and lock up the church Toys, Craft and other activities New Lambton Playgroup has been running for over 30 years, so we are blessed with a large number and variety of toys and other supplies. Each week we bring out a selection of our toys from the store room for the children to play with, please feel free to have a poke around and pick out whatever you’d like. We have a voluntary roster for craft and other activities e.g. water or sand play, bubble blowing etc. If you would like to volunteer, but need inspiration, please take a look in our craft cupboard, ask a committee member or jump online. If you incur any cost preparing an activity this can be reimbursed from playgroup funds, so please keep your receipts and see your session treasurer. Morning tea We use some of our session fees to buy tea, coffee and milk to share, so please help yourself. Each week a member of the group volunteers to bring along some morning tea for the adults; and we each bring morning tea for our own children. The children sit together to eat, so we ask that no peanut products be brought along to playgroup. If you would like to volunteer to bring morning tea please put your name on the roster near the day book. Music Time Each playgroup session at around 11:15am our friend Dorothy Johnson visits to play children’s songs on the piano for us. Dorothy is over 90-years-old and has been faithfully attending New Lambton playgroup since she brought her grandchildren to the group over 30 years ago. We try to pack up the toys and finish cleaning up by the time Dorothy arrives so that we can enjoy a song and dance with the children. Nappy change facilities A nappy change table is located in the disabled toilet; please use this change table rather than the tables in the church hall. Soiled nappies can be placed in the kitchen bin, which we empty at the end of each session to the outdoor bin for council collection. New Lambton Uniting Church We have an agreement with the church to hire the hall and outdoor space each week, and most of our session fees are put toward meeting this cost. We are expected to leave the area clean and tidy and to store all of our toys, tables and chairs in our designated storage areas. At the end of each session we need to sweep the floor, wash our dishes and empty the rubbish bin. Our committee Our playgroup is run by a committee of volunteers; these people are parents/carers who attend our playgroup on one or both days each week. We hold an AGM at the end of September each year, so if you would like to take on a role we would love to have you involved. Please ask the current committee for details of each role. Playgroup Coordinator and Wednesday session coordinator – Brooke Sievert Playgroup Secretary – Jane Smith Playgroup Treasurer and Wednesday session treasurer – Jamie-Lee Pryke Thursday session coordinator – Rebecca Bear Thursday session treasurer – Anna Howard Playgroup NSW We are affiliated with Playgroup NSW, which means that members of our playgroup must also be members of Playgroup NSW. Playgroup NSW membership currently costs $39 per year and the most important benefit of membership is insurance for our playgroup sessions. This insurance covers us in case of injury, as well as damage to church or playgroup property. Insurance cover of this type is required by the church in order to use their facilities. Membership can be purchased online at http://www.playgroupaustralia.com.au/nsw/ , if you do not have access to the internet please see a member of the committee for assistance. Once you have purchased your membership please add your membership number and expiry date next to your name in the day book. Keeping in Contact Our facebook group is called ‘New Lambton Playgroup’, please search for us and request to join so that we can add you to our group. We send out the same information that appears on facebook via email, so be sure to fill out your details in the front of the day book to receive news about what is coming up at playgroup.