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.
