News

We have some exciting news! At Parents of Deaf Children, we’re currently seeking an Office Administrator to join our passionate team. This part time position is located in the PODC office at the Australian Hearing Hub, Macquarie University and is for 16 hours a week, over 4 days.

Please see the attached document (PODC Office Administrator Position.pdf) for a full position description and details of how to apply.
If you have any questions, please email our President Suzie, at committees@podc.org.au

We’re so very excited to introduce our new online swimming course – Inclusive Swimming for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children!

This project has been in the making for quite a while now and we’re glad we now get to share it with you all. As parents, we know it's tough to see our deaf and hard of hearing children struggle with extra-curricular activities. Especially when the purpose is for them to learn important skills such as swimming and water safety. This is why, when parents raised these concerns with us after the cancellation of swimming lessons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we worked with Signpedia to develop an amazing course to make swimming lessons more accessible and inclusive.

This self paced course is available free of charge to swim teachers, families, and other members of the community. We’re very proud that there is an Auslan translated version available for Auslan users.

To find out more about the course and to access the course itself, visit www.podc.org.au/learn

Come along to our Friday afternoon event the 'Hub Hangout'! Held on Fridays in March from March 10, the Hub Hangout is an opportunity for parents and kids to connect with peers while having fun. 

4pm arrival for snacks and games

4:30-5:30pm Colour Party!

5:30-6pm – All in activity (parents and kids)

While the kids are making connections, parents can do the same over refreshments in the Boardroom from 4-5:30pm.

Throughout the sessions, parents are required to stay on site while the kids are in activities.

Auslan interpreters will be present on the night, for both kids and parent sessions. 

Register by clicking on the link below

Week 1 - March 10 - Paper Night
What fun things can you make with paper?

Week 2 - March 17 - Colour Party and Fruit Salad
There's so much you can do with colour. Which one is your favourite?

Week 3 - March 24 - Group Games Night
Gather in groups for some fun games

Week 4 - March 31 - Dance Party - Registrations open!
Let's have a dance and celebrate the end of Term 1 at the Hub Hangout

Would you like to be part of the Empowered Kids pilot that will build your capacity about Assistive Technology and how to use it better support your child?

The Empowered Kids Pilot is a joint initiative between Parents of Deaf Children and Access Through Action.

The aim of the pilot is to build capacity, giving unbiased advice and guidance to families to:

Help you make more informed decisions

Support communication needs and goals

Support individual choice and control

Improve safety and control of environment

Build independence

Improve compliance of AT use and

Build your confidence in the effective use of AT.

 

Expressions of Interest are now open, please click here to submit.

The first round closes 5pm, THIS Friday 30th of September 2022.

Pilot is open to PODC members who are based in Sydney.

For any enquiries, contact roxi@podc.org.au

Families of Deaf/Hard of Hearing children had so much creative fun at the Pinot & Picasso art studios this past weekend! 

Our Pinot & Picasso art events started with a splash of colour, delicious gourmet food and lots of laughter! We had a fantastic turn out and the kids had a great time feeling supported in their community. We were able to reconnect with some of our past friends and families as well as meet lovely new families.

We would love to welcome even more families along to the Pinot & Picasso art events, as we set out to make these accessible, fun, and supportive of everyone wishing to participate. These art events are free family friendly events. Gourmet catering, Auslan interpreters, Deaf mentors and PODC facilitators are provided in two studio locations (Homebush and Terrigal) as well as an online option for those of you wishing to join from the comfort of your home.

Register your family here for the Terrigal and Homesbush events or here for the online events. Sessions are held on Sunday from 11am-1pm, fortnightly until the end of August.

Join the fun and connect with other Deaf/HoH families. Not keen on art but would still like to connect? Sign up to be a PODC member to keep updated on all our upcoming events - it's free!

The Management Committee of PODC warmly welcome members to their Annual General Meeting
to be held online via Zoom at 7:00pm on Thursday 17th March, 2022.

All committee positions will be declared open at the meeting: 
President; Vice President; Secretary; Treasurer; Ordinary Committee Members (x3) 

Nomination forms can be found here and must be submitted by 5pm Thursday 10th March 2022. Submission details are on the form. 

Click here to be directed to the Meeting Agenda, the 2021 Financial Report and the Minutes of the 2021 Annual General Meeting.

Register here to attend the meeting.
The meeting will be Auslan interpreted and captioned.

We hope to see you there!

Calling all Deaf/HoH kids on the Central Coast and surrounds...

Send your kids to the amazing Science Camps run in conjunction with Macquarie University and Junior Science Academy, proudly sponsored by PODC.

Calling all curious kids! We're excited to announce that PODC has sponsored places for the Junior Science Academy for children who are Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing starting in January 2022  2022 at both Macquarie University and the Central Coast!

This camp is being held in conjunction with Macquarie University and the Australian Hearing Hub, the camp aims to introduce children to science concepts and skills in a safe, fun and supportive environment.

PODC is excited to share that we were a Finalist in the Engagement Australia 2021 Excellence Awards for community engagement!

Our work with Macquarie University Junior Science Academy (JSA), The Australian Hearing Hub, and other contributors, has allowed us to run JSA classes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing since 2018. Deaf and hard of hearing kids can connect and share a love of science at our Hearing Hub JSA.

More of these wonderful classes are coming up this January, continuing at Macquarie University AHH, and for the first time on the Central Coast. Well done everyone on your great work. 

Here's a video about the Science Camps  Sparking Change – Science Camps for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children 

Parents of Deaf Children is following advice from the NSW Government regarding COVID safe practices. We have suspended all of our face-to-face activities until further notice and we are currently working on establishing online support networks.

We are still providing support for parents over the phone and via email. Please see the Contact Us section of our website to get in touch.