November 2016
Term Dates:
Term 4:
Older Group: 10 Oct –
21 Dec
Younger Group: 13 Oct
– 16 Dec
Term 1 2017:
Older Group: 24th
Jan – 12th April
Younger Group: 26th
Jan – 13th April
Teachers’ Update
This term has started out as a busy one. We have
already been on a trip to the Auckland Museum with our older group to see the
Maori Cultural Performance. This supports our commitment to including more Te
Reo and Tikanga Maori in to our programme. The children experienced some
fantastic waiata and dance as well as learning the meaning behind the various
dances and instruments.
The children have continued to share their
knowledge that they gained here at kindergarten and are bringing the same
passion that they saw from the performers into their own waiata at mat times.
As we move into more summery weather we are making
the most of our outdoor areas, including the sandpit, earth kitchen and water
play. We have also begun planting out our vege garden.
For our younger group there has been a real focus
on settling in new children and getting to know the way we do things at
kindergarten. It is great to see our new children exploring our wonderful
environment and establishing their sense of belonging here.
At Torbay Kindergarten we value whanau and the
contributions that you make to the programme. We are always learning from the
prior knowledge that the children bring to kindergarten and it is fantastic to
see them sharing with their friends. These ideas, concepts and information is
what we build our ever changing programme around. As teachers we acknowledge
our childrens achievements, their challenges and their aspirations, and these
form a strong foundation for children to learn and grow in our environment.
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.
Our most recent maintenance was the new fencing in our Earth Kitchen area which
NAKA has paid for.
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).
We
are sorry that we nag you to pay these amounts but it really does have a huge
impact on how we run the kindergarten. Just under half of our families have
already paid this term. Thank you for being so supportive, we really appreciate
it.
Sunblock and Hats
These are a must for term 4
and term 1. Please sunblock your child before they arrive at kindergarten.
What is your fundraising being used for?
We are grateful to everyone
for helping out with fundraising and paying your fundraising levy. This has
enabled us to buy new resources this term.
We have completed our shed
upgrade including a designated carpentry area. We have also received our new
mats and have a new swing on order.
Completion of our new
entrance way is on track for the beginning of term 1 next year. We have waited
a long time for this and it will be great to see it finished.
Ryan Hanna’s company RTH
Building and Management Ltd (rthbuildingltd@gmail.com) have taken on this project. Ryan’s daughter attends
our Kindergarten and it is great to have his support.
Dates to Remember
Date
|
Event
|
Tues 15th Nov
|
Committee Meeting
|
Wed 23rd Nov
|
Market Day
|
Wed 7th Dec
|
Christmas party (Older Group)
|
Fri 9th Dec
|
Christmas party (Younger Group)
|
Fri 16th Dec
|
Last day of Term 4 Younger Group
|
Wed 21st Dec
|
Last day of Term 4 Older Group
|
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.
Our Playground
You may have noticed over
the last couple of weeks that our main playground has been out of action.This
is due to the bark depth no longer being compliant from a health and safety
perspective with the Ministry of Education. We have now set up a climbing area
that is low to the ground to make some use of this space and we are patiently
waiting for new bark to be delivered. Hopefully it will all be resolved soon
and we can enjoy our playground area for the summer months.
Beach Explorers
Our Beach Explorers
expeditions have continued through winter but we are being a little bit
flexible during this time due to weather and tides. The children are all
eagerly waiting for their turn. 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.
