What is your biggest weakness?

I know that my weakness is English because English is not my main language. But when I came here I immediately enrolled in English classes. I also use the internet to learn and practise more about grammar. In these ways I have improved my English and I feel I'm getting better now. I'll keep learning to make it perfect.
Dian

My biggest weakness is that I am a little shy and a nervous person. But once people get to know me, soon they find me a warm and friendly person.
Amy

My biggest weakness is in always being critical of myself and I think I can panic sometimes. But now I'm learning to reflect and do more planning so that I don't panic but learn from each situation.
Masuma

I think that my biggest weakness is when I want to say no, it's difficult to say no. So most of the time I just say OK or yes instead of no. But I understand now that I have to change this negative point and become a more assertive person.

Atena

Reflections on ABC article

I think everyone should follow this example of the four ladies in

Mums making a big difference

I decided that I will donate some of my baby's clothes that no longer fit her.

Tosrifa

I would like to join the community as a volunteer. Working for babies is a good way to contribute yourself.

Masuma

Reflections on cover letters session

My cover letter wasn't very good because when I wrote my cover letter I was in a hurry. Next time I would take more time to think about what I'm going to write and get more information on the subject that I'm writing about.
Nhung

I read the cover letter document and prepared my cover letter at home. When you are prepared for the lesson, it's easy to follow through all the presentation.
Mercy

Why did you choose this career path?

I chose this career path because I consider myself to have so much patience for children. I like to play and assist them in learning. Also I like to see how they grow and develop and I like to supervise them and help them to achieve each development stage. In addition, I have good energy levels to work with children. Also I have more than 5 years experience in working with children.

Amy

Children are the most important part of every society. I chose this course and career path because I am passionate about children and I enjoy interacting with them. I would like to know about their world and to talk with them in their language. I love to feel with them and help them to meet their needs (health, nutrition, safety) and I love to give them quality care.

Atena.

I chose this career path because I consider myself a very enthusiastic, patient and responsible person who also likes teaching and working with children. I decided to work with children because they have a lot of potential and I can guide their learning while they are playing. This requires a lot of planning, especially in activities but I am willing to do it. And also one of my goals is to make children understand basic science concepts.

Mercy

Are we ready for our interviews?

Looking after babies

I understand that babies discover the world by the sense of taste and it is very easy for them to swallow small objects that can cause choking. In my last job I always removed and put away all the small toys or objects that may choke a small child.

OH&S and toys

I know small toys may be swallowed by young children. These toys are potential choking hazards. So in my last job I labelled all the toys for the appropriate age groups and kept the small toys out of reach of 0-2 children.

OH&S and babies

In my last job, I cleaned the toys everyday. I also removed all the small toys and items away from the baby area as I know toys should be cleaned because of the possible transfer of germs/disease. Also small toys and items are dangerous for baby because babies could accidentally swallow or choke.

Looking after the safety of children

In my last job I always made sure the children washed their hands before and after eating their food. I always supervised them closely, so when something spilled I would notice it and clean it up directly. Because I understand how dangerous the situation is as a child may fall and we want to make sure that children are always safe.

OH&S with older children

In my last job, I gave the children (ages 7 - 10) all the safety rules on handling some simple substances such as vinegar, petrol etc. They used these when we did some practical classes. It helped to prevent accidents in the classroom.

OH&S and childcare

In my last job, I cleaned toys regularly with anti-bacterial cleaners because I know it is important to keep cleaning them for hygiene and the well being of children.

Reflection

I really enjoyed playing with Aileen. I want to have more time to get to know the other children as well as Aileen. I also need to learn to speak slowly to children because sometimes I talk a bit fast when I get excited.

What happened?

I went to the childcare centre. Jin is in charge of the centre. First I went to the 2 to 5 years old room and Jin explained to me what they do with the children during the day. Then I went to the infants' room. There were 3 carers feeding the babies.

What did you do?

I spoke softly to the baby, sat and made eye contact with all the babies and also gave them praise.

What happened in the childcare centre?

I got down to the child's level and was interacting with the toddlers. I was helping them to make a puzzle. Also I was playing with a baby. Her name was Alisha. She was a cute baby. She liked my hat and she was playing with it. I really enjoyed it.

Observation in Childcare Centre

I listened carefully and tried to interact with the children in the infants' room. We walked around all the centre and observed and realised how they apply things that we learn in the class.

Reflection on Childcare visit

We went to the KU childcare centre to see what is really happening in childcare. The Coordinator showed us around the centre and explained the centre routine, the play area, the nappy changing area and all the rooms in the centre.

I listened to her carefully, observed what the children were doing, took some photos of the centre environment. I also tried to interact with one of the infants.

The centre was good and the Coordinator was very open minded. If I have more time in that centre, I would like to interact more with the children.

Employability skill

Skill: able to foster children's self-esteem by:

• valuing them, making them feel important
• respecting and acknowledging them
• praising them
• supporting them when they make mistakes
• giving them attention

• acknowledging their feelings eg anger, stress and talk them through their feelings

Irene

Irene has been in Australia for almost 6 months. She lives here with her son in Waterloo.                                                           

Irene used to live in Shanghai, China. In China she did a Bachelor of Executive Administration in 2000. At the same time she studied at Skyline Vocational Training School in Shanghai from January 1998 to December 2008. After that Irene worked for 10 years in an Import and Export Company.                            She has good computer skills as well as organization and communication skills.              

Irene has a wide range of interests,  such as travelling, singing, dancing, playing volleyball and basketball.     Her goal is to find a job in childcare.

Tomoyo

Tomoyo is a very lovely girl  from Japan, who has only been in Australia for six months. But two years ago, she came here to learn English. While studying she worked in a Japanese restaurant.

She achieved two qualifications in Japan. One is in computers and account management and the other is in hospitality. Then after college, she worked in an Italian restaurant, so I am sure she has a lot of experience.

Now she is learning the childcare program in Hurstville. She loves this program very much, and she also has a lot of knowledge in this field because she has one daughter who needs her care. I am sure she will find employment in Australia after this course.

Temperament

In my opinion temperament refers to the way that people can act, react and respond to different facts such as environment conditions, familiar situations, problems, etc. It is part of the personality. Temperament could be gentle or it could be angry. It could be a result of nature or nurture. There are many kinds of temperament but we could describe them as easy going, active and slow to respond. Although temperament can help us to understand the child, it is not the last word to classify the child in one of these categories. So the childcare worker must be shrewd and observative to evaluate the behaviours and not make judgements.

Fahima

Fahima comes from Bangladesh. She is doing the Childcare Course program at Hurstville. Fahima has a Bachelor of Arts degree. Fahima used to work as a waitress. She has great customer service knowledge. She is very skillful at handling customers. She can communicate well. She is an ambitious person. Fahima likes watching television, shopping and travelling. She also loves to play with her children. She is also a good mother and loves children. Her goal is to be part of an organisation such as a childcare centre. She wants to be an independent woman in Australia through a child care job. Her plan is to establish herself through hard work. She wants to lead her life with self confidence.

Dian

Dian has been in Australia for about 6 months. She is from Indonesia. In Indonesia she finished her Bachelor of Economics degree. She also worked in a Bank as a cashier. Now Dain is interested in the childcare program, but she is also interested in computers. Her hobby is shopping.

Caroline

Caroline is from China. She is 32 years old and she has been living in Australia for 9 months now. Caroline finished a Bachelor of Accounting degree at Nanchang in China in 2000. Then she had 8 years experience in a company called “Xiaoya Group” where she worked as an accountant and had to prepare annual financial reports. Also she showed her ability with different computers programs. Caroline is a very responsible and punctual person. Her interests are listening to music, watching videos and playing table tennis . The most important point of her curriculum vitae is that she really wants to work in the childcare industry as soon as possible.

Lana

Lana comes from Russia. She has been in Australia for 2 years. Now she lives in Darlinghurst which is near the CBD. She has a Diploma of Kindergaten from Russia and worked in a primary school for 2 years. Later she gave birth to her daughter and went back to work after 7 years. In addition, she has technical skills in fixing lifts and good communcation skills. Lana likes swimming, yoga and gardening. Last year, she started to take care of her Russian friend’s children, so this has been good preparaiton for her job in the Childcare area. Lana’s objective is to be a childcare worker in a Childcare Centre.

Nhung

Nhung is from Vietnam. She has been in Australia one and a half years. She lives in Burwood. She has a boy. Nhung completed high school in Vietnam. She was working in Jolibee Fast Food Restaurant in Vietnam as a marketing manager. In addition she has good customer service skills. Nhung likes travelling,cooking and listening to music.

Tosrifa

Tosrifa would like to complete the Childcare course to gain employment in Australia. Tosrifa has completed her Higher Secondary School course in 2006. In addition, she has worked in a Bakery. Also she has computer skills and good communication skills. Tosrifa is a quick learner and she knows four different languages. One more interesting thing she likes travelling, reading novels, playing badminton and she loves shopping as well. Moreover Tosrifa is a friendly and polite person.

Snow

Snow is from China. This is her English name. She came from China after graduating from high school. She studied English for a year and started working. She worked at a Chinese restaurant as a waitress, at a local club, sold import accesories from China and worked at a duty free shop at the airport. She has a lot of experience and amazing customer skills. Snow really likes kids and she thinks that it is good to learn how to look after children for when she has children. She also likes travelling and shopping. At the moment Snow is learning to drive at the moment as well.

Masuma

Masuma is doing the childcare program in Hustville She finished her higher secondary certificate is 2009. She has work experience In customer service and was responsible for supervision and staff management within a short period of time. As well, Masuma was responsible for cash handling. In addition she also has computer skills: operating system: windos2000, xp, vista 7-internet explorer and google chrome .Microsoft office: Microsoft word, excel Power point. Masuma also can speak four languages .She is interested in music, singing, movies. She also loves to go for holidays. After finishing the childcare program her plans are to Work Australia in childcare.

Rubi

Rubi is from Bangladesh. She completed a Master of Accounting in 2010 from Dhaka Unversity. She was a primary school teacher in Bangladesh. She has some good skills such as computer skills. She is also very good at problem solving. She has excellent cross-culture communication skills. She is keen at team player and able to work independently. Also she is a friendly person. Rubi's personal interests are listening to music,cooking and gardening. After coming Australia she is doing child care course for a future job and better life.

Natalia

Natalia comes from Indonesia. She has been in Australia for one and a half years. She is living at Beverly Hills and studying the Child Care Course at Navitas Hurstville. Natalia finished a degree in Information Systems at a university in Indonesia. While she was at university she had a part time job at P.T.Kawasaki Motors as a Sales Representative. She is really good at Customer Service. Natalia loves cooking, listening to the music, making new friend and hand crafts. Natalia would also love to finish the course and get a job.

Tania

Tania comes from Bangladesh. She has lived in Sydney for about nine months. Her qualification is a Diploma of Commerce. She worked as a teacher in Bangladesh. She can speak four languages. She is good at communication and has good computer skills. Tania's hobby is shopping. Tania is really interested in childcare, so that's why she is doing the childcare course now.

Mercy

Mercy is from Colombia. She is 33 years old. She studied chemistry teaching at university and got a Bachelor’s Degree in 2001. She has 6 years work experience. She taught year 4 and 5 science in elementary school and taught chemistry from year 8 to 11 in high school. In this job, she had to write reports for parents and for the principal and prepare guides for teaching science. Mercy moved to Australia in June 2008. She studied massage and got a diploma of remedial massage in Australia in 2011. Mercy likes music, dancing, reading and bush walking. Now, she is studying childcare and hopes to find a job in this field.

Atena

Atena has a Bachelor's degree in English Translation. She has Communication, Emergency, and Customer Sevice certificates. In addition, she also did a Flight Attendant Course 7 years ago. She used all of her skills to become a flight attendant for Mahan Airlines. She is good at teamwork and always punctual. A sporty girl is what she is. Running and swimming are daily activities for her now, while skiing has always been her favourite sport. The same as everyone else in this Child Care Program class, she hopes that someday she will get a job here in Australia.

Jean

Jean is from China. She has been in Australia about 1 year.

Jean has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She worked as a staff nurse in Henan Provincial People's Hospital, China for 2 years. She is very good at maintaining a healthy and safe environtment for children also great in computer and communication skills.

Jean likes dancing and listening to music in her spare time.

Anna Belle

Anna Belle is from Indonesia. She is a nice and smart girl. She has tertiary qualifications. She completed a Bachelor's Degree in accounting in 2004.
She has about 4 years teaching experience, also she worked as a sale assistant for one year.

Anna Belle has good computer skills and communication skills as well. She is able to solve problems. She would like to continue teaching and working as a child care worker in Australia.

Her interests are: movies , reading , travelling and ballet.

Amy

Amy comes from Indonesia.She was born in 1978.She has been living in Australia for about two months.

Amy has vocational studies in Business and Management from Indonesia.Now she is studying Childcare course at NAVITAS Hurstville College.She has five years childcare experience and two years shop assistant experience in Hongkong.She can speak three languages:English,Indonesian and Cantonese.She has excellent communication skills,solid organization and effective time-management skills.She can use computers very well.

In addition, Amy is very friendly and an excellent woman.She's interested in travelling and music.

Our Class

The childcare program in Hurstville comprises of 18 students. All students are female and young. The students have a common interest in childcare. Their goal is to find employment in Australia after this course.

Most students have tertiary qualifications. These vary from a Bachelor of Translation to a Master in Accounting. In addition, all students have work experience. Some students have worked as teachers while others have worked in restaurants. Many students have customer service and computer skills. A few students can speak four languages.

There is an amazing range of interests in the class. The majority of students like travelling and listening to music. As well, some students like sport and dancing. One student likes bush walking as a hobby.

All students will be working together to gain new skills.