...where children are happy to learn
2026 enrolments are now open. Existing families will get first preference!
1 Watts Place West Hoxton NSW 2171
ph: (02) 9825 8822 mob: 0426 972 893
Welcome to the month of November
Dear Parents/Families,
Welcome to November! Spring is in full effect, and the weather is warming up. Make sure to pack a variety of clothes so that we can change the children accordingly. Holiday season is creeping in and we are so excited for our end of year Graduation and Christmas Party. Don’t forget to RSVP!!
We are so excited for all the events coming up this month. All events are found on OWNA and our events board. Participating in these events helps educators plan for future events and shows great partnerships with families. Make sure you RSVP to events on time so that we can include you in all the fun and engaging events.
What's On this month?
Have a read below:
Happy Days Emergency Drills
We will be holding the following emergency drills at the kindy:
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Practice Fire Evacuation Drill – Thursday 13th November @ 10:15 am
-
Practice Bush Fire Drill – Wednesday 26th November @ 9am
We have prepared the children for these drills, however, please continue the discussions at home so they can be better prepared.
Outdoor Classroom Day –
Monday, 17th of November
We will join thousands of schools and early learning services across Australia in celebrating Outdoor Classroom Day! This special day highlights the importance of outdoor play and learning. Children will enjoy hands-on experiences in nature—exploring, creating, and discovering through outdoor activities that support their wellbeing, curiosity, and connection to the environment.
We're Going Off The Grid
Wednesday, the 5th of November
The team at HDK often follow many early childhood social media pages to ensure they keep up to date within the industry and a term that has often been brought up is “off the grid”. I’m sure no matter what time you have walked in during morning drop off you have seen all educators with either an iPad or laptop in hand ready to capture as many moments as they can so that they can then upload them to our program Xplor so that you can stay up to date with what your children are doing whilst in our care. As you know technology has taken over a huge chunk of our lives, it’s how we communicate and complete our work and when we get some spare time it's what we use to wind down. Being that technology is such a big part of our lives it is only expected that our children are introduced to it at such a young age. Here at HDK and in many childcare centre’s technology is how we communicate with you regarding your children, which means technology is eating up a big part of the educator's time instead of spending it one on one with your children. Many centres are now going off the grid once or twice a month so that they can maximise their time with your children, forming relationships and just playing. It’s a spontaneous day where the decisions are left up to the children and what they feel like doing for the whole day whether it be painting with their feet, cooking, building castles and forts using furniture, the ideas are endless and completely up to the children. When “off the grid” takes place educators are to put away all technology iPads and laptops and no photos will be taken, no updates will be uploaded to Xplor except for mealtimes, sleep, and nappy change. “Off-the-grid” days will change every month so that every child gets to experience such a fun day and if you would like to know what we got up to feel free to speak to an educator or simply just ask your children. We would love to hear your feedback on what you think about being “off the grid” twice a month.
Remembrance day –
Tuesday, the 11th of November
Happy Days will take part in Remembrance Day to honour and remember the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve our country. The children will engage in age-appropriate discussions and activities to learn about the importance of peace, respect, and gratitude. At 11am, we will pause for a minute of silence to reflect and show our respect.
Community Engagement
Check out what is happening in our community for the month of October!
-
Music and Story time; Wednesday 5th November at Ed.Square Community Space A112, Level 1, 52 Soldiers Parade, Edmondson Park (Opposite Service NSW)
Info:
This free program is aimed at children aged 0-5 and their carers. We use songs, action rhymes, simple questions, and games to keep your child engaged and foster early-literacy
development and social skills.
-
Family Movie Night - Every Tuesday in November @ 3:30 - 4:45pm at Green valley library
Info:
Bring the whole family for a weekly showcase of family-friendly films
— fun, heartwarming and perfect for all
ages.
Create your comfort zone with blankets, pillows or cushions. Add some extra fun by dressing up in your
pyjamas!
-
Liverpool Birthday Party - 215 Years of Liverpool (Ages: 5 -12) -Saturday 8th November @ 10am –3pm at Liverpool City Library (Yellamundie)
Info:
Join us at the library for a fun-filled celebration featuring a special Story time, classic party games like pass the parcel and musical statues, and delicious treats including fairy bread and chocolate crackles. And of
course, no birthday is complete without a giant cake to share with all of our party.
-
Camden Christmas Festival -
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Saturday 22nd November @ 4pm at Camden Town Centre, Camden
Info:
Christmas in Camden for 2025 is back with live entertainment, activities, a huge variety of stalls, the lighting of the Camden Christmas Tree, and even a visit from Santa!
Important Reminders
Control of Infectious Illnesses
Please HELP us contain infectious illnesses by keeping your child at home when they are sick. If your child is absent from school due to an illness, please make sure to bring in a clearance letter from the doctors on their next booked day. If your child has been sent home from school on their booked day, in correspondence to our SICK CHILDREN’S POLICY, your child must stay home for 24 hours before bringing them back, to reduce the spread of illnesses.
Staff have the right to turn down your child’s attendance if they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms or have had Panadol or Nurofen prior to attending the centre. Please do not “Dose and Dump”.
Absences
If your child is going to be absent from the centre, please call our centre landline on (02) 9825 8822 or our centre mobile on 0426 972 893 to inform the staff. Notifying us of your child’s absence allows us to open that spot to a family that might need it as a casual day.
LABEL LABEL LABEL
A BIG reminder to please label your children’s belongings. If a "loss" item isn’t collected within 2 weeks, they will go towards our MS fundraising bin.
Happy Days is not responsible for any lost item.
Safe sleep
Safe sleep practices you can implement in your home
-
Always place baby on back for sleep, not on their tummy or side
-
Keep your baby’s head and face uncovered. Covering baby’s face or head with clothing such as a hat increases the risk of sudden infant death.
-
Keep your baby smoke-free before and after birth.
-
Have a safe sleeping environment night and day. Make sure the mattress is firm, clean and flat, in a safe cot that meets industry standards. Make sure there are no blankets, soft bedding, toys, pillows or bumpers in the cot.
-
Sleep your baby in your room for the first 6 months
-
Breastfeed your baby if possible.
Risk Assessments
Risk assessments are continuously being updated and reviewed, feel free to access some risk assessments via OWNA and others in our risk assessment folder located in the office.
Signing-in/out
It is a government requirement for every parent or carer to sign your child in & out of Happy Days for your correct attendance.
Your Centrelink entitlements will be affected for non-compliance.
What to Pack
This is just a friendly reminder on what to pack for your child when attending Happy Days.
In your child's bag they must have the following (ALL LABELLED with your child's name):
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Spare clothes suited for the season and weather, including short sleeve/long sleeve t-shirt, shorts and pants, underwear, socks, jumpers or jackets.
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Bedding including a fitted sheet and blanket
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A water bottle
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Nappies or pull ups if required
FOB keys
We would also like to remind parents to please use their FOB key when entering the centre and refrain from using the doorbell, quite often educators are busy attending to your children and do not have the time to keep letting parents in, so please expect wait times at the door if this is so. If you have misplaced your FOB key or need to grab another one, we will happily replace it please just let an educator know.
Policy Reviews
Every month we review a set of policies to ensure that they are relevant and up to date according to regulations. You are invited to provide feedback on our policy of the month below (send your feedback to westhoxton@happydayskindy.com):
The below policies are in the process of being reviewed and updated for 2025. Members of our parent committee and extended families are encouraged to access and review our policies and provide feedback. Policies are also available on OWNA.
Celebrations Policy
Probation and Induction Orientation Policy (employee)
Policy (FDC educator)
Recruitment Policy
Open Door Policy
Orientation of Families Policy
Governance Policy
OWNA
Please ensure to regularly check the posts on OWNA as this is currently one of our main sources of communication.
Posts are sent regularly about attendances, events and general reminders.
Educator of the Month IS...
This year we have implemented a new program for our educators; An “Educator of the Month”. Each month, Miss Hannah, as our educational leader and ECT, will observe the educators in all aspects of the day, collecting evidence of their work, their practice and involvement with their daily responsibilities. At the end of the month, the educator who has achieved the most, shown imitative, gone above and beyond in their role will be rewarded with “Educator of the month’ along with a small prize. This isn’t just for the benefit of staff development and prizes, this motivates the educators to excel in all areas, including Quality Area 5- Relationships with Children. This month, Miss Hannah has chosen Miss Maddison for her outstanding teamwork and initiative in supporting her team. Maddison has taken on a significant portion of the classroom’s administrative tasks to help lighten the load for her fellow educators. Her dedication and proactive approach ensure that the Big Explorers classroom remains organised, consistent, and up to date. This extra effort does not go unnoticed, we truly appreciate all that Miss Maddison does for her team and the children in her care.
What we've been Up To
WORLD SPACE WEEK
Happy days celebrated World Space week from the 7th to the 10th of October! Both the Big Explorers and Little Learners participated in a range a cool and fun space themed activities. The Little Learners created their own space collage, made a plate solar system and joined together for a cool sensory space experience! The Big Explorers created a range or solar system themed sensory trays mimicking the planets and seeing how they move while also creating a range of planets throughout their craft activities.
Budding Little Scientists
The Little Learners and Big Explorers had an amazing time during our Budding Little Scientist incursion! The session was filled with excitement and curiosity as the host demonstrated a range of fun and fascinating science experiments. The children were amazed as they watched colourful reactions, surprising tricks, and hands-on experiments that made science come to life. The highlight of the day was seeing the children’s faces light up with joy as they eagerly took part in the experiments themselves. Their laughter and enthusiasm filled the room as they explored new concepts, asked questions, and discovered just how fun learning can be. It was a fantastic experience that encouraged curiosity, problem-solving and a love for science!
Loud Shirt Day
Happy Loud Shirt Day! Today we celebrated Loud Shirt Day in style! The children came dressed in their brightest and loudest shirts and some even wore loud pants to match! Everyone kindly donated a gold coin to support a great cause. We spent the day making colourful, “loud” crafts. It was wonderful to see our room filled with so much colour, and creativity!
Diwali
Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a time to celebrate joy, kindness, and the triumph of light over darkness. In childcare settings such as Happy Days West Hoxton, celebrating Diwali provides an opportunity to promote cultural awareness, inclusion, and respect for diversity. Through hands-on experiences, children begin to understand the significance of different cultural traditions, fostering empathy and appreciation for the world around them. These celebrations also encourage conversations about family, community, and sharing happiness with others—values that align beautifully with early childhood education principles.
At Happy Days West Hoxton, the children embraced the spirit of Diwali through creative and sensory experiences. In the Big Explorers room, they engaged in a Rangoli torn paper craft, where they created beautiful patterns using torn coloured paper, and explored a large Rangoli drawn in a tuff tray, decorating it with loose parts to bring colour and life to their design. Meanwhile, in the Little Learners room, the children used vibrant coloured rice to decorate Rangoli templates, building their fine motor skills while learning about the artistic traditions of Diwali. These meaningful activities not only encouraged creativity and exploration but also helped the children connect to the cultural significance of Diwali in an engaging and age-appropriate way.
Grandparents Day
We recently hosted a wonderful Grandparents Day celebration at our centre, and it was such a heart-warming afternoon! The children were so excited to welcome their grandparents (and some parents too) for a special day filled with fun and laughter. We had a variety of engaging activity stations set up like a craft table. The atmosphere was bright and cheerful, with colourful balloons, delicious snacks, and the highlight of the day — a big, bouncy jumping castle that the children absolutely adored! It was so beautiful to see the joy on the children’s faces as they spent quality time with their grandparents, sharing smiles, stories, and lots of hugs.
Focus Learning programs
Eco-Warriors
Happy Days Sustainability Program
During the month of October our friends have been exploring all things nature! This included flowers, exploring the garden and finding cool and exciting bugs. The Little Learners have been decorating and exploring a range of flowers while the Big Exploders explored the garden and found some cool bugs. At the end of the month the children worked together to decorate one of out pot plants that we will be using to plant something exciting!
Miss Hannah, Miss Josephine and Miss Shania
Munch and Move
Happy days health and fitness program
This month in our Munch and Move program, we’ve focused on strengthening the children’s Gross Motor skills through fun and active play. The children loved our bike and scooter sessions, confidently practising their balance, coordination, and spatial awareness as they zoomed around the playground. Parachute game brought lots of teamwork and laughter as the children worked together to lift, shake, and run under the colourful parachute. During dance time, they expressed themselves through movement, twirling, jumping, and wiggling to their favourite songs. We also enjoyed building with mega blocks, lifting and stacking to create towers and bridges while developing strength and control. It’s been a wonderful month filled with movement, teamwork, and fun, helping the children build confidence, coordination, and a love for being active.
Miss Shipra
Playing and Learning to Socialise (PALS)
Happy Days Social Skills Program
All Happy Days Kindy West Hoxton Educators
During morning minutes, the children gather together to share their voices and ideas for the day. They took turns expressing what they would like to explore outdoors, showing great confidence and enthusiasm as they shared their thoughts. Educators encouraged collaboration by asking open-ended questions, prompting the group to listen to one another and build on each other’s suggestions. Together, they discussed a range of activities. Through this shared decision-making, the children demonstrated teamwork, communication, and a sense of belonging, excited to see their ideas come to life in the outdoor environment.
Projects
Happy Days In-Depth Learning Program
This month, we continued our exciting learning journey about The Human Body! The children showed great curiosity and enthusiasm as they explored how our bodies work through a range of engaging experiences with Miss Maddison and Miss Feyza. Together, we participated in group discussions, sharing what we already knew about our bodies and discovering new facts about our organs, bones and senses. The children also expressed their creativity through hands on crafts, making body outlines, decorating organs and labelling different parts of the body.
As we wrap up the year, next month we will be moving onto an exciting new interest, Summer Fun! With the warmer weather on its way, the children will have the opportunity to explore all things summer through play, art, and sensory experiences. It will be a fun way to finish the year with lots of water play, fun and laughter!
Miss Feyza and Miss Maddi
Classroom News
The Big Explorers Room
The Discoverers (3-4 yrs old)
& The Inventors (4-6 yrs old)
This month, the Big Explorers have been busy learning about community helpers and celebrating Halloween! Occupations have been a big area of interest within our room, so educators decided to extend upon this curiosity. Throughout the month, the children participated in a range of craft activities and hands-on experiences that helped strengthen their understanding of the people who help us in our community. They created garbage trucks, police cars, and fire trucks using a variety of materials, and had so much fun exploring themed tough trays.
We also celebrated Space Week, where the Big Explorers learned all about planets and the solar system through craft experiences, tough trays, storybooks, and group discussions. It’s been a wonderful month filled with creativity, curiosity, and discovery!
The Discoverers
(3-4yrs old)
This month, the Discoverers have been working with Miss Josephine and Miss Bianca and have been learning their numbers and shapes! The children have joined in a range of experiences that have helped the children further their knowledge and learning. In our number topic the children the children joined in number matching cups, built a number ice cream and matched number in the cookie jar. We then started our new topic on shapes, the children have matched ice cream shapes, participated in a shape jumping game and worked together in our shape puzzle game.
Miss josephine and Miss Bianca
The Inventors
(4-6 yrs old)
Happy Days School Readiness Program
This month, the Inventors worked alongside Miss Hannah and Miss Maddi to complete their early literacy learning journey of the alphabet. The children enthusiastically engaged with the final set of alphabet worksheets, consolidating their recognition of letters, sounds, and beginning word formation. Through hands-on and interactive experiences, the Inventors demonstrated great progress in their literacy development, showing confidence in identifying letters within their names and familiar words. This milestone marks an important step in preparing them for their next stage of learning, as they continue to build strong foundations for reading and writing.
After completing their alphabet focus, the Inventors shifted their attention to exploring emotions and self-regulation. Through thoughtful discussions and guided group experiences, the children learned to identify different emotions and understand how their feelings can change throughout the day. To support emotional awareness, they created their own cool-down jars, a calming strategy that encourages mindfulness and self-soothing when feeling upset or overwhelmed. They also completed beneficial worksheets that helped them connect emotions with expressions and appropriate responses. These experiences not only supported their social and emotional development but also helped them build important life skills for managing their feelings in positive and healthy ways.
Miss Hannah and Miss Maddi
The Little Learners Room
6 weeks to 3 years old
The Little Learners have been busy finishing off their learning interest — numbers! Over the past few weeks, the children have had so much fun exploring numbers through a range of engaging activities. Some of their favourites included number painting, stamping, and using number flashcards — which quickly became a class favourite! They also enjoyed plenty of matching games that helped build their recognition and counting skills. Many of the activities were repeated by popular demand, showing just how much the children enjoyed discovering and learning through play.
Recipe of the Month
PASTA BOLOGNESE
What you need:
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500 grams beef mince
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½ onion
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3 cloves garlic
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1 cup grated carrot/zucchini (optional)
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½ cup beef stock
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1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
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2 tablespoon tomato paste
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1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
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1 teaspoon sugar
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1 tablespoon fresh herbs (parsley/oregano/rosemary/basil) or 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
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¼ teaspoon salt (start with this and add more to taste)
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¼ teaspoon black pepper (start with this and add more to taste)
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250g dried pasta
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Grated cheese to serve
step by step instructions
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Finely chop the onion and crush the garlic.
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Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion & garlic and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
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Add the mince and cook until brown (5-10 minutes). Add the vegetables if using and cook for a further 5 minutes.
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Add the beef stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, Worchestershire sauce & sugar and combine. Simmer over a low heat for 15-20 minutes until the bolognese has thickened. About halfway through this cooking time give it a taste test and starting with about ¼ teaspoon of salt, add salt until it is to your taste. Also add the chopped fresh or dried herbs.
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While bolognese is simmering, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions and grate some cheese.
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Drain the spaghetti, dish into bowls and top with the bolognese and grated cheese.
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Serve immediately.
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Store any leftovers in the fridge in a sealed container for 3 days or freeze portions.
Families & Community Partnership
POISON SAFETY: Unfortunately, our little ones have a bad habit of getting sick quite frequently. When they are ill, we often administer different medicines to aid in fighting against the sickness.
Parents and carers must ensure that they appropriately store and handle different medications, ensuring that their children are not at risk of any serious accidents such as ingesting medication.
Some ways that we can prevent an incident from occurring is:
-
Store all medicines in a locked and high cupboard that is out of reach to all children. Children are great climbers so make sure cupboards are locked with a safety latch for further prevention.
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Make sure all bags and purses that may have medications are placed up high and out of reach of children
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Keep all medications in original containers
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Be aware of what medications you have in the household and the quantity of each.
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Don’t underestimate your child’s ability to open up packages. Some child resistant packages are still not child proof.
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Never tell a child that medicine tastes like candy
In the event of an accident occurring, you are to call the Poisons Information Hotline (13 11 26) to provide you with the necessary information. If your child has stopped breathing or collapsed call 000. First aid is to be administered immediately in any circumstance.
SUSTAINABILITY AT HOME: At Happy Days we encourage all to be environmentally sustainable and be conscientious of the way we treat our world. Through our educational programs we are providing children with lots of ecological experiences. In doing this we are moulding their mind and teaching them about how we can care for the environment and help it flourish.
One way that we can not only be cost efficient but also sustainable is by reducing our water usage whilst at home.
Some ways we can limit out water waste is by:
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Using a low flow shower head and taking shorter showers
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Instal a duel flush toilet and educate children on the correct way to flush the toilet
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Repair all leaky taps
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Use a front load washing machine
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Collect rainwater to reuse on plants and lawn
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Do not run the tap unnecessarily
CHILD SAFETY:
It is very important that we are always keeping our children safe whilst in vehicles. By using the correct car seats that are properly fitted can reduce the risk of injury by 71%.
According to the NSW centre for road safety:
- for children up to 6 months they need to be seated in an approved rear facing car seat
- from 6 months – 4 years they can sit in either a rear or forward-facing car seat
- from 4 years + children can sit in either a front facing car seat or booster seat
- for children who are 145 cm or taller they can use the adult lap sash seatbelt
SAFE SLEEP PRACTICES:
Safe sleep practices you can implement in your home
-
Always place baby on back for sleep, not on their tummy or side
-
Keep your baby’s head and face uncovered. Covering baby’s face or head with clothing such as a hat increases the risk of sudden infant death.
-
Keep your baby smoke-free before and after birth.
-
Have a safe sleeping environment night and day. Make sure the mattress is firm, clean and flat, in a safe cot that meets industry standards. Make sure there are no blankets, soft bedding, toys, pillows or bumpers in the cot.
-
Sleep your baby in your room for the first 6 months
-
Breastfeed your baby if possible.
INCLUSIVE PROGRAM: At Happy Days our educators work together to ensure that we are an inclusive centre.
To be inclusive means to embrace all people irrespective of race, gender, disability, medical or other need. It is about giving equal access and opportunities and getting rid of discrimination.
As part of Inclusive Program, we offer resources to all families in different languages to ensure everyone is receiving the support and information they need. This month's topic is:
"Encouraging Positive Behaviour"
Arabic
كجزء من البرنامج الشامل ، نقدم موارد لجميع العائلات بلغات مختلفة لضمان حصول الجميع على الدعم والمعلومات التي يحتاجون إليها. موضوع هذا الشهر هو:
نصائح حول تشجيع السلوك اإليجابي
Vietnamese
Là một phần của Chương trình Hòa nhập, chúng tôi cung cấp tài nguyên cho tất cả các gia đình bằng các ngôn ngữ khác nhau để đảm bảo mọi người đều nhận được sự hỗ trợ và thông tin họ cần. Chủ đề của tháng này là