HIPPY Australia welcomes a new National Manager

We are very pleased to advise that Carmen Calleya-Capp has been appointed as the National Manager, HIPPY Australia. Carmen commenced her role with HIPPY Australia on the 11th August and has hit the ground running!

Carmen brings significant public sector and community management and leadership experience to the job of heading up the Federal Government’s national rollout of HIPPY. Her outstanding track record provides excellent leadership to a growing HIPPY Australia team, and will successfully lead the major national project to bring HIPPY to 50 disadvantaged communities in Australia over the next 5 years.

Pictured: A drawing of mother and child reading a HIPPY book, by a HIPPY Moonee Valley participant.

HIPPY goes for growth in 2008

The new federal Labor government has pledged $32.5 million to roll out HIPPY in up to 50 sites nationally over the next five years, including funding for existing sites. This gives the program a solid basis for expansion.

The National Manager of HIPPY Australia said: 'We are negotiating with the federal government over the process by which the pledge to fund up to 50 HIPPY sites across the country over the next five years will be achieved. It is likely to take some time, but is a very exciting prospect nonetheless.'

Pictured: The Hon. Maxine McKew MP. Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Child Care visits HIPPY Fitzroy and Moonee Valley.

Woodworkers donate to HIPPY

We welcome donations of any creative activities that families can do with their children, and the painting of spinning tops is definitely one of them! We have received donations of wooden tops from the Blue Mountains Wood-turners Club, Eurobodalla Woodcraft Guild Inc.,Townsville Area Wood-turners Association Inc., Waverley Wood-workers Inc and individuals.

We really appreciate these donations as the time and effort that goes into creating them is so great, but also because spinning tops are an international toy that children from many countries of the world are familiar with.

Thank you for understanding and encouraging the importance creativity plays in the happiness and education of children. 

Pictured: A Certificate of appreciation surrounded by many of the wooden spinning tops donated to HIPPY

Coordinators' and Tutors' Training Forum February 2008

The two-day seminar was aimed at supporting and training new HIPPY Home Tutors and Coordinators, as well as refreshing those with previous experience. Representatives from every site (NSW, Tasmania and Victoria) were present. Thirty new tutors will be accredited and have begun to learn the skills needed to work with families from within their own communities.

New trainee, Mai Nguyen, was inspired to become a tutor to help her four-year-old daughter.

‘My home tutor encouraged me to become a tutor. I thought that it would be a great way to help more kids and enjoy more time with my daughter.

'I do it together with both of my kids now'. ‘HIPPY for our family is about loving, reading and learning.’ Mai will be accredited with a Certificate III in Community Services Work on completion of her traineeship.