Phone 8768 4400
Our Term 4 programs are in full swing until we close on December 15 for the Summer holidays, but newcomers are welcome at any time. The year has zipped by in a blink, and we hope that everyone in our community is feeling the joy and peace of the upcoming festive season.
The Christmas Raffle is our biggest fundraiser each year and we encourage the donation of prizes from our community as well as entries to ensure a successful raffle. Please bring any items that you can contribute to the Children’s Room or reception to help us make up some additional prize hampers.
Your chance to win is only $1 per ticket at Reception or bank transfers are welcome if you can’t attend the Centre. Just get in touch to let us know how many tickets you would like.
At the time of writing this article, there were still a few places left for Sharon’s Christmas Wreath workshop on 7th December. For $95, you will create your own unique, beautiful decoration to take home with lush Christmas foliage to use this year and learn the skills to repeat for years to come. The floral workshops are very popular, so even if this is not your flavour, keep an eye out for the exciting arrangements planned for next year.
We are delighted with the addition of a new European-style laundry in our Craft Room. McCormick Builders, a local business, were wonderful to work with on completing the project. We can now attend to the washing from our Children’s Room onsite but also offer our community this facility for times that a few loads of washing need to be done. Contact reception if you need to utilise this service.
We’re grateful for Cardinia Shire Council’s contribution of half the cabinetry cost from a successful Community Capital Works Grant.
The Safe Seats Safe Kids program is unfortunately wrapping up at the end of this year. This has been an amazing free service for the community to have car seats checked and fitted correctly. Of the more than 16,000 child car restraints inspected across Victoria in 2022 under this program, 86% were incorrectly installed or used. It’s gratifying to know that 191 members of our community took advantage of this free service in the last year to help keep their little ones safe.
The final sessions to be held at the Centre are December 1st and 15th and bookings can be organised through https://www.safeseatssafekids.com.au.
Our AGM was held in October, and although we farewelled a couple of the previous Committee
members due to their other personal commitments, we’re pleased to welcome back many of our treasured returning members and greet some new members to our Committee of Management for 2023/2024:
President: Noel Wyett
Vice President: Tania Baxter
Secretary: Katharine O’Carroll
Treasurer: Sharyn Cronin
General Members:
Valerie Boumann, Maree Hynes, Gwen Neve, Miryam Prasetyo, Hassan Seifeldin, Monica Spiteri and Shoheli Sunjida.
These wonderful volunteers have put their hands up to govern the Centre and ensure we continue to meet our community’s needs.
BNC Children’s Room
We’re very excited to see that our 2024 Occasional Care program is in great demand. All the long day sessions are full with waiting lists and just a few places remain available for the Monday afternoon session. If you think you may need Occasional Care next year, let us know so that you are on the list for when places become available. We can also offer casual or emergency placement if there is a vacancy in the session due to absence of a permanent place holder.
We have welcomed Saga to our team in the Children’s Room. Saga is a very experienced, diploma-qualified educator and you can see her gorgeous smiling face on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
A reminder that our Children’s Room is available to hire on weekends for children’s parties. At just $40 per hour, it can provide a great space to make your own and hold your special event. Contact the office for more details on 8768 4400.
Keep an eye out for our 2024 Term 1 Program. As well as the beloved repeating activities and classes, we are looking forward to offering some new programs. Here is a little sample:
Resilience: Break or Bounce.
A discovery path for you by Life Coach Geoff Edwards. How resilient are you? Put aside an hour in your week to focus on you, understand how you face adversity and come back stronger than ever.
Starts Tuesday 20th February 7.00pm – 8.00pm for 5 weeks. Cost $75
Free Hearing Checks with Hearing Australia.
Healthy hearing is a big part of life. It keeps us connected to the people and life we love. Good hearing plays a significant role in helping people stay active, happy and involved in the world around them. A hearing check only takes a few minutes it’s a quick and easy way to help identify if your hearing might not be as sharp as it used to be. Not everyone who is experiencing problems hearing may need a hearing aid. Free checks will be offered on Monday 18th March 1.00pm-3.00pm.
Beginners Ballroom Dancing.
Our current New Vogue, Ballroom & Latin Dancing class is very popular, and we wanted to offer a new class for absolute beginners to learn the basics and go at their own pace. Starts Thursday 8th February 7.30pm-8.30pm for 8 weeks. Cost $112 per person.
Unfortunately, with the rising costs of the past several years no longer able to be absorbed, we will be increasing our annual membership fees next year. It is still a reasonable cost for a year of amenities at the Centre and the opportunity to attend any of our programs. Annual Family memberships will increase to $15, Concessions to $12 and Workshop memberships to $4. Speak to us at reception if this cost would prohibit your inclusion in our programs.
We will do a letterbox drop of our term program during January to local homes. Hard copies are always available at Reception for every term and the digital version is available on our website www.bncinc.org.au as soon as it is ready. If you would like every edition emailed, please let us know by dropping a line to: program@bncinc.org.au.
Add us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates. We welcome your enquiries, suggestions, and other feedback. Stay connected to your community!
Beaconsfield Neighbourhood Centre
8 O’Neil Road, Beaconsfield
Phone: 8768 4400
Web: www.bncinc.org.au
