About Us
Mount Colah After School Care Association Inc. offers Before and After School Care for school aged children, we call ourselves BASC. Our purpose is to create a safe and caring environment where children can freely make choices and learn through a fun filled play-based learning curriculum.
We are a not-for-profit organisation, which is operated by a Management Committee made up of volunteer Parents. Our service is licensed for 150 children, and currently rated as Exceeding The National Quality Standard.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
BASC recognises the Traditional Owners of the lands of Hornsby Shire, the Darug and GuriNgai peoples, and pays respect to their Ancestors and Elders past and present and to their Heritage. We acknowledge and uphold their intrinsic connections and continuing relationships to Country.
Our image of the child is a child that is capable, strong, unique, adventurous, imaginative, curious, fun, intelligent and beautiful.
We believe that children have rights. Children have the right to be happy. Children have the right be loved and to belong.
Children have the right to have their voice heard. This includes the right to speak out and express opinions, as well as rights to equality, health, education, a clean environment, a safe place to play and protection from all kinds of harm.
We want for all children to be confident in who they are and to feel accepted and respected. We recognise our own culture, the diverse cultures of our families and know our responsibility is to inspire everyone at BASC to engage in Australia’s journey towards reconciliation.
We believe in the power of friendships. We believe that we all learn from mistakes and that learning is lifelong. We aim to create a caring and nurturing environment with trust, compassion, self-control, empathy and appreciation to enable children to form strong friendships now and strong relationships in the future.
We want children, and families to feel at home at BASC. We value the expertise of families. It is through open and honest partnerships that we grow our BASC community
We love school holidays. Vacation Care is a time when we explore our interests, popular culture, and venture beyond Mount Colah. BASC children are given the freedom to just BE during Vacation Care. We create lifelong memories full of fun, laughter, and lots of organised mess.
We are committed to making sustainability education fun, engaging and empowering for children, families, educators and the wider community. We believe that together we can make a change for today and our future.
We are passionate about our school community. We do not stand alone from Mount Colah Public School, thriving together as a joint community.
To us, BASC is a little bit of loud, a little bit of crazy and whole lot of fun.
Acknowledge of Country
Written by the Children of BASC in consultation with Uncle Laurie
March 2024
In the spirit of reconciliation Mount Colah BASC would like to say ‘Yanu’ (Hello) and thank you to the Darug and Guringai Peoples for letting us share their land. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and promise to keep their traditions alive and do a Deadly job in caring for Country. “Coo-ee”
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
School age children bring with them deep curiosity and potential and this innate curiosity drives their interest to understand their world and their place within it. Even as children get older and start school, play is important. It is how children learn and build social, emotional and thinking skills.
School-age children's thinking skills become increasingly sophisticated as they encounter new people, places, and ideas. They develop the ability to learn in abstract ways from books, art, movies, and experiences.
Our curriculum is in line with our framework ‘My Time Our Place’ and its 5 outcomes:
✓Children and young people have a strong sense of identity
✓Children and young people are connected with and contribute to their world
✓Children and young people have a strong sense of wellbeing
✓Children and young people are confident and involved learners
✓Children and young people are effective communicators.
We pride ourselves on the Educational Program of our service. The Educational Program is displayed at all times for you to read and give feedback on. Please feel free to ask questions from our Educational Leader or make any suggestions about the Educational Program. Evaluations and reflections on our program are posted on our HubHello Noticeboard and emailed to families.