May 2016
Term Dates:
Term 2:
Older Group: 2 May – 6 July
Younger Group: 5 May –
8 July
Teachers’ Update
Last term was a busy time here at Torbay
Kindergarten and this term is looking to be just as action packed. The teaching
team attended Professional Development entitled ‘Wild the Child.’ This is in
line with our focus for this year on Sustainability and Natural Environments.
We have been looking at our environment here at kindergaten and introducing
more natural spaces including expanding on our Earth Kitchen and Te Rua Paru –
our mud pit.
Another focus has been on composting and recycling.
We are teaching the children to sort their rubbish into food waste, recyclables
and general waste. This helps the children to really think about what is
happening to the waste from their lunch boxes.
We have just had 2 bokashi bins delivered. Bokashi
“pickles” your food waste, unlike traditional composting where waste is allowed
to decay. The Bokashi system produces nutrient rich compost. Most food waste
can go into a bokashi which makes it the perfect composting solution for
kindergarten. We are all going to learn to use these together and hopefully
grow some amazing produce with the compost.
Matariki
Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of
stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises in mid-winter – late May or early
June. For many Māori, it heralds the start of a new
year. Matariki literally means the 'eyes of god' (mata ariki) or
'little eyes' (mata riki).
Matariki is a time of celebration, planting trees
and crops and remembering of ancestors.
At Torbay Kindergarten we celebrate this time
through story telling, song, planting and for the older group a shared feast.
This is a lovely time for children to learn about sustainability, caring for
their environment and to affirm their sense of belonging here at kindergaten. This
year our feast will be on Monday 20th June.
This is a perfect opportunity for a bit of star
gazing at home. Check out this website for more information about how to find Matariki.
http://www.matarikievents.com/how-to-see-matariki/
Dates to Remember
Fri 27th May - Disco
Mon 6th June - Queens b'day holiday
Mon 20th June - Matariki Feast (older group)
Water Station
Have you seen our wonderful
new water station next to our kai tables. The children are enjoying being able
to independently fill their own water cups. Thank you for paying your
fundraising donation which has helped us to get this installed.
Market Day – Tuesday 17th May
Following our very successful market day in April
we have decided to have another one for the last of the autumn harvests. Come
along with your produce for the table and your gold coins and sample some of
the lovely fresh fare that is grown and produced in our community.
Beach Explorers
Our Beach Explorers
expeditions have kicked off again and the children are eagerly waiting their
turn to come along. Don’t worry if your child hasn’t been yet, we only take the
oldest children, usually in the term before they are due to go to school. Everyone
will get to come 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.
Disco – Friday 27th May
This is a wonderful evening
for families to catch up with others, enjoy some dinner and have a good old
boogie. This years theme is ‘Beach Party’ so get out your sarongs, boardies and
mermaid tails and come along and have some fun. Keep an eye out for a flyer
with more information in your news pockets soon.
Quiz Night
Quiz night is our second
major fundraiser of the year. This year we are raising money to further develop
our outdoor area including additional shade sails so that we can make the most
of our outdoor space in the heat of summer.
We have yet to confirm the
date but now is a good time to start thinking about how you can help. We will
be looking for business to donate items for silent auctions, sponsorship for
our tables and big items for our live auctions. So get thinking about your
contacts. A weekend at a holiday home is always a wonderful live auction item!
Parking
We
have come back to kindergarten this term to many high sided vechicles parking
in the spaces in front of the 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.
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. For
example – our back fence needs repairs and NAKA will pay for this rather than
the money coming out of our Kindergarten Fund.
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 receive an invoice in the next week or so. Please help us by paying this
as soon as possible. You can pay this online using the acc # at the bottom
invoice.
