Feel the Community Spirit Come Alive
Our purpose at Wattle Hill Kindergarten is to provide a safe and secure environment for preschool children, sharing this treasured time with family and friends.
Our kindergarten is a place where children are encouraged to learn life skills in a stimulating, interesting and nurturing atmosphere, with individuality accepted, self image valued and play recognised as the mechanism for learning.
Wattle Hill Kindergarten has been providing early years’ education to the children in this community since the 1950’s. Our kindergarten boasts a beautiful garden setting where children can play and explore in a natural environment around our seasons. Wattle Park is our backdrop!
Our 4/5 Group teacher, Sofi Galanis has over 20 years experience in Early Childhood Education. Our 3/4 Group teacher, Natasha Lanza, has a fulfilling 15 year career in Early Childhood Education. Connie Mills, the Assistant Educator, works closely alongside both Sofi and Natasha to ensure consistency throughout the program and support all aspects of the children’s needs.
Our Educators
Sofi Galanis
Sofi joined Wattle Hill in 2002 as Director. She holds a Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies from Melbourne University and has worked in the field for over 20 years, bringing to our kindergarten a wide range of skills and interests.
She is fluent in two languages (English and Greek) and is committed to developing a quality program for the 4/5 year old children at Wattle Hill Kindergarten.
In April 2010, Sofi attended the Reggio Emilia Conference in Italy, where she gained valuable experience in the philosophy of teaching and learning practiced at our kindergarten.
Connie Mills
Connie is our Assistant Educator and joined our kindergarten in 2002, she celebrated her 20th year with Wattle Hill Kindergarten this year!
Connie holds a Level III Certificate in Early Childhood and is involved in the day to day running of the program, she is committed to providing a fun and caring environment for the children.
Natasha Lanza
Natasha holds a Bachelor of Early Education teaching 0-8 years, prior to Wattle Hill Kindergarten she worked at Fairy Hills and Wattle Park Childcare where she worked with the 3 year old group.
Natasha has over 15 years experience teaching children and enjoys exploring nature and implement a program that is inclusive and engaging. She is committed to providing a program that helps enhance children’s development.
Trish Imbastaro
Trish is our co-educator in the 3/4 year old group. She has a Certificate III in Children’s services and brings with her more than 10 years experience working in sessional kidnergartens.
Prior to retraining in the educational field, Trish worked as a Marketing Manager in the financial services industry.
Trish is a passionate educator who believes in making learning fun.
Exceeding National Quality Standards
In 2021 ACECQA assessed Wattle Hill Kindergarten as “Exceeding” the National Quality Standards. This rating has been maintained since the last assessment in 2015.
This demonstrates the kindergarten has an established, quality environment for the children’s learning as well as skilled and engaged staff resulting in a high-quality service.
We are immensely proud of our kindergarten community and the programs our teachers have developed.
Virtual tour of our Kindergarten
Please click on the following link to watch our virtual kinder tour: