Geelong Coast Kids - Autumn 2023

AUTUMN 2023

with

Sarah Galbally MP reveals

path to parenthood Steve Biddulph

on kids voting

About Us

Autumn is here!

AFTER an unseasonably cool summer, we have to admit we’re looking forward to watching the leave change colour and the crunch of leaves under foot.

There is something so magical about taking the kids for a walk through local parks with the autumn chill in the air as the sun warms your soul.

It’s the perfect weather to mix and match the kids’ wardrobes, too – it’s not just their ‘summer’ wardrobe to choose from anymore, it’s cute leggings with T-shirts and slacks and tops.

Autumn is also the perfect time to go exploring. There’s nothing like falling leaves, dropping gumnuts and pine cones all around and the chance to see more wildlife, out foraging for food before the winter.

So sit back, relax and read about a local mum who left a big gap between her two kids, and a Victorian MP who struggled to fall pregnant and won an election with a newborn.

We’ve also got the wonderful and insightful Steve Biddulph pondering the question “What if kids could vote?” and another yummy recipe from Lucy’s kitchen.

We have so many wonderful stories to share with you this edition, so grab a warm drink, sit by the sunny window and enjoy.

Geelong Coast Kids magazine is a Star News Group publication.

Geelong Coast Kids will be published quarterly prior to each of the school holidays.

Geelong Coast Kids 1/47 Pakington Street, Geelong West Phone: 5249 6700 Group Advertising Sales Manager Mandy Clark mandy.clark@starnewsgroup.com.au Phone: (03) 5945 0608

We also speak to a mum whose daughter needed delicate skull surgery but has been kicking goals ever since.

Editorial Melissa Meehan melissa.meehan@starnewsgroup.com.au

Contents

Advertising General Sales Inquiries 03 5249 6700 advertising@geelongindependent.com. au

IT’S YOUR LIFE

EDUCATION

ENTERTAINMENT

Calming emergency care for kids

Parents and experts align on early-years policy

What’s on at Geelong Arts Centre

PAGE 4 Family life on the road

PAGE 13

PAGE 20

New autism guidelines welcomed

BOOKS

PAGE 14

Teaching kids to tackle bullies

Play is crucial for kids

PAGE 21

PAGE 15

Discover new children’s books

PAGE 6

REALITY BITES

PAGE 21

Angie’s Catchup with lawyer Sarah Galbally

Susie’s still smiling

CALENDAR

PAGES 16-17

What’s on this autumn

MP juggles Parliament and parenthood

PAGE 22

PAGES 4-5 Epworth closing maternity ward PAGE 6 What if kids could vote?

PAGES 8-10 Youth mental health centre PAGE 12

PAGES 18-19

Published by Star News Group Pty Ltd ACN 005 848 108. Publisher/Managing Director, Paul Thomas.

All material is copyright to Star News Group Pty Ltd. All significant errors will be corrected as soon as possible.

AUTUMN 2023

with

Sarah Galbally MP reveals

path to parenthood Steve Biddulph

on kids voting

COVER: Molly, 2, dives into autumn. Picture: Casey Neill

geelongcoastkids.com.au

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It’s Your Life

Calming emergency care for kids The space is designed to be calming for kids.

WORK on a dedicated children’s emergency department is underway at University Hospital Geelong.

Health Infrastructure Minister MaryAnne Thomas revealed designs for the $20 million project in February.

“This multi-million-dollar project will provide kids in Geelong with faster access to the care and treatment they need and a safer and more suitable work environment for the region’s amazing health care workers,” she said.

A trip to the emergency department can be scary for kids, but designs for the new space revealed a child-friendly environment with calming, soft tones and decor to help minimise anxiety.

There’ll be 28 additional dedicated treatment spaces, including two fast-track and eight

short-stay beds, new treatment rooms and support spaces, and a separate paediatric triage system and waiting area.

The Victorian Health Building Authority (VHBA) is delivering the project in partnership with Barwon Health.

Construction is due to be finished in July next year.

The project builds on more than $500 million from the 2022/23 state budget for the flagship Barwon Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

It will integrate with existing University Hospital Geelong services and deliver additional capacity through more birthing suites, extra maternity inpatient beds, more paediatric inpatient beds, and extra special care nursery cots.

Designs for the children’s emergency department.

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www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

AUTUMN 2023 3

It’s Your Life

Family life on the road

By Casey Neill

“He booked himself in for his six months’ long service leave.

confident, just makes really good decisions, really loves meeting people.

“EVERY day I’m mindful of keeping what we created on the road at home.”

“We’d just bought a caravan like two months before Covid hit.

“She’s been the easiest part of travelling, because she is so cruisy and laidback.

Travel was just what the doctor ordered for Corio mum Lauren McDonnell, her partner John Kendall and daughter Lennie, 5.

“The first time we went was because Johnny was made to take his long service leave,” Lauren explained.

“He was working in Altona at the refinery there.

“Because of Covid and they weren’t producing any fuel for the planes, they asked everyone to take whatever leave they had.

“There was no plan at all.

“We just packed the essentials. We packed two Coles bags’ worth of clothes and that was it.

“We tidied up and made the house livable for a house sitter.”

They dodged interstate closures and made their way to Queensland then continued north, chasing the weather.

“She’s just made it a whole lot easier.

“Both of us being able to experience so much time with her before she leaves for school was great.

“No plan is a good plan,” she laughed.

“There’s no need to book things in and stress about dates.

“It was really important to have that time with her.

“Just go 100 per cent with the flow.

“It’s definitely moulded who she is.

She’s taken the best of both Johnny and I.”

“On the first trip it took her about a month to get into the swing of it,” Lauren said.

They pushed that first trip out to eight months, and while they were away found out that the refinery was closing.

“Now she is

“I didn’t feel like I was done,” she said.They got a new caravan built and made a rough plan to do Western Australia.

“Johnny worked a lot and I was quite unwell when I had her.

A change of bed and routine took then-3-year-old Lennie some getting used to.

“She was quite a shy, really timid little girl before we left.

The nurse and graphic designer spent eight weeks on the couch “doing nothing”- except travel research.

“We came home so Johnny could finish his job and he got made redundant,” Lauren said.

Two days after they returned home, Lauren had an ankle reconstruction.

“You need to be super relaxed - you can’t be anxious about dirt or eating set foods.“Not everything is a stunning filtered photo. Just embrace the beauty as it is in front of you, without your phone in front of your view.”

They all experienced health benefits from the lad-back journey.

“The amount of outside time, how good fresh air and sunshine actually is for you, and you’re out doing lots and lots of walking,” Lauren said.

Lennie came out of her shell on the road.

Lennie and her parents spent lots of time outdoors.

Lennie’s confidence grew while travelling.

4 AUTUMN 2023

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

Loz, Lennie and Johnny.

Loz and Lennie out exploring.

“Because you’re active all day you sleep very well at night.

“There’s no stress. You forget how good it is on our bodies.

“I’m a big social person so I absolutely loved meeting new people on the road and finding out about their story and where they’d come from.

“It was the best way to find out about the best camps and beaches.”

Lennie became more confident by the day.

“She’d say ‘Hello, I’m Lennie. Do you want to play?’ and they’d be off for a couple of hours,” Lauren said.

“We made life-long friends on the road.

“Some of the nicest people we’ve met are 60-plus. “They’d ask if Lennie could come over to bake bread or have a cup of tea.”

When they packed for the second trip - admittedly a little better organised than the first - Lauren gave Lennie four small baskets and asked her to fill them with what would make her happy.

“Then we did a lot of swaps at op shops with toys and books,” she said.

“The majority of the time the op shops would do it free of charge, or for a gold coin donation.

“When you are meeting a lot of travel families on the road, once you get to know people, everyone’s got clothes to

hand down. It’s just a forever exchange.

into the school system by Grade 2.

spend all day hiking or at the beach’.”

“You don’t need to buy special things.

To be honest, she hardly even used any of her toys.

“But the job opportunity came at a really good time,” Lauren said.

They don’t have any new travel plans - yet.

“She was asking a lot about her little best friends at home.

“Probably in 12 months’ time there’ll be a plan,” Lauren laughed.

Little Lennie was always learning.

“It felt like exactly the right thing to do.

“We want to look at a three-month trip to Tassie.

“It’s always been a part of our travel life that when we go to a town, we go to the library,” Lauren said.

“We only found out about a month before that she would be going to school.

“But after that we’ll start planning some more overseas travel again.

“We do all the sessions. Whatever free resources we know are happening in a town we attend.

“Every day it was just verbal encouragement, telling her what school would look like and how the school day goes.

“It was always sand, sticks - whatever you could pick up outside.”

“We carry books and things in the caravan, the whiteboard books that you can wipe clean.

“It’s such a massive contrast to ‘let’s

“I think I’m up to maybe 50 overseas countries. I did a lot of that pre-Covid.

“I definitely want to get back to overseas travel.

“I just want Lennie to experience as much of the world as she can.”

“On rainy days we would get them out.

“She was asking us to read signs, information signs. She’s very inquisitive.

“The informal teaching on the road is so broad.

“You can point to a map and tell them where you are and the name of the place.

“You can tell them how many kilometres you’ve travelled from one place to the other.”

A work opportunity for Johnny brought them home just in time for Lennie to start Prep.

They’d agreed to home school for Prep and maybe Grade 1, but to get Lennie

Lennie made loads of friends on the road.

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www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

AUTUMN 2023 5

It’s Your Life

Maternity closure PREGNANT women in Victoria’s second largest city are searching for a new hospital after one of the largest in the region announced plans to close its maternity service.

find agency nurses to fill day shifts.

Epworth HealthCare made the “difficult announcement” to close its Geelong’s maternity unit, citing issues with workforce shortages in nursing and midwifery.

“Whatever reason is given, the net effect is the same,” Dr Pecoraro told AAP on Tuesday.

Following a two-month consultation period with impacted staff and medical specialist teams, Epworth HealthCare has made the difficult decision to close the Epworth Geelong Maternity service on 31 March 2023. Both University Hospital Geelong (Barwon Health) and St John of God Geelong have confirmed they have the capacity to assist mothers who wish to birth in the region.

In a letter to staff, the hospital said a predicted lack of “sufficient” paediatrician availability to service the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week was a reason for the closure.

It is believed the hospital helps deliver, on average, 40 to 60 births a month.

AAP has been told by hospital staff many workers have become increasingly frustrated about being rostered on at nights and weekends, because management found it easier to

National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president Gino Pecoraro said the announcement was frustrating.

“Private obstetrics is in danger of being wiped out and the flow-on effects will impact on everyone.

“Public units (will be) overwhelmed and if it follows what happened in Gladstone (Queensland), the public system will collapse as well.”

He said often public hospitals did not have the ability to suddenly take on another 50 patients a month.

“To think that isn’t going to create a crisis - you are badly mistaken,” he said.

Dr Pecoraro said the closure was another example of why the entire system needed a reboot, with particular focus on Medicare and private health insurance.

He met Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney in Canberra last year to discuss his concerns as well as Senator Claire Chandler and Minister for Regional Development Kristy McBain.

Greater Geelong, Victoria’s second largest city, has a population of 274,647

and is forecast to grow to 393,216 by 2041.

- AAP

What if kids could vote?

What if kids could vote writes STEVE BIDDULPH THIS weekend I was talking to a young couple in their twenties.

They had decided not to have children, because of their fears that the future would be a terrible place to live.

They looked like a really loving pair who would have made great parents, and it made me very sad. But I could understand where they were coming from. And as I drove home I got more and more angry at what we have done to our world, that this was the situation.

That climate change especially was leaving our kids with a future of great danger, because of what my generation had done to the planet. Angry, and also guilty, because I used to often fly to Europe several times a year on book tours, and thought nothing of it. And I know plenty of people who have had weddings where they and all the guests flew to Fiji or Phuket, or went ski-ing in Japan or to sport games right across the country. And all the other ways we wasted the planet.

Some friends and I this week started an organisation called SUFTY, which is short for Standing Up For The Young.

We have a single goal, and that is to

6 AUTUMN 2023

lower the voting age - everywhere in the world - to 16. Does that idea shock you? Well, when I was a teenager, Gough Whitlam became Prime Minister, and one of his first actions was to lower it from 21 to 18, because young Aussies of 18 or 19 could die in wars that they hadn’t even had a say in. It only took an act of parliament. We never even blink at it now. And already 11 countries have done it - from Scotland to Austria. New Zealand is looking into it.

When you were sixteen would you have liked to be able to vote?

Would you have cared about who ran the country? Kids today really do, the kids in Schools Strike for Climate are seeking the vote. And many mental health professionals like me are arguing that it is needed because having some power, some say, is an antidote to depression and anxiety. Its too late to protect teenagers from the knowledge that their lives are in danger. And there is plenty of research that its making them very unhappy.

The main argument people make against having a 16 year old vote is “would they have the maturity?”. I have to laugh when I hear this, because, while its a reasonable question, if you have ever worked in a polling booth, or handed out how to vote cards, you soon realise that maturity is not the basis for getting the vote! Age is no guarantee.

As the author of Raising Boys, I know

that maturity doesn’t arrive sometimes until about 25! And sometimes it never does! Democracy is based on fairness as its key idea. Everyone is equal. In the past we thought that adults would and should vote on behalf of their children’s interests. (Once it was argued that men could vote on behalf of their wives interests - an idea which I am sure makes your blood boil). In fact we have simply failed to do that in the 30 years that climate change has been widely known about.

I have worked with refugee rights for a long time, and so can use that with confidence as an example. There have long been around 100 million refugees in the world at any one time. They find safety, eventually, but new ones come along. But lately climate emergencies, famines and wars caused by those, have ramped that up. By 2050 there are predicted to be one billion refugees from climate collapse. One in eight of the human race will be on the move.

That is not a world we would want our kids to live in.

can have enough impact. That means giving our government the electoral cover to stand up to the fossil fuel vote.

And guess what - there are half a million Australians aged either 16 or 17.

That could make a real tipping point to get a democratic solution to all of our biggest fears.

I am betting on it, and I hope it makes sense to you too.

Steve Biddulph Is the author of Raising Boys, and Raising Girls His books are in six million homes around the world.

More information about SUFTY is on his website www.stevebiddulph.com.

Add 27 to your child’s age, and that is how old they will be in 2050.

SUFTY will be a network of older people fighting for young people to feel supported and given some say in who runs the country. The only way to stop climate change is to leave fossil fuels in the ground, the science says nothing else

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

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www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

AUTUMN 2023 7

It’s Your Life

Sarah Galbally’s putting her kids first SARAH Galbally’s putting her kids first

I was studious at school. I really enjoyed reading, history, literature, drama, languages.

I listen to lawyer Sarah Galbally talk and all I can think is ‘I wish I could download your brain for a day!’.

What motivated you to become a lawyer?

As my surname suggests – I had no choice!!

Effortlessly intelligent, she can switch between, fun, loving empathetic mother-of-two into shrewd, savvy boss-lady that you definitely wouldn’t want to mess with in a legal battle.

No, no, to be serious, it was not my initial intention to become a lawyer.

I do come from a family of lawyers, however it was not a path that I thought I would pursue - well, not initially.

Sarah comes from a long bloodline of famous Australian lawyers, well known for landmark court cases. Just google Frank (grandfather) or uncles David, Paul and Francis Galbally and you’ll see what I mean.

Looking to university, I was interested in pursuing a career in journalism or script writing. Because of my love of literature and humanities, I applied for a Deans Arts scholarship at Monash University, and at the end of Year 12 I was offered a place for a double bachelor’s degree in arts and law.

They’re known for taking on some of the toughest of tough cases. So boy does she have some handy mentors.

Her resume is impressive to say the least - with more than 15 years’ experience in the law, working for big names such as the AFL, Cricket Australia, Fox Fm and Triple M - and I must say I was pretty excited to hear about her having middle of the night legal talks with Taylor Swift and a quiet convo legal chat in Melbourne with Kim Kardashian.

Originally from bayside Melbourne, Sarah has called Geelong home for the past 10 years and is now director and principal lawyer of Neon Legal law firm in Pakington Street.

8 AUTUMN 2023

Let’s go back to life before children.

What was life like in the Galbally house for you growing up?

Growing up in our house was great fun!

My brother Nick and I were, and still are, super close. Childhood with him was always happy. He is a very smart and kind person, and Tom reminds me so much of him, even to look at, so much that sometimes I call Tom, Nick!

Perhaps I am lacking in sleep on those days!

My parents took us on lots of holidays throughout Australia and to Europe.

As kids we spent summers in Sorrento and Point Lonsdale, and Septembers were spent on the beach at Broadbeach and Noosa. Hence my love for the beach! I think that same spark for the ocean and beach trips with my kids is from how I remember growing up and I have always taken my kids on holidays to Queensland.

What were you like in school?

I loved school. I went to small girls school, St Catherine’s, in Melbourne from kinder all the way through to Year 12.

It was my mum who said to me that I should at least give the first year of arts/ law a try and see if I enjoyed it.

Once I started it just all fell into place.

It was certainly the path I was meant to take, and I never reconsidered my decision.

I genuinely love my work, and the interesting and creative people that I work with both in my own law firm and our clients.

It’s given me such an interesting and wonderful career, and I know the future is always exciting in my line of work. www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

I particularly love the entrepreneurial side to my clients that take us into specialised areas of marketing and consumer law, and I have loved working in talent and creative spaces as a lawyer, the big rights deals, and acting in negotiations for clients…there is always something exciting and interesting that we are working on for our clients.

Neon Legal is such a fab name! Tell us about your business?

Neon Legal is a law firm I founded. I now have a business partner, Shannon Landers, and we have created a dynamic law firm that is not traditional.

We offer flexible in-house style legal services. Sometimes we work as part of an internal legal team, remotely, and sometimes our lawyers take client work similar to a traditional law firm, on demand.

Some businesses outsource their entire internal legal services to us, like a freelance general counsel.

We have a top tier brand – our lawyers have high calibre experience in both in-house teams and private practice.

We are that hybrid for business as usual and project-based legal work. We work with large Australian household brands, and even startups.

Why did you decide to start Neon Legal and how has it grown?

Well there is a bit of history to why I started Neon Legal back in 2016. It was primarily for lifestyle reasons and all came about because I became a mother.

Ultimately it was a very positive next step into the next stage of my career.

We are a modern law firm because I wanted to create dynamic landscape to act for interesting clients.

It was a practical decision but it was ultimately my desire to do it in a way that I could see scope for innovation and that drove my decision making and gave me the impetus to start Neon Legal.

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

I mix with a diverse range of businesses and people that are innovative and it was a path that I wanted to follow with them – a far more interesting path than the nine-to-five corporate gig in a black suit.

When I worked at as a national senior lawyer for Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), Australia’s largest entertainment company, I loved every day in my six years there. I was surrounded by not only music but a diverse world of creativity.

That is what interests me and excites me. And that sparked my desire to more away from the traditional law firm to a more stimulating world.

To go back, I was pregnant with my first child, and working at SCA I was commuting to Melbourne from Geelong five days a week, and to Sydney each fortnight as part of my legal team were based in Sydney and I needed to be visible.

As a media and entertainment commercial lawyer, I was up and ready to ‘legal’ breakfast radio for Triple M and Fox FM nationally – primarily for Melbourne and Sydney stations.

The early hours of breakfast radio meant that my days started about 4.30am because of a daily commute to Melbourne. This was fine before I had children!

But then, the circumstances in which I had Tom played a big part in my life decisions and made me think that the next stage of my career had to adapt to the way I wanted to live my life as a mother and still have a creative interesting career as a lawyer.

I had Tom at 32 weeks of my pregnancy – early! Due to sudden onset of pre-eclampsia.

It was very unexpected. We both spent some weeks in hospital in Melbourne and eventually I was able to take my little 4-pound premmie home.

It because obvious to me that having a young baby and commuting to Melbourne for work was not going to provide me with flexibility I needed in my life as a new mum.

While on maternity leave I decided that I would resign from Southern Cross Austereo and start Neon Legal.

It was a necessary next step in my career and it was so exciting to me.

I started Neon Legal as a sole practitioner and I had core clients in the areas of sport, entertainment and technology.

About two years later I had my second child, Sadie. My pregnancy with her was high risk as I had medical complications that were being monitored by various specialists. During this time I managed to adapt work to accommodate home life.

Soon Sadie arrived. Again it was high drama, emergency... (I don’t like drama!). This time I had a medical complication from a variant form of preeclampsia and after a brief stint in ICU in Geelong, but I was very fortunate to leave hospital with another healthy little 36-week premmie.

An opportunity presented for me to manage an alternative legal services business in Melbourne with Lawyers on Demand. It was an exciting prospect and as a sole practitioner I had missed the action of a busy law firm environment.

So with day care and some family help in place, I decided to try part time work and I put Neon Legal on pause.

Life was very organised to make it all work and it was not without pressure… and then the pandemic hit.

The pandemic reminded me how much easier life was to be local and flexible, without commuting.

So with that, my two-year stint of part-time commuting to Melbourne and working from home was complete.

In 2020 I decided that it was time to reinvigorate Neon Legal, it was a very deliberate next step in my career.

With Tom starting school in 2021 it was the perfect time to build the law firm and have the flexibility that my home life needed to manage school hours and allow me that flexibility to be a mother and make it work for our lives.

Shannon joined me in 2021, and again it was a natural progression to have a business partner with the same mindset to work and life.

She also has an entrepreneurial spirit and we have been friends for some years – she was head of legal at Cotton On for many years and used to brief me in work. Our life priorities align and we love the exciting opportunities that business presents.

I am sure that my story – to find that balance so you can be a mother in that way you want to and yet have a great and fulfilling career - is a similar story for so many women.

Again, I simply chose to put my children first and build the life that I want to live, a happy life, that is balanced so that I can be present as a mum and continue to pursue an interesting career.

You are a single mum, running her own business and raising two gorgeous children. How do you make it all work?

I make a conscious decision to make it work. Literally.

I am very conscious of making decisions to make life the way I want to live it, for me and for my children.

AUTUMN 2023 9

It’s Your Life I always put what works for us, for me and for the children, first. And that’s not negotiable.

And when it doesn’t all work, I have learnt to simply embrace the imperfect.

Sure, I might have to get groceries delivered at the last minute (I just did!) or I may have been able to pre-organise meals for the entire week and be very organised in a routine.

Either way, I simply choose not to worry about it.

I also try not to over-complicate things and not to over-commit. Home time is calm space, its relaxed and happy, we enjoy the simple things and prioritise time with family and friends.

Actually, we have a disco light that we often put in the kitchen and we just play music, have a crazy dance and laugh. Those times of play and joy with little kids are so fun.

Sure, it is a busy life for me in many respects, but it’s very balanced and my focus is on my children.

I think a big part of it is that I am not ‘in a rush’. I love those little conversations with my kids about the world and having the time in the present to have those chats is so special.

My business plays a critical part in making it work. I have made a conscious effort to set up my commitments with work and the business so that it all works to our life, for me, as I need it to.

I am able to drop and pick up from school – if I were commuting for work that would not be possible, so its really wonderful that Neon Legal is able to provide that life for me and the kids, and I work hard to ensure that it continues.

The pandemic certainly helped that shift in mindset for our clients – we need to be contactable and we have strong relationship with our clients to make that work for their needs, too.

It hasn’t mattered where we were based, we can deliver what they need remotely.

What do you think are the key ingredients to making a successful business?

The success of our business to date has been that we are different from the traditional law firm because we believe that being dynamic is of value to our clients.

The way we deliver legal services to our clients that are not traditional and it works for our clients – best of all it works for us.

That is a unique proposition in our industry, but its been necessary for us, and we have shown that it works.

We have creative and interesting clients who are innovative, and we have shown that we have a similar mindset by turning a traditional law firm model into something that has adapted for a modern way of working and lifestyles.

Our business is well… very busy. The adage is still true – find a busy lawyer, it’s a good sign of their skills and value when they are in demand.

Whether we are working remotely for Ashai or Carlton United Breweries, or locally for Cotton On or the City of Greater Geelong on site, all the way to the Western Bulldogs Football Club to multi national cyber encryption organisations, its been important for us also to be connected to start ups in the local region and develop our local ties to emerging entrepreneurs.

We have also made good local networks in our industry with an Internship program with the law school at Deakin Uni, and we have good local clients who we have worked with for a long time to the extent that we feel like part of their business.

Do you have any future goals you can share?

Well it’s 2023 and both my kids are now at school – I cannot believe it! I have a few goals planned out for us at home, a few creative projects for the house and some holidays.

I have plans for Neon Legal to develop over the next two years which we are working on now. We currently have a team of five and hope to further expand soon.

Actually, I recently embarked on a very cool new opportunity which I am quietly confident will take shape in the next few years and open a new business path for Shannon and I. Keep an eye out, we have only just started!

If you have a small business or side hustle that you want make your primary gig, you can find Sarah and her legal team at www.neonlegal.com.au.

Name: Sarah Galbally Occupation: Lawyer (and #BossMum) Kids: ■ Tom – “He is my kind and quiet studious achiever, lover of footy cards, and passionate about playing soccer.”

■ Sadie – “She is certainly filled with kindness and joy. If you squeezed her, glitter and unicorns would spill out.”

My happy place is… Anywhere by the water, at the beach, with my kids. Having access to so many fabulous beach spots just a short drive away is a huge benefit of living here.

Favourite coffee in Geelong: On the weekend we love to walk to our local Funk. We can sit out in the garden with a milkshake and coffee. The guys have delicious home-made treats and it’s a lovely way to start the weekend with fresh air and calm vibes. Check it out – that’s my tip!

My hidden talent is… I suppose it’s that I speak French, although I am rusty! My stats on Wordle are looking good at the moment!

Chocolate or cheese? Most definitely it is both! I have a sweet tooth and Tom has certainly inherited that from me. He even has managed to pull a lollypop out of his pocket today I see….kids!

A book you love: As a lawyer, my days are filled with reading, so it is not my go-to unless I am on holiday. I have a few books on the bed side waiting to be opened not sure if or when that will happen!

A movie you love: I love movies – I have a few that I watch on repeat.

But recently I have been known to binge a TV series in record time.

Succession, Veep, The White Lotus, Schitts Creek.

Mantra: ‘Your girlfriends make the world go round!’ I am a huge believer in the strength of the women in your life being so important. It is always the women who get you through all the different stages of your life, and I know it to be true. I don’t now what I would do without my mum, my daughter, my business partner and my best girl friends - they are all so important to my happiness.

What advice would you have for new parents? My business partner Shannon is soon to have her first baby – which is so exciting! So I was actually thinking about this in the last few weeks and the primary thing that I always come back to is: Don’t read all the baby books when you’re pregnant!

Certainly learn and educate yourself, speak to your friends who have been mums recently, but do what works for you and your child, and what works for your family. Put what works for you before what people say is the ‘best way’ to do something. What works for you may not be what works best for the next person, and that’s OK. Don’t overload yourself with parenting books and information.

The mental load of the huge volume of advice alone will give you anxiety! Take it day by day and do what works for you and your child.

10 AUTUMN 2023

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

DINING & LEISURE Just a 30-minute drive from Geelong’s CBD, The Barwon Hotel is the third oldest pub in Victoria.

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AUTUMN 2023 11

202312001-SN12-23

It’s Your Life

Youth mental health centre GEELONG will soon be home to a new youth mental health facility.

The State Government will build a new Youth Prevention and Recovery Care (YPARC) centre on Little Fyans Street, South Geelong.

Building more facilities that provide early intervention care and recoveryfocused treatment will reduce pressure on Victoria’s hospitals.

Others will be built in Heidelberg, Traralgon, Shepparton and Ballarat, to add to those in Bendigo, Dandenong and Frankston.

The new centres will each have 10 private bedrooms complete with ensuite bathrooms, communal kitchens, dining and living areas, breakout spaces and outdoor gardens for rest and recovery, as well as family visits.

A recommendation from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, the new YPARC centres will provide flexible, around-the-clock clinical care for young people aged 16 to 25 years experiencing mental ill health.

Designs for the new facilities will draw on the insights and experiences of clinicians, carers and young people with lived experience of mental illhealth by inviting them to actively participate in workshops.

Geelong YPARC will provide early intervention care and recovery-focused treatment.

Girls just want to have fun Nearly two thirds of those who left reported their main reason for stopping – especially for teenagers – was because they were not having fun.

Researcher Professor Rochelle Eime said at a time when community sport clubs were desperate to attract members and keep them, the findings revealed many retention issues, but ones that were easy to fix.

“Clubs can focus too much on pennants and medals, yet the research shows players mainly want to have fun, especially at the crucial adolescent stage when we lose so many young women and girls.”

Other major reasons included losing interest, having an unfriendly coach or official, injuries, or feeling too old.

“Clubs need to ensure what they offer aligns to the reasons girls and women get involved in the first place,” she said.

The types of volunteers who tend to get involved in community sport can create club cultures that value winning and competition above everything else, said Professor Eime.

By Melissa Meehan

the other half were still involved with their sport.

WHEN it comes to playing community sport – it seems girls just want to have fun.

Victoria University research tracked more than 5,000 females who participated either in community club gymnastics or football (soccer) around Australia from 2019 to 2021.

About half the survey respondents had stopped participating, and

“Most members are not there to enjoy themselves - not to win or get the top award.”

The main factor for younger girls aged under 12 dropping out was cost – a decision that would likely be made by parents, said Professor Eime.

For women aged over 18, the main reason was COVID-19.

However, not having fun was also a major reason to leave in both cohorts – similar to the teenager group.

Professor Eime said COVID’s devastating impact on community sport memberships in recent years provided real opportunities for a major overhaul of the ways clubs attracted and kept members.

Girls would rather play sport for fun, than an pennant - research shows.

“Volunteer groups are often dominated by people who are either very good at the sport, or have children who are,” she said. “They want their child to be the next player for the Matildas and forget about others.”

Professor Eime said the strict, timetabled way community sport is presented hasn’t changed in generations, in contrast to the less organised alternatives girls and women can choose for fun and fitness.

For example, females who join a pilates class or take dance lessons have more flexibility about when and how often they participate, and a wider choice in skill levels, she said.

The report found community sport clubs could improve membership retention by: ■ developing strategies and programs that focus on fun and enjoyment in the sport ■ ensure training and competitions allow all players to improve their skills, not just elite members ■ assist with costs by re-purposing equipment or uniforms, or offering discounts to volunteers.

12 AUTUMN 2023

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

Education

Parents and experts align EARLY-CHILDHOOD experts and advocates are hopeful the federal government’s plan to prioritise child development will give Australian kids the best start to life.

children and parents access support.

About 100 childhood development experts gathered at Parliament House for the national early-years summit.

“We’re listening to families and mapping out where we can do better.”

Summit outcomes will inform a national strategy, due to be released in October, to improve early-years development in Australia for newborn babies up to five-year-olds.

Catherine Liddle, chief executive of the the national voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children SNAICC, told AAP the summit showed a willingness to think differently about how best to support children.

“There is a shared vision about how we can create the best start to life and the barriers that are often overlooked,” she said.

“The next step is to hear from people on the ground and get the consultation right so that government is informed in its policy making.”

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth plans to hold round tables across the country to help inform the strategy.

She said this would ensure the biggest gaps in services were identified and show what was needed to help

“We need to make sure that children are not relegated to the background, that they are brought out front and centre,” she told reporters in Canberra.

Former Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins and children’s author Mem Fox were among attendees, along with Thrive by Five director Jay Weatherill and The Parenthood chief executive Georgie Dent.

adolescence, with children affected by parental mental illness being at particularly high risk,” she said.

Ms Dent called on the government to be ambitious to ensure the best models of early-childhood development, education and care were adopted.

She said one in five Australian children arrived at school developmentally vulnerable.

In rural areas, that number rises to two in five and is higher still for Indigenous children.

Mr Weatherill said the summit could not “tinker around the edges” but must lay the foundation for a new approach to the early years.

He called for federal and state legislation to ensure every Australian child had guaranteed access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education and care.

- AAP Minister Amanda Rishworth (in pink) said expert knowledge had to be combined with parents’ voices.

Picture: Mick Tsikas/AAP Photos

Early Childhood Education Minister Anne Aly said the summit brought together experts, advocates and parents to discuss ideas to ensure no child was left behind.

“This is an amazing opportunity for us to set a trajectory for Australian children now and into the future,” she said.

Child psychiatrists want government to address gaps in funding, availability and access to professional mental health services for children and their families.

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Professor Valsa Eapen said too many children in need of support were missing out but early intervention was crucial.

“Most adult mental health problems have their origins in childhood and

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/GeelongBaptistCollege AUTUMN 2023 13

Education

Autism guidelines welcomed CHILDREN with autism should have their neurodiversity embraced rather than it being seen as something that must be cured, new national guidelines say.

The federal government recently released Australia’s first national practice guidelines to promote the education, participation and wellbeing of autistic children and their families.

The guidelines feature 84 recommendations for practitioners to ensure there is effective and consistent support available to children up to the age of 12.

One of the recommendations is that supports should be neurodiversityaffirming, embracing each child’s understanding of other people and the world around them.

Practitioners should also not seek to cure a child’s autism, instead finding ways to help them acquire skills that are relevant to their participation in meaningful daily activities.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the guidelines, which were developed by 15 experts, were about bringing evidence-based supports for autistic children.

“Our government has a clear and dedicated vision to improve the lives of

all autistic people,” she said in a statement.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the guidelines, which were developed by 15 experts, were about bringing evidencebased supports for autistic children.

Picture: Lukas Coch/AAP Photos

“By working closely with the autism community and making sure their voices are at the centre of policy making, we are committed to improving research and supports and to ensure no one gets left behind.”

Autism Awareness Australia chief operating officer Elizabeth Sarian said the guidelines were game-changers and long overdue.

“For too long there has been misinformation and a lack of evidencebased practice when it comes to autism therapies and practitioners,” she told AAP in a statement.

“We welcome these new guidelines and hope they are quickly adopted as standard practice.”

Amaze Australia chief executive Jim Mullan also supported the new guidelines, saying the advocacy group would work hard to support their implementation.

About one in 70 Australians has been diagnosed with autism.

Work has started on a national autism strategy, which will support the implementation of the guidelines.

-AAP

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Outdoor Learning

www.saqueenscliff.catholic.edu.au Call: 5258 1736 www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

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Small Class Sizes

It’s Your Life

Play is crucial for kids ONE in eight parents believe play is mostly a waste of time.

Australian children spending more time playing outdoors.

According to the latest Royal Children’s Hospital National Child Health Poll, Australian families: How we play, most parents enjoy playing with their child.

A third of parents believe play should always be supervised by an adult (38 per cent) and say it is not good for play to involve risk (32 percent).

But two thirds say they often find playing with their child hard or boring.

Dr Anthea Rhodes, paediatrician and poll director, said the findings showed that while parents recognised the importance of play, there were still some knowledge gaps.

“Play is a crucial part of children’s learning and development, with so many benefits for physical, mental and social health,” she said.

“However, our recent study shows that some parents believe play is fun but not essential and one in eight parents believe that play is mostly a waste of time.

“Most parents do enjoy playing with their child but we found many parents admit that they don’t always know how to play with their child and one half of parents are not confident that they could help their child to play.

“We also found that two in three parents sometimes find it hard or boring to play with their child, with dads more likely to find it boring or hard than mums.”The poll surveyed 2036 parents between September and October 2022, providing data on 3351 children aged between one month and 17 years.

Most parents (94 percent) recognise play is important for a child’s health including physical wellbeing and brain development.

Less than half (45 percent) of Australian children play outdoors most days, and 80 percent of parents would like their children to spend more time outdoors.

Time, safety concerns and weather are among the leading barriers to

“Trying to navigate risk is an important part of play and can be beneficial for children’s learning,” Dr Rhodes said.

“It can sometimes be challenging to identify the difference between a healthy level of risk and a situation that is hazardous, when it comes to children’s play.

“It’s about allowing children and young people to have experiences that challenge and test them, without putting them in danger.

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“That line will be different for every child.”

The survey explored differences in types of play, as parents reported on outdoor play, digital play and play away from the home.

The most common type of play was play with digital devices, with more than half of children playing inside on a digital device or screen most days of the week.

“Parents feel that play has changed over the years, with two-thirds saying play was better when they were growing up than it is for children today, and three-quarters believing it is good for children to be bored sometimes,” Dr Rhodes said.

“Many parents find their kids are ‘stuck to their screens’ but may not realise that using digital devices can also be a form of play.

“It’s really about how the technology is being used.

“Children can express their imagination, curiosity and creativity through screenbased play.”

Our Vision: Geelong High School is a positive and creative learning community that embraces its history and prepares students for life.

We are committed to: Developing caring and respectful relationships; Empowering people to realise their potential through effort, responsibility and teamwork; Building healthy resilient and productive global citizens.

Our core values: RESPECT – Responsibility, Effort, Service, Positivity, Excellence, Creativity, Teamwork.

For a virtual tour of what Geelong High School offers, please visit www.geelonghigh.vic.edu.au

The survey found 80 percent of parents would like their children to spend more time outdoors.

385 Ryrie St, East Geelong Phone 5225 4100 Email: geelong.hs@education.vic.gov.au 12591378-FC11-23

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

AUTUMN 2023 15

Reality Bites

Susie’s still smiling

By Melissa Meehan

This gave her a pointier, more triangle shaped forehead.

SUSIE Cullen has always been a happy and easy going baby.

There is no evidence as to why this happens and only occurs about 1 in 3000 births.

She is always smiling, laughing and making those around her laugh.

And her favourite thing to do is dance around the house and play with her brother Wes. Looking at her now, you wouldn’t know Susie was born with a birth defect called Craniosynostosis.

A condition when the sections of a baby’s skull fuse too early.

The ‘cracks’ in a baby’s skull are called Sutures, and in Susie’s case the Metopic Suture that runs down the forehead was fused at birth.

Her mum Donna McGowan hadn’t heard of the condition when a midwife first raised concerns about Susie’s “unusual” forehead at birth.

A paediatrician assessed her when she was one day old and referred them to the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne plastics department.

“We had a consultation when Susie was three months old. The surgeon took one look at Susie an confirmed she had Craniosynostosis and would require Bi-frontal orbital advancement surgery between 11 and 14 months of age,” Donna told Kids Today.

“Neither of us had heard of it before, but chatting to friends and family we soon realised it was fairly common and many people we spoke to knew of someone that had it.”

Susie’s prognosis was good and her surgeon was confident that surgery would be successful and generally improve her quality of life.

It was clear that he was very experienced, saying that he did this

kind of surgery twice a month, and the success rate was very high “Our hearts sank when he said surgery,” Donna said.

“The thought of our tiny baby having a General Anaesthetic and such an invasive surgical procedure that would require her brain to be exposed for a period of time and a blood transfusion had us terrified.

“But Susie’s surgeons comforted us and they had our full trust.”

Without surgery Susie’s brain wouldn’t have had the ideal space to grow into.

Her forehead would have continued to grow in a pointy shape and she would have looked noticeably different and would have had to live with everything that comes with that.

They waited eight long months to be given a surgery date.

And while they tried not to think of it too much, Donna would get upset when she did.

“I couldn’t help having mum guilt and wondering if it was something I did during pregnancy to cause this,” she said.

Donna, Susie and Wes are all smiles.

Pictures: Rob Carew

16 AUTUMN 2023

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

“Once we had the date the nervous butterflies really kicked in as now it was time to have imaging and blood tests done.”

While in hospital, Brendan did his best to keep Wes’ days as normal as possible with kinder and a sleep over at his grandparents.

But when it was time for surgery Donna pulled herself together to be strong for her little girl.

They would also video call Donna from home, but didn’t show Susie as they didn’t want him to worry.

It was during peak Covid-19 times. So only one parent could attend and because Donna had more knowledge of general anaesthetics through work, seeing hundreds of kids go under anaesthetic she was the chosen one.

Brendan says he found it difficult not being with her as much as Donna was.

“I knew I had to be strong for her, to show her there’s no reason to be afraid and everything would be fine,” Donna said.

“I was fine until just after she went to sleep, then I broke down and all the emotions I had kept down for her came out and didn’t stop for the next 6 hours.”

The surgery consisted of removing the forehead section of skull, breaking it into pieces and putting it all back together using dissolvable pins and screws.

“I remember going into recovery to be with her for when she wakes, seeing her incision line, puffy and different looking face and cords coming out of every arm and leg - it broke my heart,” Donna said. “=It was nothing I could have prepared for. But within hours she was sitting having bottles and smiling and my heart was no longer broken but was filled with pride, that such a tiny human went through such a massive ordeal.”

Within 24 hours after the surgery Susie’s swelling kicked in – both eyes swollen shut and it was obvious she was uncomfortable.

He found himself stressing at nights but he busied himself with caring for Wes. He even treated him to tram rides and McDonalds dinner.

Susie’s surgeons were very pleased with how the surgery went.

And her 3 months post op check her surgeon was very pleased with the new shape of her head and how she was healing.

He doesn’t expect any future issues or need for more surgeries.

She is now on annual checks and will be until 16 years of age.

Donna and Brendan’s words of advice for parents about to go through the same thing: “As hard as it is, don’t blame yourselves. Push that parent guilt aside! Kids are tough, its incredible how much they can cope with,” Donna said.

“I would recommend joining a Facebook group and chatting to families going through similar things or who have been through it already.”

But within three days she was well enough to go home to her brother Wes and dad Brendan.

Susie and Wes share a wonderful bond.

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

AUTUMN 2023 17

Reality Bites

Ruairí the lucky last

By Casey Neill GABRIELLE Williams always had in the back of her mind that she “probably couldn’t have kids”.

“As a protective mechanism I worked from the assumption that I couldn’t, and therefore tried not to want it too much,” the Dandenong MP and State Government Minister said.

“As I got older and then made the call to do IVF, I wanted it a lot more.

“With every failure and loss and with the clock ticking, that longing grows.

“I also began to think it was less and less likely.”

She was approaching 40 and over 5.5 years had been through multiple IVF cycles to circumvent her polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

“I’d already made the decision that I couldn’t keep going, I couldn’t keep doing it, so that was it,” she said.

Then Ruairí came along.

“He was the last embryo,” Gabrielle said.

“I’d ended up with five or six, which was a pretty good haul of embryos, but by the time I got them tested, that wiped out all of them bar one.

“I was convinced it wasn’t going to work and almost moved on the minute I’d had it done.

“I went straight back to work from the clinic and got on with my day.”

“I was less manic about that round.

“It wasn’t occupying every minute of my thoughts the way that every other round had.”

A self-described “chronic pregnancy tester”, Gabrielle took an at-home test five days post embryo transfer.

“It came up positive and I thought ‘oh yeah, I’ve been here before though and it’s faded’,” she said.

She tested again on days six, seven and eight and that line kept getting darker.

“But I was still not ready to get too excited yet,” she said.

“Then we got into the world of scans and he was there

and confirmed.

option for her.

“Then I thought I lost him at six weeks. I was convinced I’d lost him.”

“We do have a donor shortage so the list is pretty thin. Sometimes you have to wait quite a while for the right one,” she said.

She’d had a bleed but it was the weekend, so her specialist told her to come in on Monday.

But one of her sisters wouldn’t let her wait under the worry. She drove Gabrielle to Monash Medical Centre and waited outside for her, in the midst of Covid challenges.

She waited a few weeks, requesting the list of potential donors at 7am every morning.

“If you found one that was appropriate you had to be really quick at requesting it,” she said.

“I hadn’t at any point heard the baby’s heartbeat before then, and I wasn’t expecting it would be there,” she said.

“There’s legislative caps on how many families each donor can have.

We’ve just changed it from 10 women to 10 families.

“I’d kept it together until then, but I completely fell in a heap when I heard him and he was fine.”

“It’s a bit of a competition to land your donor.

Despite having her age and PCOS as risk factors, Gabrielle’s pregnancy progressed well.

“It was hard getting to him, but when he was there it seemed to run fairly smoothly,” she said.

Gabrielle had started the IVF process while she was married, but when the relationship broke down she was determined to continue the process alone.

“That meant going through a sperm donor, which is not an easy process,” she said.

She thought hard about whether to ask someone she knew but decided an anonymous donor was the best

“Because I’m raising him as a single mum - it sounds a bit silly, and perhaps it is silly - but I wanted him to feel as connected to me as he could.

“So I was looking for someone with the basic attributes that I had - brown hair, brown eyes, but hopefully a bit taller.

“That is what I found, basically. I even found a donor that said he had wavy hair as well.”

There’s no compensation for sperm donors.

“And it’s not an easy process because you’ve got to provide a lot of information about yourself, there’s genetic screenings,” she said.

“So men who commit to doing this, it’s a big commitment.

Gabrielle and Ruairí in her elecorate office.

Picture: Rob Carew

“I find myself now always having conversations with friends who fit the eligibility criteria, saying ‘you should do this’, it’s really helpful and it changes someone’s life for minimal inconvenience to them in the greater scheme.

Gabrielle and baby Ruairí.

18 AUTUMN 2023

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

Gabrielle and Ruairí in her elecorate office.

Picture: Rob Carew

Gabrielle on the campaign trail with baby Ruairí.

“Statistically, there are more and more women having children on their own.

was still alive and he was still looking happy and I was OK I thought ‘I can do this’.

“There’s going to be more of us, not less, which means the role of donors then becomes more important.”

“It was a good crash course, those first 24 hours.”

Gabrielle made a “calculated decision” to become a single mum.

“I weighed up the reality of doing it alone pretty heavily and had conversations with my family about it,” she said.

“For me to be able to do it, I had to make sure I had plenty of support from them.

“I’m very blessed to be one of four girls so I’ve got three big sisters.

“I knew I had their support and they were very eager to give me that support.”

Her parents are also a huge support.

But the reality of entering motherhood solo?

“It’s a shell shock for everyone,” she laughed.

“My mum was in the delivery room with me. He was born first thing in the morning.

“You get to the end of the day and you’re in bed and mum’s gone home and I remember having him lying in the bassinet next to me and thinking ‘oh wow, what now?’.

“It was just me and him.

“It was a very big jump in the deep end, not having anyone with me that first night.

“I thought ‘it’s never going to be quite so hard, in a way, as it is tonight’ because it’s all new, I’m confined to the bed because I’d just had a caesarean.

“By the time the sun came up and he www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

Ruairí was four months old when we spoke and, like most mums, Gabrielle was still in the thick of figuring out motherhood - and how to make it work alongside a demanding career.

“What works this week might not work next week, so I’m having to build that uncertainty into my diary and into how I work,” she said.

“There’s a serenity, almost, attached to the fact that you can’t change it and it is what it is.

“I’m fortunate enough to be in a job that does give me some flexibility.”

Breastfeeding and pumping mean carting a pump and other supplies around Parliament House, and instigating a parenting room.

“I’m very lucky that I’ve been able to feed and it’s happened quite easily for me, which isn’t the case for everybody,” she said.

“But feeding is a challenge, it’s a challenge that I continue to navigate.

“You never master it.

“I do find that there’s a calm in just accepting that you can’t predict it.”

Gabrielle has great support from her electorate and ministerial staff.

Newborn Ruairí.

weeks after he was born and he came with me,” Gabrielle said.

reminder of why we’re here and what we’re doing.”

“I had to be doing it and it was important.

Gabrielle was reluctant to give any advice to other women battling infertility.

“I tried to target what I was doing.”

Previously she would have spent every day at pre-polling booths, from open to close. So she cut back the hours.

“The upside of having him when I’ve had him is on the back of Covid, we’ve got a lot more used to doing things online,” she said.

She’s acutely aware that everyone’s situation is different.

“Be kind to yourself, no matter what decision you come to,” she said.

“You can’t be influenced by whatever anyone else says. It’s not their experience.

Gabrielle was first elected in 2014 and never considered stepping away from the seat.

“The only advice I can give is you’ve got to listen to your own circumstance and make the call yourself.

“I’ll always do this job as long as I’ve got the passion for it,” she said.

“You’ll get pulled in different directions

“Having him didn’t change that.

“Keep checking in with yourself.

“If anything it’s made me more impatient for change.

“You can get caught on the roller coaster of it.”

Ruairí was born just weeks before the 2022 Victorian State election.

“I can see in my own domestic circumstances the impact of what we do and in very real terms the idea that you want to leave the place better than where you found it.

Watching Gabrielle hold a smiling Ruairí on her lap while we chat, it’s obvious that every low on her roller coaster was worth it.

“I did my first press conference two

“He’s another inspiration point and a

“They’ve all had to learn how to do their jobs a little bit differently,” she said.

“But they’ve ridden the journey with me as well.

“Now that he’s here they’re all rapt.”

“He’s everything I could have hoped,” she said.

AUTUMN 2023 19

Entertainment

GAC’s Family Magic DISCOVER a world of music, stories, workshops and magic all year at Geelong Arts Centre’s Family Magic.

With four captivating performances, and loads of school holiday fun, Geelong Arts Centre’s 2023 Family Magic program facilitates growth by sparking a lifelong love of the arts for children of all ages and abilities with their families.

From whimsical renditions of awardwinning books to Australian Ballet workshops, there’s so much to love in Family Magic 2023.

On Saturday 1 April, CDP Kids take David Walliams’ award-winning book Mr Stink from page to stage at Costa Hall for children aged 6-plus and their adults.

This touching, twisted, hilarious (and smelly!) tale urges audience members to open their imaginations and hold on to their noses.

Then, just in time for the April school holidays, on 14 and 15 April, Georgie Rose Puppetry sprinkles magic all around with an immersive puppetry workshop Magic Makers and accompanying puppet show A Magical Quest! Recommended for ages 5 to 11 years, this delightful puppet show includes a diverse troupe of puppets, illusions, and stunning music.

Come Saturday 17 June, the Australian Chamber Orchestra will enchant children aged 2 to 8 years and

their adults with a whimsical, intergenerational reimagining of Mem Fox and Julie Vivas’ beloved Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge.

Weaving together captivating storytelling with mesmerising music in an immersive and intimate performance, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge is the perfect introduction to live classical music, guaranteed to enchant audiences both young and old.

Then, on Saturday 26 August, Windmill Theatre Company presents HICCUP; a hilarious rocking musical extravaganza for children aged 4 to 8 years and their adults about working together, finding friendship and how to, once and for all, stop the hiccups.

Another celebrated puppet work from the award-winning Windmill Theatre Company (‘Grug’, ‘Grug and the Rainbow’ and ‘Beep’), this truly unique theatrical experience features gorgeous native Australian animals and super catchy songs from award-winning composer, Ross McHenry.

If you’re one step ahead of the pack and already looking forward to the July school holidays, get ready to give your children an experience they will never forget.

The Australian Ballet is coming back to Geelong to teach children from 3 to

Play School’s Teo and Alex with Little Ted and Humpty Dumpty.

12 years of age a thing or two with their all inclusive ballet workshop, created especially for students of all abilities and levels of experience.

And that’s not all - those who attend the workshop will get to watch a performance of The Story of Pomi and Gobba!

Book your kids into these spellbinding, enchanted shows and create ever lasting memories with Family Magic at Geelong Arts Centre.

Looking to experience the ultimate family day out? There’s still time to subscribe and save up to 10 per cent with a flexible subscription package at geelongartscentre.org.au/geelong-artscentre-presents.

Geelong Arts Centre is passionate about providing every single child the opportunity that the wonderful world of creative arts gives.

For details regarding AUSLANinterpreted shows and relaxed performances, please seek the details of each individual show via the Geelong Arts Centre website.

Tickets to all Family Magic events are on sale now at geelongartscentre.org. au/family-magic-2023 or contact the Geelong Arts Centre Box Office on 1300 251 200 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

It’s Play School!

HUMPTY is putting on his very own show!

He gathers the Play School toys to help with the big spectacular with starring roles for Jemima, Big Ted, Little Ted and guest appearances from other Play School favourites along the way.

Filled with fun songs to sing and dance to, this 40-minute show has been specially designed to delight pre-schoolers and parents alike.

As with the television program, everything in the concert is carefully paced, especially for children. There are songs to move to, as well as quiet times to just watch and listen.

The familiarity of the material and the presenters combined totally engage the young audience, encouraging lots of audience participation.

Join Alex, Teo, and the toy’ in Humpty’s Showtime.

Visit www.kidspromotions.com.au for tickets.

WHAT’S ON

FAMILY MAGIC BOOK NOW

MR STINK

1 APR

A CDP KIDS PRODUCTION AGES 6+ AND THEIR ADULTS

WILFRID GORDON MCDONALD PARTRIDGE

17 JUN

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA AGES 2-8 AND THEIR ADULTS

HICCUP

26 AUG

A WINDMILL THEATRE COMPANY PRODUCTION AGES 4-8 AND THEIR ADULTS

CALL 1300 251 200 ONLINE GEELONGARTSCENTRE.ORG.AU IN PERSON 81 RYRIE ST, 9AM-5PM MON-FRI QR CODE SCAN THE QR CODE We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which Geelong Arts Centre stands, the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, to Elders present and to emerging leaders, recognising their continuing connection to land, water, culture and community.

Please note: All information within this ad is correct at time of print.

APRIL SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

MAGIC MAKERS: PUPPETRY WORKSHOP GEORGIE ROSE PUPPETRY AGES 5-11 AND THEIR ADULTS

12-15 APR

JULY SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET DANCE WORKSHOPS

4-6 JUL

THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET

BY EDITA KNOWLER AGES 3-5, 6-8 AND 9-12 AND THEIR ADULTS 12589930-KG11-23

20 AUTUMN 2023

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

Books

Blocking bullies CHILDREN, parents and therapists alike can learn a thing or two from a little dog named Harry.

Armadale psychologist and bullying expert Evelyn M Field wrote Harry the Bully Blocker to empower anyone being bullied - child, teenager or adult.

Harry’s tale is written as a rhyming poem to help readers remember the words.

In a dream, the shy, bullied little dog meets some friendly animals who teach him useful bully-blocking skills.

Mia the meerkat tells him the best ways to respond to bullying.

Ollie the owl emphasises eye contact.

Gerry the giraffe explains the importance of good posture.

Harry is told that “when you block others politely, they feel confused and stuck. They don’t know what to do or say, and become dumbstruck”.

It takes away their power, the other wise animals tell him, and they become surprised and embarrassed.

“You need respect, they realise,” the book says.

“Everyone knows that being embarrassed is a real pain.

“You can be sure that they won’t try to bully you again!”

Harry puts his new skills into practice and welcomes the results.

The story is based on the therapy model Evelyn developed to train psychologists, and on years of teaching bullied people of all ages to manage their basic survival instinct.

“Harry the Bull Blocker can help anyone who feels like a bullied child learn how to block bullies and build important social skills,” Evelyn said.

Harry’s tale is written as a poem.

Children’s books...

Little Treasure

Jamie

Hello, Emma Memma

Chanelle Cosper & Jennifer Goldsmith

A beautiful and uplifting story from L.D. Lapinski, author of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, about how to make your own place when the world doesn’t think you fit anywhere. For readers of Alex Gino’s Melissa, and Benjamin Dean’s Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow.

Introducing Emma Memma!

A tender picture book that will touch the hearts of children and parents alike, with its poetic observations about the unbreakable bond between mother and child and its reminder to treasure every moment together. Perfect for Mother’s Day. Lothian Children’s Books $24.99

Jamie Rambeau is a happy 11-year-old non-binary kid who likes nothing better than hanging out with their two best friends Daisy and Ash. Orion Children’s Books $16.99

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

Join Emma Memma for a magical story time as she says hello to the world.

Here she is! The wait is finally over, beloved children’s entertainer Emma Watkins’ next chapter has been unveiled as she makes a joyful transformation into Emma Memma.

Sing, dance and sign with Emma Memma!

Puffin $19.99

Ratbags 1: Naughty for Good

Can You Get Rainbows in Space?

Shiloh Gordon and Tim Harris

Dr Sheila Kanani

From award-winning bestselling author and funnyman, Tim Harris, comes this stupendously rat-tastic new series. These are the Ratbags.

They have pizza, and they are NOT afraid to use it.

Why is blood red? Why are carrots orange? Who invented the lightbulb? Why is the world ‘going green’? Is the sky really blue? And what is ultraviolet light?

Let’s face it – rats are mischief. Rats are rule-breakers.

Rats are ratbags. They’re all the same. All, that is, except one...

You’ll discover the answers to these questions - and many more - in this incredible collection of scientific facts about colour.

When Jigsaw runs into two of the most ratbaggy Ratbags known to rats, his orderly world is turned upside down and he pulls off one of the best pizza heists EVER! Will his newfound pizza obsession make Jigsaw the naughtiest Ratbag yet? Or will Jigsaw figure out how to be naughty – for good?!

Keep reading to discover why leaves change colour in the autumn, why your veins look blue but your blood is red, and how the language we use shapes the colours we see . . .

Puffin $14.99

Puffin $32.99

And you’ll even be taught by a real astronomer, Dr Sheila Kanani, exactly how to make a rainbow - in space.

AUTUMN 2023 21

Kids Calendar

What's on this Autumn UNTIL 24 MARCH GLOBAL FLAVOUR FEAST Stuck for that Friday night dinner? Grab the family and head down to the Bunjil Place Plaza Friday nights through March for this year’s exploration into some of the rich cultural diversity Melbourne and the Southeast has to offer.

Find food plus cultural performances and demonstrations from 5.30pm to 9.30pm.

UNTIL 10 APRIL JULIAN OPIE: STUDIO FOR KIDS This interactive exhibition for children and families was developed in collaboration with Julian Opie, one of Britain’s leading contemporary artists, and invites visitors to create portraits.

National Gallery of Victoria hosts this free event.

UNTIL 31 MAY MINI MAKERS Little hands and feet can play with paint, glitter, paste, sand, clay, slimy spaghetti, chalk, and much more.

National Wool Museum, 26-32 Moorabool Street, Geelong, is hosting several sessions, 10.30am to 11.15am.

Tickets are $6 for kids and free for accompanying adults

UNTIL 31 DECEMBER FITZROY GARDENS OUTDOOR ADVENTURE Entertain the kids by taking the outdoor adventure challenge in the heritagelisted Fitzroy Gardens.

Starting off at the Fitzroy Gardens Visitor Centre, kids will collect their map and then head off on their hunt to answer 12 questions around the gardens.

Suitable for primary school-aged children, but adult assistance is necessary. Remember to bring a pen or marker.

The Visitor Centre is open every day except Christmas Day in Wellington Parade, East Melbourne.

This is a free event and bookings are not required.

DAILY

HOLLAND FESTIVAL

8 APRIL

CHILDREN’S GALLERY MELBOURNE MUSEUM

Visit Akoonah Park, Berwick From 10am to 6pm for kibbeling, stroopwafers, ollie bollen and more.

BARWON RIVER DUCK RACE

Children can explore, play and learn at the Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery at Melbourne Museum.

Visit www.hollandfestival.org.au for more information..

Excavate fossils in a dinosaur dig, traverse the discovery garden, and boogie at a ‘camouflage disco’.

23 MARCH

The exhibitions combine hands-on exploration and discovery, open-ended play-based learning, extraordinary immersive environments and unique museum collection objects.

Psychologist and bestselling author Evelyn M Field presents Bully Blocker for Kids in this online workshop, 7.30pm to 8.30pm.

Suitable for babies to five-year-olds.

Melbourne Museum is at 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton. Book at museumsvictoria.com.au/ melbournemuseum/whats-on/ childrens-gallery.

9-12 MARCH MOOMBA FESTIVAL CARNIVAL Now running over five days, this event has rides to suit both big and little kids.

Enjoy the fun at Birrarung Marr. Tickets are priced from $7 to $20.

12 MARCH BELLARINE AGRICULTURAL SHOW The 31st Annual Bellarine Agricultural Show is a traditional country show and it’s got something for everyone.

Head to Portarlington Recreation Reserve, Boat Road, Portarlington, from 9am to 3pm.

Tickets are free for kids, $7.50 for seniors and $12.50 for adults.

VIsit www.bellarineshow.com.au.

18 MARCH CASEY KIDS CARNIVAL From noon to 5pm the Old Cheese Factory will host face painting, roving singing sailors, rides and inflatables, music and dance performers, stilt walkers, circus performers, gymnastics activation, AFL activation, a petting zoo, and much more.

There will also be displays by Ambulance Victoria, Victoria Police, Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) and the City of Casey Waste Team and Road Safety Team.

Entry is free but bookings are essential.

Visit tickets.bunjilplace.com.au/ casey-kids-carnival.

22 AUTUMN 2023

BULLY BLOCKER FOR KIDS

Raise money for Ocean Grove Rotary, Barwon Heads Primary School, Barwon Heads Scouts and the Barwon Heads Association.

From noon, ducks will make their way from the Barwon Heads pedestrian bridge to the finish line at the Ozone Jetty.

Entry is $10 per duck, with prizes up for grabs.

The session will cover: What is happening in schools today, how this impacts students, and how parents can empower their children.

Visit www.stonnington.vic.gov.au for more.

25, 26, 30, 31 MARCH, 1 & 2 APRIL OBANG ArtPlay is hosting this performative installation space designed for babies aged 6 to 18 months along with their care-givers, and is inspired by the traditional Korean concept of Obang.

In this work, Obang refers to five primary colours and explores the spatial meaning of home.

You are invited to a Korean grandmother’s home for a meal.

Together you will experience her daily life, including cooking, washing and singing.

Tickets are $15 for one child and an accompanying adult.

11-15 APRIL HAMLET: PRINCE OF SKIDMARK Playhouse is hosting this cheeky, irreverent riff on Hamlet made especially for children from The Listies.

Tickets are priced from $25 to $35.

21 APRIL THE FISH THAT WANTED TO FLY The Fish That Wanted to Fly is about having the courage to pursue something even if it seems likely you will never reach it.

Bunjil Place in Narre Warren will host the show at 10.30am and 12.30pm.

It’s recommended for 3 to 8 year olds.

Tickets are $8.

30 APRIL & 1 MAY 1, 12 & 13 APRIL

ARE WE THERE YET?

MR STINK

Bunjil Place in Narre Warren presents this play based on Alison Lester’s book at 2pm on 30 April and 10am on 1 May. Join 8 year old Grace and her family on their adventurous and often funny expedition around Australia.

Tickets are $16.

Mr Stink stank. He also stunk. And if it was correct English to say he stinked, then he stinked as well.

Lonely Chloe makes friends with Mr Stink, the only person who’s ever been nice to her and hides him in her garden shed. What happens next?

28 MAY

Suitable for ages 6-plus and their adults.

Shows run at 2pm and 5pm at Costa Hall, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, on 1 April. Tickets are from $22.

Shows run at 6pm on 12 April and 10.30am on 13 April at Bunjil Place, 2 Patrick NE Drive, Narre Warren. Tickets are $18.

MILLION PAWS WALK Celebrate the joy dogs can bring, take a walk in the fight against animal cruelty, browse pet-centric exhibits and sample delicious foods.

Runs 8am to noon at Eastern Garden Circuit, corner Podbury and Eastern Park drives, East Geelong. Tickets priced from $17. www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

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sales@dhillonnetworks.com.au www.dhillonnetworks.com.au 8/7 Seaside Parade, North Shore, VIC - 3214

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Floor Sanding and Polishing - of Old and New Floors Flooring Installations Floor Coatings • Decks

Reg No: 911-106-70S

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Di Pasquale Concreting

We’re there when you need us

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Thrive Lactation and Parenting Support Tanya offers home visits to the Surf Coast, Geelong and Surrounding areas for parents needing guidance and support with feeding their baby of any age. Appointments can also be arranged at my In-home office in Geelong Education, support and guidance.

Experience comes from over 25 years working alongside families.

Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Maternal Child Health Nurse, Registered Nurse/Midwife.

Contact Tanya for more information.

0407 304 318 thrivelactation@gmail.com Thrive_lactation_

Sarah is a local mum with three young kids of her own.

She specialises in and loves documenting intimate Motherhood sessions (including newborn and maternity) in her natural light studio based in Belmont and high energy sunset shoots on our beautiful beaches and by Barwon River.

AUTUMN SPECIAL

Thrive Lactation 12594153-ET12-23

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au

Family & Brand Photographer

www.sarahfrankphotography.com

www.thrivelactatationandparentingsupport.com.au

Ballroom Dance classes for kids and teens a classic dance style taught by professional instructors in a modern and fun studio.

Join our ballroom family today!

$100 OFF Sunset sessions booked in March and April

More info and bookings: babygeelong.com.au 12589245-RR12-23

Inclusive of: • Antenatal Breastfeeding consults - engaging in support before the baby arrives and learning more about what to expect and how to manage feeding your new baby in the early days • Postnatal and beyond - feeding support (breast and bottle) for any age • Baby massage classes - private or in groups • Expressing and pumping guidance

Ballroom Baby Geelong and Torquay

$13PP

5292 1012 169 Ryrie Street, Geelong 12 Price Street, Torquay 12588798-RR10-23

AUTUMN 2023 23

OPENING SOON

Montessori Minds Childcare Centre 21-29 Princes highway, Norlane For further information email contact@MontessoriMinds.com.au or visit www.MontessoriMinds.com.au Ph 1800 170 000

Now Taking Enrolments

FREE

Implant & Orthodontic Consultations

124 Sparks Road, Norlance

03 5278 2666 www.norlanedental.com.au 24 AUTUMN 2023

12591947-AV11-23

www.GeelongCoastKids.com.au