Cobden kindergarten farewells long-time favourite

Published on 14 December 2021

Cobden Kindergarten will say farewell to much loved educator Teresa Frost at the end of 2021.

Mrs Frost and Kelly Jeffery started at the kindergarten as three-year-old educators in July 2003.

“We were the first three-year-old educators in Cobden. It’s something we’re very proud of,” Teresa said.

“The group probably mainly operated with around 13-14 children. It was that beautiful introduction to kindergarten for them and their families.

“I’ve been the four-year-old teacher since 2007. I’ve worked with four wonderful permanent educators in this time—Glenda Tesselaar, Kerryn Cain, Kelly Jeffrey, Michelle de Bie.

“The kinder has been very fortunate to have such consistently high quality staffing for many years.

“I’ve taught many children and met many families. It’s been an honour and a privilege to be part of their lives.

“We’re lucky in Cobden to be so close to the primary school—for their transition to school and we get to see the children as they grow older.”

Teresa has also worked at Simpson Kindergarten, Camperdown Pre-School and a couple of short stints at Terang Kindergarten.

“We’ve worked with the kinder community over many years to make improvements to the kindergarten, including renovating the kitchen, adding a store room and playground equipment. That was supported by Corangamite Shire and government grants.

The most recent State Government grant—$689,000 from the Building Blocks program—was the biggest to date and completely transformed a kindergarten that was established in 1965.

The funding supported an extension of the three-year-old program which Teresa said was a great benefit for the children.

“This year 15 hours of two years before-school kindergarten has become a reality that makes it available for everyone.

“We always hoped for an additional playroom and didn’t think it would ever really happen. It’s been wonderful to see the building done.”

Teresa said the kindergarten had always had a high level of community support.

“We used to run three, four, or five fundraisers a year and buy equipment for the younger children. That was then available for the whole centre to use,” she said.

“I’m really grateful to the families that helped in so many ways over the years: fundraising, gardening, washing, on the daily helper roster and wherever was needed.

“It’s been hard in the last two years not being able to have families in the centre due to COVID restrictions but we’ve been able to move online with Kinderloop to help families keep in touch with the kindergarten program.”

Council Manager Community Services Katie Hearn said: “On behalf of our entire Family and Children’s Services Team, we wish Teresa all the very best in this next chapter of her life.

“We can only imagine how many little lives Teresa has provided education and care to along with numerous families.

“Teresa is leaving the service in excellent shape with a lovely team, a freshly expanded venue and two years before-school kindergarten program firmly embedded. She has made many friendships across the organisation and I know will be greatly missed by her colleagues.

“No doubt we will see her at the MCG as she watches her beloved Tigers play in 2022!”

Teresa and her husband Darren are moving to Geelong to be closer to family in Melbourne.

“We’ll really miss living in Corangamite,” She said.

“It’s a beautiful part of the world. We’ll certainly still be close enough to come and visit. I’ll really miss my teaching colleagues. It’s been a really great opportunity to work for Corangamite Shire. I’m looking forward to new adventures.”