The South Castlemaine Kindergarten celebrated their 50th anniversary with a special event at the Etty Street centre on Tuesday afternoon.
The celebrations were attended by past and present staff members, parents and students and also by former Mayor Peter Skilbeck and newly appointed mayor Cr Rosie Annear.
The celebrations began with a barbecue catered for by the parents club and a couple of dances by the kinder students, followed by a welcome by South Castlemaine Kindergarten educational leader Amber Smolak.
Ms Smolak said the kinder was built thanks to the support of the local community and was run by a volunteer committee of management until 18 years ago when management of the kinder was taken over by the YMCA.
However, the kinder continues to receive wonderful support from its parents group and Mount Alexander Shire Council.
“We were pleased to install a new kitchen and bathroom in 2015 and have undertaken extensive ground improvements in recent years,” she said.
As part of the occasion Mr Skilbeck, former Kinder Director Jean Everett and assistant Helen Butterworth were invited to unveil the contents of a time capsule they buried at the kindergarten to mark the new century back in the year 2000.
Among the items discovered in the capsule was a copy of our sister paper the Midland Express from Tuesday May 27, 2000, a Mount Alexander Shire keyring and art works created by students which attended the centre 22 years ago.
The art works detailed each student’s favourite toy, food and what they wanted to be when they grew up.
Mr Skilbeck had also added a drawing which stated he wanted to be ‘alive’, his favourite toy was his ride-on mower and his favourite food was fish and salad.
“It still is!” he laughed.
Among the other guests were inaugural committee member Lyn Timmins and Ballarat YMCA general manager Marg Harrison.
Ms Harrison said the kinder recently underwent assessment and she was confident they will pass with flying colours following an ‘exceeds expectations’ last time around.
Marg congratulated staff and families on their wonderful support of the centre over the last 50 years.
“We can’t wait to see what you achieve in the next 50!” Ms Harrison said.
Ms Smolak said the kindergarten is already at capacity for 2023.
“We currently have a waiting list and with the ongoing support of the community the future looks bright,” she said.
The current kinder community plan to create a new time capsule to be opened at the centre in 20 years time.