April 2014
Dates to
remember:
Committee meeting: 15th April 2014
Beach Explorers trip: 15h April 2014.
Last day of term: 16th and 17th April 2014.
Term 2 2014: 5th and 8th 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.
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 15th 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, 15th 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.
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.
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.
