During Catholic Schools Week, the Mini Vinnies team from St Aloysius Primary School in Chisholm went next door to the recently opened St Nick’s and treated the children to story time.

Centre Director, Selena Rosee, said the visit was a huge success.

“Around forty senior students from St Aloysius arrived at St Nick’s and quickly filled the foyer. They were very excited to be there. We decided to spread out around the playground and then the educators brought the pre-schoolers out and introduced them to the students. The St Aloysius kids had all brought books from home to read to the children,” said Selena.

Mini Vinnies is active in all Catholic primary schools and is designed to help young people take part in social justice activities, such as fund-raising for those less fortunate. In this case, the Mini Vinnies kids from St Aloysius were fortunate to understand that outreach comes in many forms, including showing kindness to younger children. Visiting St Nick’s and reading to the preschool aged children teaches them patience and helps them practise their own reading skills. For the younger children, being able to interact with primary school aged children is advantageous in a multitude of ways, including building confidence and enjoying reading in a different way.

“It was wonderful of Sharon Whiting, the Religious Education Co-ordinator at St Aloysius, to reach out to St Nick’s and want to build the community connection so early after our opening. The children from St Aloysius all agreed that they want to visit again as soon as possible and our young ones at St Nick’s will be delighted to see them again. We can’t wait to continue to grow our relationship with the school through experiences such as this,” said Selena.

Limited places are still available at St Nicholas Early Education in Chisholm, Lochinvar and Cardiff. To find out more contact the centres on 4015 2850 (Chisholm), 4015 2840 (Lochinvar) and 4944 0750 (Cardiff).