After 30 years in charge of the Tom Thumb Kindergarten in Gymea, Marilyn Smith has become accustomed to getting stopped in the street by her former kindergarten children.
“It happens a lot,” she said with a laugh. “We used to be called miss back then, like Miss Marilyn. So during fairs and events I often hear people yell out, ‘Miss Marilyn’.”
Marilyn and her husband, Steve Smith, bought Tom Thumb Kindergarten in 1987, celebrating 30 years of ownership this year. Marilyn said she still loved working with the children and was down at the kindergarten most days.
“Absolutely, I can’t back myself away, it is far too rewarding being with the children.”
Two of the Smith’s children work at the kindergarten, Amber Smith and Carly Glasgow, while two of their four grand children also attend.
“We are getting the next generation now,” Marilyn said. “We have some staff here that used to come to the kindy, as well as the children of people that used to come to the kindy.”
The Smith family took over Tom Thumb Kindergarten on Milburn Rd in 1987, and expanded to include a second premises nearby on Ruby Rd in 1995.
“We had to open a second premises in response to the other one being so full.”
The kindergarten also run three after-school care centres, for older children, at Gymea North Public School, Kareela Public School and Kirrawee Public School.
I can’t back myself away, it is far too rewarding being with the children.
- Marilyn Smith
Amber said when her parents took over Tom Thumb in the 1980s it was one of the oldest kindergartens in the Shire.
“The kindergarten had been there for about 20 years, so it must have been one of, if not, the first one in the Sutherland area before they took it over,” she said.
Amber said her and her siblings grew up right next to the kindergarten, on Milburn Rd, after her parents bought the residential property right in front of the kindy.
“I literally grew up at the kindy,” she said. “Which worked out well, as we had our own playground to play in.”
Amber said her two brothers had also been involved in helping out at the kindergarten in different capacities over the years as well.
The Smith family gave no hints about moving on after 30 years running the kindergarten, and hope to continue caring for local children in the Sutherland area for many years to come.
