Monday 31 July 2017

August Newsletter


August 2017
Term 3 2017
Older Group: 24th July – 27th Sept
Younger Group: 27th July – 29th Sept

Term 3 Update
Welcome back to Term 3 and a big welcome to our new families that have joined us and those that are starting in the next few weeks.
These winter terms can be a bit more challenging with the weather and also colds going around. Encouraging your child to blow their own nose and cough into their elbow are ways to help us to stop the spread of bugs. Sometimes a day or two at home is what’s needed to really kick those winter nasties.
During this term we get outside when we can, making the most of our concrete and bark spaces. Our vege gardens are planted out now so we will be keeping an eye on whats growing, although there isnt much need for watering at present.
Our Pepeha
Ko Rangitoto te Maunga
Ko Waitemata te Moana
Ko Deep Creek te Awa
Ko Torbay te Kura Kohungahunga

At Torbay Kindergarten we have our own pepeha. This is unique to our Kindergarten and represents who we are within our community.
A pepeha is a form of introduction that establishes identity and heritage. In its simpliest form a pepeha will tell you about a persons maunga (mountain),  moana (ocean), awa (river) and place.
Our kindergarten pepeha represents the land marks that are special to us, Rangitoto, the Waitemata, Deep Creek and of course, our Kindergarten.
Our pepeha promotes a sense of belonging for our tamariki and whanau. It affirms our connection to our turangawaewae – our standing place.
We often say our pepeha during mat time and individual children take turns to lead.
Your childs portfolio has a copy of our pepeha in it.
Introducing Cathy
It was with much sadness that we said goodbye to Angela, our wonderful administrator, at the end of last term. On a brighter note we are very lucky to introduce the lovely Cathy Hanna. Cathy is a local mum and her daughter Pippa is currently in our older group. If you haven’t met Cathy then she would love you to pop into the office and say Hi! Cathy is here every morning from 8:30.
Beach Explorers
Our Beach Trips will start up again in the 3rd week of term. This term these may be weather and tide dependent. We will endeavour to go fortnightly when possible. Please don’t be disappointed if we need to postpone a trip. Your child will then be put on the list for the next trip. Remember that we only take our oldest children. Your child will get a turn when the time is right.
These trips focus on our roles as guardians of the environment and the role we have in looking after our Turangawaewae, our local standing place.
Our beach trips bring our kindergarten pepeha to life supporting our links to the land, to our maunga – Rangitoto, our moana – Waitemata and our awa – Deep Creek. As we explore the beach we can see all of these special places and the children have a wonderful sense of belonging.



Quiz Night
Our big fundrasier for the year is our annual quiz night on Saturday 2nd September. This will be our 9th event and, as always, is sure to be a wonderful evening.
We already have many live and silent auction items. Keep an eye out for notices on Storypark Community Page, your mail pockets and on the blackboard for ways that you can help.
We really appreciate your support for this event as it allows us to raise money for some of the bigger projects at kindegarten. This year we are fundraising to cover in our back deck in the same style as our verandah. This will give us an extra space at kindergarten, particularly in the winter months when this deck has always been too cold to use.
Student Teacher
This term we are lucky enough to have Mel as a student with us for the next 5 weeks on practicum. You may have met Mel last term as she spends 16 hours in our kindergarten per week for work experience.
Clothing for Kindergarten
One of the areas where we strongly encourage independence is toileting. To enable children to go to the toilet independently we ask that you dress your child in clothes that are easy for them to pull down and up by themselves. Shorts, trousers, skirts or tights with elastic waists tend to be best as buttons, domes and denim can be really tricky when you are in a rush. We are happy to support children in this process while they are learning to use the toilet.
Waiting List
Our waiting list is looking healthy at 104 children with 47 children over 3. This does mean that our entry age has increased slighty as we have only a few children heading off to school this term and next.
We take children in order of age from our waiting list. Please bear with us as we do our very best to ensure all families are catered for.
Donations and Fees
Since January 2015, all the fee payments are now passed on to our Head Office at NAKA. This money goes towards repairs and maintenance at an Association level.
The donation amount is now even more important to the kindergarten as we use this for all resources- consumables (paint, paper etc) and equipment (games, toys, furniture etc).
You will be receiving an invoice either by email or in your mail pocket within the next week or so. It would be great if we can get these paid as soon as possible. Your support is much appreciated.
Gate
Please be mindful when you are entering and leaving kindergarten that only your own child is going through the gate with you. We ask that you make sure that the gate is never left propped open, and is closed properly behind you.
Parking
Again we would like to remind you to please not park any highsided vehicles in the parking spaces outside kindergarten. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. If you have a high-sided vehicle (this includes people movers, SUV’s and vans), please park on the road. We have had a few near misses when people are trying to back out of the car parks; they are unable to see the traffic coming down the hill.
We have reserved the right to park behind the teachers cars for families that have special needs. Please do not park there under any circumstances unless you have seen a teacher about this.


Sunday 30 July 2017

Litter Free at Torbay Kindergarten


Litter- free Lunchboxes.                       
The trip to Zero Waste has had a huge impact on our understanding of current rubbish and recycling procedures.
After extensive team discussion, we have made the decision to become a rubbish free kindergarten.
We have noticed that many of you have moved towards wrapper free lunch boxes and this is working really well. Wrappings and packaging will now stay in your child’s lunchbox and be sent home for you to recycle. At kindergarten, all children’s food scraps will be sorted into compost or chicken feed.
How can you help to recycle the rubbish that comes home?
Soft recycling (this can be dropped into the drums at local supermarkets- usually around the entranceway) Soft recycling includes (it must be dry):
Chip packets, Glad wrap, museli bar wrappers, biscuit wrappers, pasta and rice wrappers, bread bags, frozen food bags, plastic shopping bags. Basically anything that can be scrunched into a ball can go into these drums.
Hard recycling (this is your usual recycling bin at home)
Yogurt pots, potato stick packets, Le Snak packaging, sushi trays, raisin packets, tinfoil (that has been squeezed into a ball), lunch wrap paper, etc
Another option is to become completely wrapper free.
Here are some ideas to make your child’s lunchbox wrapper free:
Reusable/ resealable plastic containers, compartment lunchboxes that don’t require wrapped food, reusable ziplock bags, the options are endless!
The children are really embracing this recycling knowledge as we revisit our learning through mat time games and morning tea and lunch times. Please come on board and help us to look after our planet. This supports our move towards sustainable practice and being guardians of our environment- Kaitiakitanga.

For more information on soft packaging recycling, please visit:  www.recycling.kiwi.nz

Tuesday 21 March 2017

March Newsletter


March 2017

Term 1 2017
Older Group: 24th Jan – 12th April
Younger Group: 26th Jan – 13th April

Teachers’ Update
With bugs and insects being very popular now the children are learning about Kaitiakitanga and they are being guardians of our environment; protectors of our trees, gardens and the creatures that live in there.
We encourage the children to observe the insects in nature rather than removing them, and we are continuously researching and finding more out about our own working theories.
Our younger group is settling in well now with the children gaining a sense of belonging. We are able to concentrate on building confidence, independence and positive social interactions. This is supported by lots of fun new and exciting learning experiences.
Clothing for Kindergarten
One of the areas where we strongly encourage independence is in the area of toiletting. To enable children to go to the toilet independently we ask that you dress your child in clothes that are easy for them to pull down and up by themselves. Shorts, trousers, skirts or tights with elastic waists tend to be best as buttons, domes and denim can be really tricky when you are in a rush. We are happy to support children in this process while they are learning to use the toilet.
Market Day
The first day of autumn provided us with the perfect excuse for a market day. This was again a wonderful success with children delighting in bringing in fresh produce from home, popping it on the table and selecting something yummy to take home. Those that didn’t have produce to share brought in a coin and ‘shopped’ as well. There was plenty to go around. Parents enjoyed hot drinks and this was a wonderful opportunity for chats, a chance to meet new people, catch up on community news and to slow down and enjoy these moments with our children. Thanks for supporting us
Hearing and Vision this Term
Hearing and Vision is a national screening service that happens in Early Childhood Centres for all 4 year olds. All children are seen once in the couple of terms following their 4th birthday. They will only be seen again if there is a recommendation for a follow up. When you enrolled at kindergarten you filled in all the paperwork needed for these checks to be carried out. The checks are done in a fun and interactive way with children playing a listening game and then wearing a ‘pirate patch’ and looking at shapes for the vision test. Our children find this experience fun and non threatening as it happens in an environment where they are already comfortable. If you would like to know more then please chat to a teacher about the process.
There is no need to do anything special on the day. The checks are carried out in our usual session times for both the older and younger group.
Waiting List
Our waiting list is looking heallthy with 65 children aged between 2-3 and 23 children over 3. This does mean that our entry age has increased slighty as we have only a few children heading off to school this term and next.
We take children in order of age from our waiting list. Please bear with us as we do our very best to ensure all families are catered for.


Beach Explorers
We have been so lucky with the weather for our beach explorer trips this term. We have been alternating the weeks slightly to coincide with the best tides to give children the most opportunities for exploring. Remember that we only take our oldest children on these trips so your child will get a turn when the time is right.
These trips have a real focus on caring for the environment and the role we have in looking after our Turangawaewae, our local standing place.
As we spend more time exploring our kindergarten pepeha (the way we introduce ourselves in Maori), the beach trips support our links to the land, to our maunga – Rangitoto, our moana – Waitemata and our awa – Deep Creek. As we wander along the beach we can see all of these special places and the children have a wonderful sense of belonging.
Dates to Remember
Date
Event
Mon 13th March
Hearing and Vision (Older Group)
Wed 15th March
Bug Man (Older Group)
Mon 20th March
Committee Meeting and Ride-a-thon working bee
Tues 21st March
Rangitoto Trip (Older Group)
Fri 24th March
Ride-a- Thon (All Welcome)
Wed 12 April
Last Day of Term (Older Group)
Thurs 13th April
Last Day of Term (Younger Group)
Ride-a-Thon
We have booked the Ride-a-thon in for Friday 24th March from 5pm-6:30pm. We will be having raffles, sausage sizzle and of course the races. Pop the date in your diaries. More details will follow so keep an eye on your mail pockets for flyers.
Donations and Fees
Since January 2015, all the fee payments are now passed on to our Head Office at NAKA. This money goes towards repairs and maintenance at an Association level.
The donation amount is now even more important to the kindergarten as we use this for all resources- consumables (paint, paper etc) and equipment (games, toys, furniture etc).
You will have received an invoice for term1  either in your mail pocket or by email. We would really appreciate if these could be paid as soon as possible. Your support is much appreciated.
Increase in Fundraising Levy
From next term we are having to increase our fundrasing levy slightly to $20 per term. We have not increased the amount since introducing this levy in 2007 however costs are increasing so this will allow us to maintain the same resourcing levels without needing to increase our fundraising obligations.
Sunblock and Hats
These are a must for Term 1. Please sunblock your child before they come to kindergarten. By afternoon we are sticking to the shaded parts of kindergarten, as it has been too hot to be out in the sun.
Parking
Again we would like to remind you to please not park any highsided vehicles in the parking spaces outside kindergarten. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. If you have a high-sided vehicle (this includes people movers, SUV’s and vans), please park on the road. We have had a few near misses when people are trying to back out of the car parks; they are unable to see the traffic coming down the hill.

We have reserved the right to park behind the teachers cars for families that have special needs. Please do not park there unless you have seen a teacher about this.