KU Macquarie Fields - 125 Letters

KU Macquarie Fields Preschool has celebrated the 125th anniversary of KU Children’s Services (KU). The preschool recognised this special milestone by receiving 125 letters via mail from their families and community members during the recent lockdown.

“We reintroduced our children and our families to the “old fashioned” notion of writing a letter and giving them a voice and a way to reach out to us. Through collaboration, the educators posted the children’s letters with a ‘thinking about you’ message. Each letter contained a prepaid envelope and paper to reply to the centre. The children’s ‘voices’ arrived in various forms from handwritten letters to drawings which were communicated and shared through a variety of more modern formats such as our Pop Up Preschool, email and StoryPark,” said Director, Jackie Staudinger.

The theme of the 125 years celebration was ‘making a difference through 125 years of social impact and early education’.

“The response was overwhelming. The children were waiting in anticipation for their letter to be opened or read. It became evident to us that this phenomenal change in our relationships with the children and families was worth celebrating. We put the challenge to our children and families to keep those letters flowing over the course of our lockdown. Every day, the new arrival of drawings, letters, pictures, statements and photos were acknowledged and added to our total.”

“Honouring and sharing the rich diversity and inclusion of children, families and community within our service on a daily basis highlighted our similarities and our need for connection and to be heard and to belong. The children have returned to us after lockdown, feeling more empowered and have grown from the experience of letter writing and remaining connected with each other”, said Jackie.

“KU has been committed to making a difference and supporting social impact for 125 years and KU Macquarie Fields is proud to celebrate this significant achievement.”