On Friday, October 23, 2015, Circle Project was thrilled to have five Australian nursing exchange students and their instructor join us and experience who we are and what we do at the Circle Project. The students were given a tour of Circle Project’s Infant and Toddler Centre, Children’s Centre and our main office the “Big Circle.” The nursing students learned a little bit about each centre—and we made new friends.

At the Infant & Toddler Centre, students were able to experience the calm and nurturing atmosphere, ask questions, and make comparisons between childcare and early childcare education in Australia and Canada.

At the Children’s Centre, students got a full tour of the centre and were surprised to hear our Children’s Centre is made of straw bales (enclosed in walls of course!). They had the chance to learn about the inclusive and holistic environment at the Children’s Centre and, in particular, the new “Marvelous Me” school age literacy program staff created for school aged children who are falling behind in reading and writing.

The last stop was Big Circle where students learned all about the programs and services offered at the Circle Project. They had the opportunity to interact with both program and administrative staff to learn more about “how it all works together.” They also learned about the how the medicine wheel and its teachings are incorporated into all our programs and services at the Circle Project and how, through holistic healing practices, we encourage people to help themselves.

At the end of the tour, staff and our visitors gathered, and each student and their instructor was gifted with a hand-beaded Circle Project key chain made by a staff member. The instructor accepted a piece of artwork, painted by a former Circle Project program participant, to take back to Australia. We then shared stories, experiences, and bannock! What a wonderful afternoon we shared, learning about how much we are the same and also how different we are!

At the “Big Circle” we love having visitors to our “home.” We were humbled by being invited to host these special guests and thrilled to make new friends from so far away.

The summer of 2015 will go down in the Circle Project history books as the Summer of the Hammer and Dust.

In order to better serve our program participants, we made some major changes to our main office space at 1102 8th Avenue. With the help of some community members who were transitioning back into society from recent incarceration, we were able to transform our space on the 2nd floor in a matter of a few weeks.

In addition to removing an office area to make way for an amazing new group room (complete with plenty of natural light and a supply storage area), we also created a multi-functional space for our newest program called H.O.M.E.S. Some of the existing program areas were also spruced up with some new paint and or a change in décor.

Although it was a lot of work, staff did a great job in showing great cooperation and flexibility in their schedules while still continuing to provide services through the renovation. All in all, it was a great teambuilding and bonding experience for the staff, and the changes will benefit the community for many years to come.