A delightful morning of storytelling at Meeniyan

BEWARE the Jabberwock, my son.

Never was an audience more enthralled than the young children gathered at Meeniyan Town Hall to hear three, all-time favourite stories told by the Flying Bookworm theatre company.

The Ugly Duckling, Three Billy Goats Gruff and the Lewis Carroll poem Jabberwocky were each told in a unique style that had the enthusiastic audience begging for more.

An initiative of South Gippsland Shire Council and the Department of Education, the Flying Bookworm educational theatre company had their wide-eyed audience of mainly pre-school children totally enchanted.

Early years project officer for South Gippsland Shire, Siona Jones, said the performance was part of Children’s Week, with an open invitation for children to attend from throughout the district.

“We had about 40 children at the morning session in the Meeniyan Town Hall from babies to eight-year-olds,” said Siona.

Performers Chris Knight and Emily O’Connor provided close to an hour of non-stop entertainment, vividly bringing to life the fearsome Jabberwock, the loveable Ugly Duckling and the foolish troll from Three Billy Goats Gruff.

The Flying Bookworm early years program takes youngsters on a magic journey into the world of books with theatrical presentations from a wide selection of popular stories and poems.

“We invite children to participate in all our performances,” said Chris Knight.

This unique approach has been widely praised by teachers across Australia. No-one it seems is too old to hear a much-loved fairytale.

To provide feedback on planned changes to four-year-old kindergarten in South Gippsland the Shire Council has launched an 
online survey.

“The State Government is introducing changes to four-year-old kindergarten, with more hours coming in 2027 as it changes to pre-prep,” said Siona.

There are 16 different kindergarten services in South Gippsland Shire.

A series of focus group sessions for parents, carers of young children and people planning a family have already been held in Korumburra, Loch, Leongatha and Toora.

To access South Gippsland Shire Council’s online survey, go to southgippsland.vic.gov.au/pre-prep.