Kiwi Valley Farm Trip - Wednesday 19th November

Trip day dawned lovely, fine and warm and the anticipation was building as everyone arrived at kindergarten. We piled on to the bus for the drive to Kiwi Valley Farm.
As the bus pulled into the driveway we got our first glimpse of the sheep in the paddock. We climbed off the bus, eager to see all the animals as soon as possible.
We started our visit in the main shed learning a few things about being on the farm. We learnt that it was important to be calm and quiet around the animals and to move slowly, not to run so that they didn't get scared.
As Farmer Crystal was talking the ducks and chickens were wandering around checking us all out, and a peacock even came into the shed for a look. We also met the Alpacas who were inside waiting to be shorn.
 Then we were on our way out to the farm for the first of our activities. Everyone got a ride on Spud the farm tractor, then given some food to feed the animals. We learnt how to hold the food with our hands flat so that the animals could eat off our hands without nibbling our fingers. It took a lot of courage for everyone to give this a go as the animals looked a lot bigger close up.
Then it was on to the horse riding arena where we all put on our helmets before riding. These are so important because it is a long way down from the horses back which can make it a bit scary. But everyone was so brave. When everyone had had a ride we moved through to the nursery area where we met the rabbits, guinea pigs, piglets, baby goats and even 2 water buffalo. We really had to practice our slow movements and quiet voices with the babies!
 Then it was back to the main shed for some well earned lunch and a play in the play ground. What a fantastic trip, a lot to see and to learn and a great chance to experience a farm environment up close.

Annie, Rachel, Tania, Jackie, Sandy and Leanne - 19th November 2014

Campfires Burning

What excitement we had here at kindergarten. We decided to build a fire in the sandpit. Some willing helpers dug a small pit and surrounded it with stones and then we laid the fire. Dodging rain drops we took a few dry moments to get the fire going and seated ourselves around the edge of the campfire. Annie got out the guitar and we sang the songs that we had practiced for our visit to Fairview Retirement home.
Then it was time to toast marshmallows. After all, its not a true campfire until you have your hot and sticky marshmallow!
What a lovely way to spend a morning.
The children experienced a real feeling of belonging and community being part of sharing songs, conversation and of course, the marshmallows. It was also a good lesson in fire safety. We had the water close and all kept our distance from the fire.
So much fun. Hopefully we can do this again soon.

Zoo Trip Tuesday 9th September

We visited Auckland Zoo last week with the older children. It was a great trip and gave the children the opportunity to observe animal’s behaviour without the pressure of running out of time. The added bonus was the parents were able to spend the time seeing the zoo through the children’s eyes. The children have been revisiting their ideas and knowledge around wildlife, building their own zoo enclosures and drawing detailed pictures of the animals. 

Torbay Zoo Explorers

Feeding time at the zoo.

Monkeying around!

Visiting Fairview Retirement Village

For the last 10 years a lovely elderly couple, who now live at Fairview Retirement Village, have been saving their recycling for the children's glue gun station.
In the last year, as Jack no longer drives, we have been collecting the box when it is ready for pick up. Jack and his wife Tui always ask how the children are and what they are up to.
We really want to thank Jack and Tui for their kindness, and at the same time teach the children about caring for people in the community and showing our gratitude for kindness.
We have booked a bus to take the children to Fairview on the 3rd of September so they can sing some songs for some of the residents, in particular Jack and Tui.
The children have been practicing their songs and it promises to be an awesome performance.Watch this space for some photos of our star performers.

Quiz Night - Saturday 30th August

The theme for this years quiz night is MTV so get your glad rags on and hit the red carpet with us at Torbay Kindergarten's annual quiz night. There is sure to be plenty of fun and laughter, prizes, raffles, a silent auction, a live auction and of course the all important quiz.
Tables are booking up fast so get in here or call us to book your spot. If you don't have enough people for a full table (6-8 people) then just let us know and we can group you with others who have free spots.

We cant wait to see you all there!

Date: Saturday 30th August
Venue: Longbay Primary School
Time: 7pm - quiz starts at 7:30
Tickets: $10 (don't forget your loose change for games and bribes during the evening)
BYO drinks and nibbles

Celebrating Matariki at Kindergarten

Over the last week we have been reading about Matariki and the significance of celebrating the start of the Maori New Year with a feast. Today at Torbay Kindergarten we decided to celebrate with a roast lunch. This was a feast of lamb, chicken, potatos, kumera and peas, finishing with some mandarins from Georgia's tree. What a spread. This was a wonderful meal to enjoy together on a wet and windy day.

Beach Explorers at Torbay Kindergarten

What better place to start with children than in their own community learning to respect their Turangawaewae through hands on experience.
Our beach trips are based in "child time" with the children being actively encouraged to lead and direct the journey through their interests and curiosity.
Through this experience children not only learn inquiry skills but also self regulated courage, resilience and strategies for independence.
"If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered (as passionate conservationists) then let us allow them to love the Earth before we ask them to save it." (David Sobel, Beyond Ecophobia)

S.O.S

Newsletter for April 2014

April 2014

Dates to remember:

Committee meeting: 15^th April 2014

Beach Explorers trip: 15^h April 2014.

Last day of term: 16^th and 17^th April 2014.

Term 2 2014: 5^th and 8^th May 2014.

 

Teachers’ Update

We are coming to the end of a very exciting and eventful term! We have been enjoying observing the children’s emerging interests and working alongside them to extend their learning. The children’s interest in sea life has continued after our wonderful trip to Kelly Tarltons. The children have extended this interest into dramatic pirate play and treasure map making. The older group of children have  also been busy in the sandpit exploring water pressure and flow using pipes and funnels,  creating volcanic eruptions, geysers, lava flows and bubbling mud pools.

This term we have had Sina a student from the University of Auckland completing her seven week teaching practicum with us. We look forward to her continuing her practicum with us into term two.

 

Ride a thon

The 2014 Ride a thon was a huge success for Torbay Kindergarten. It looks like we have made over $3,500 through your fundraising efforts! Thankyou to everyone for your support preparing for the big event and for attending on the day. An extra thankyou goes out to the committee for their wonderful organisation and to the parents and families who helped man the stalls on the day.

 Thankyou to Russel Thomas for sponsoring our Ride a thon. It means that our funds raised from this event are all profit.

The annual Ride a thon takes a lot of organising. We understand we ask a lot of you both in advance and on the day but this is our only fundraiser until quiz night in the third term. Your support is hugely appreciated and the money we have raised will go towards a verandah upgrade.

 

Verandah Upgrade

Using the money we raised from the Ride a thon and previous funsraising, we are looking at completing an upgrade of our very old and run down verandah area. In the winter months the verandah area is an unpleasant area for the children and teachers to work under. It is cold, blustery, has poor lighting and the rain on the clearlight roofing is so loud that normal conversation is near impossible. Upgrading the verandah will involve replacing the plastic roll down screens, the roofing system and installing heat and lighting. We cannot wait for this upgrade to get underway. We will keep you updated on the progress.

 

Committee Meeting

There will be a committee meeting on Tuesday the 15^th of April, 7.30 at the Kindergarten. All welcome.

 

Blog

 Don’t forget to check out our kindergarten blog at: torbaykindergarten.blogspot.co.nz We have recently updated the blog with  photos of our trip to Kelly Tarltons and the Ride a thon.

 

Beach Explorers Club

Next Tuesday, 15^th of April, a group of ten children and five adults will be venturing down to Waiake Beach. This will be a trial run for our ‘Beach Explorers Club’ with the intention of empowering our children in self initiated exploration of the local environment. If all goes well on this trial we will continue the trips for the older group of children on a fortnighty basis.

 

Teaching and Learning Wall

We are in the process of updating our Teaching and Learning Wall. As ideas and philosophies evolve within our practice, we like to keep you informed. Please take the time to read the content of the wall and see what teaching and learning at Torbay Kindergarten looks like.

 

Aspirations Sheets

Thankyou to all of you who have returned you child’s aspiration sheet. The information that you provide helps with the assessment of your child’s learning and with future goal setting. We really appreciate you showing an interest and  getting involved in your child’s learning so thanks again J Could you please return your completed sheets to Angela in the office. If you need another sheet, call in at the office and pick one up.

 

Bicultural Partnership Wall

Have you checked out our Bicultural Partnership Wall? This wall gives our children and families the opportunity to reflect on what is unique about living in New Zealand. If you haven’t already contributed to the wall, maybe you would like to. This is a wonderful opportunity for us all to take time to think about who we are in the New Zealand/Aotearoa context.

 Parking

This is an on-going issue outside kindergarten. If you have a high sided vehicle, 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 also 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.

Committee Meeting

Just a reminder that the committee will be held tomorrow night, Tuesday 15th April, 7.30pm at Torbay Kindergarten.

All are welcome!

Ride a thon

Thanks to all who attended the Ride a Thon. It was an awesome day. The sun shone, the bikes, trikes and scooters looked fantastic and everyone had an awesome time. An extra big thank you to all of our fantastic helpers. Without you it wouldn't have been the wonderful success that it was.

Kelly Tarltons - Wednesday 12th March 2014

With the children's interest in sea creatures becoming a primary focus at kindergarten it seemed like a really good time for a trip to Kelly Tarltons to see the creatures up close.
We used the lead up to talk about what lives in the ocean and we started to draw and paint seahorses, paua, starfish, fish and other sea creatures.
The children took a question sheet to Kelly Tarltons with pictures of things they might see and these helped them to find out some really interesting facts.
We saw sharks, fish, penguins, starfish, crayfish, eels, seahorses, stingrays and more.
The stingray feeding and the penguins seemed to be a highlight for all.
We all enjoyed seeing the penguins swimming under water, they looked like they were flying, and trying to spot the baby penguin with its mum and dad.
Since we have been back at kindergarten we have been looking more in-depth into the facts we learnt and adding to our artistic impressions of the sea creatures.
An interest that surprised the teachers was in the creation of Kelly Tarltons and the facts we learnt about Kelly himself.
This trip has sparked conversation about conservation and learning to protect our environment.
The learning opportunities in this trip support our growing interest in sustainability, and looking after the world
around us.
12th March - 2014

 

  

 

 

Newsletter for Feb 2014

Fun in the sun

The weather has been awesome, and we are making the most of it by getting out in the water after lunch. Yesterday was the water slide. So much fun. The laughter could be heard right across the kindergarten.
This is a wonderfully social time that allows for turn taking, risk taking, friends supporting each other, cheering each other on and sharing a laugh.
Long may the good weather last.

Interesting Article

Check out this article on childhood that we have found to be a really interesting read.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/give-childhood-back-to-children-if-we-want-our-offspring-to-have-happy-productive-and-moral-lives-we-must-allow-more-time-for-play-not-less-are-you-listening-gove-9054433.html

Welcome to 2014

Welcome back to kindergarten for the beginning of 2014, and a big welcome to all our new families who have joined us this year.
It has been a fantastic start to the term with children rekindling friendships, meeting new friends and finding their place back here at kindergarten. It has been lovely to see our new children settling in so well and exploring all the experiences that our environment has to offer.
The weather has really played the game and we have enjoyed some wonderful outdoor days including making the most of a play in the sprinkler with our older children in the afternoon.
We have a committee meeting coming up on Tuesday 18th February at 7.30pm here at kindergarten. Everybody is welcome, it would be great to see some new faces. Come and join us for wine and cheese. If you are on the waiting list and are interested to see how the committee works then please do come along. 
Check out the photos below of our children in action for the start of the new term.