March Newsletter

March 2017

Term 1 2017

Older Group: 24^th Jan – 12^th April

Younger Group: 26^th Jan – 13^th 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 4^th 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 24^th 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.