When he first left high school, Leslie Fiu started studying business. It didn’t take long to realise business was not for him. A part-time job in a before and after-school program revealed a passion for helping children. “I then moved from Melbourne to Sydney to serve a mission for my church where I taught individuals and families about my faith,” Leslie says. “Through these two years I found I also had a passion for teaching. I got home and did a Diploma in Early Childhood and then later did my Bachelor Degree.” Growing up in a family of seven with parents who migrated from Samoa to New Zealand and then to Australia gave Leslie a strong foundation for working in early childhood education. “Funny thing was, throughout my studies I always thought I would end up being a primary school teacher, but here I am, three years into being a kindergarten teacher,” Leslie says. “It’s been an amazing experience so far.”
Describe your journey with Gowrie.
My last placement for my Diploma I was blessed to be placed in Gowrie Victoria Broadmeadows Valley. I then applied for a casual position and was successful. As a casual I learnt many things about being part of a team and the importance of my role as an educator in the lives of the children I engage with on a day-to-day basis. In this setting my voice was heard by the team I worked with and also by management as we had meetings with them about how we can work more effectively with the permanent staff and their teams.
When I finished my studies, I applied for a vacant ECT role and was successful. Since then, I have been one of the kinder teachers running a kinder program at GVBV. In this role I have learnt and am still learning how to lead a team and support them. I have taken part in different professional developments provided by Gowrie Victoria to help me grow professionally in my role.
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What is the purpose of your role?
The purpose of my role is to support children to learn and grow in the best possible way, and to provide a safe environment to achieve the best outcome. Part of this includes supporting, mentoring, and coaching educators that are part of my team.
What do you love most about your role?
I love helping children on their learning journey through providing them with a safe, nurturing environment that they feel comfortable in. When I see that my team and I are doing that I feel a sense of happiness knowing that we are doing good in the lives of the children in our class. I love being a part of the growth of the children as well as the educators around me. Knowing that I helped them in a small or big way makes the hard days worth it. Don’t get me wrong, I wholeheartedly believe that every day is a good day, even the so-called ‘bad days’. It’s our outlook on life that determines our view on each day.