- Autumn 2025
- |
- Early Learning Centre
09
Finding our place in the Green & Gold
Naomi Wright, Director of the Murray E Verso Centre for Early Childhood Learning
In the Early Learning Centre (ELC) this year, we have taken inspiration from a picture story book The Circles All Around Us by Brad Montague.
This is the story of a circle that starts off small, with just one student in it. It gets bigger and bigger as they make connections with family and friends and bigger still as they get to know people within their community.
For us as a team, we are using this concept to be our overarching lens. We are asking ourselves who we are and how we can support and develop these connections and ensure all students and staff grow their circles.
Throughout the year, circles will widen as the students start to engage with the wider Trinity community through connections with specialist lessons, the buddy program, Chapel and our curriculum.
Connection and sense of community is an integral part of belonging to Trinity. In the Early Learning Centre, we foster a culture of inclusion, belonging, and respect for all learners through hands on, relational and play-based experiences, laying the foundation for empathy and understanding. By celebrating the spectrum of minds that shape our community, we recognise and
support the unique strengths of every individual.
We strive to see the children living courageously, creating an environment where they feel safe, valued, and empowered to take risks, express themselves and navigate challenges with confidence.
The introduction of the Kimochi program in an authentic and practical example of how we support our learners’ social and emotional regulation, supported further by weekly visits with Trinity’s therapy dog, Fergus.
Kimochi (KEY. MO. CHEE)
which means “feeling” in Japanese,
is a social-emotional curriculum
that uses character plushies
to teach young learners about emotions.
Together with our families and wider school community, we continue to build a sense of belonging within our space where differences are embraced, and every person is valued. As our students feel connected, their circles grow wider as their learning alongside and with others starts to happen.
