November Newsletter 2016

November 2016

Term Dates:

Term 4:

Older Group: 10 Oct – 21 Dec

Younger Group: 13 Oct – 16 Dec

Term 1 2017:

Older Group: 24^th Jan – 12^th April

Younger Group: 26^th Jan – 13^th 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.

September Newsletter

September 2016

Term Dates:

Term 3:

 Older Group: 25 July – 21 Sept

Younger Group: 28 July – 23 Sept

Term 4:

Older Group: 10 Oct – 21 Dec

Younger Group: 13 Oct – 16 Dec

Teachers’ Update

This term has been a busy one.

For our older group we started with much interest around the upcoming Olympic Games. This gave us many learning opportunities from flags, world maps, currency, languages and of course sports. We started trying out our own Olympic events at kindergarten, and found we had many budding weight lifters, long jumpers, gymnasts, shotputters and runners.  We extended on these activities with a trip to the North Habour Gymnastic Centre where we had the opportunity to try out the high beams, parallel and uneven bars, vault, trampolines and more. We then had a medal ceremony on our return to kindergarten, acknowledging all of our childrens amazing effort.

Market Day has returned to kindergarten this term with children bringing in citrus galore as well as herbs, carrots, leafy greens and eggs. We also contributed bok choi out of the childrens kindergarten garden. This was another wonderful opportunity for families to come together for a coffee and a chat while the children had a chance to ‘shop’ amongst the delicious produce.

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.

Scholarship

Earlier this year we applied for, and were lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship from NAKA to further our Te Reo and Tikanga Maori. We now have Ally Gamby coming in weekly to work with the children and teachers. She integrates language, waiata (songs), myths, cultural practice and games into our morning session. As teachers we are embracing this opportunity to extend our own learning alongside the children. Have you noticed your children singing songs or saying our karakia. We hear them in the playground sharing with their friends.

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 purchased some new items for the light table including coloured blocks, liquid timers and a full set of anthropods. We have also purchased a full pa site complete with whare, fencing, waka and people. This is a wonderful wooden set and has already been well used.

We are in the process of upgrading our outdoor equipment and have installed a retractable hose and bought some new soccer goals. We have new outdoor mats on order and will be having our shed refitted so that our new equipment is stored safely and with easy access.

Quiz Night

A massive THANK YOU to Nicole Thompson and our wonderful committee for bringing together a fantastic quiz night. The evening was well attended with 17 tables, much laughter and some healthy competition.

A big thanks to everyone who contributed hamper items, auction items, sponsorship, sold raffle tickets and attended the evening.  

The evening raised $9200, which is impressive! This will be used towards our shade sails to cover our concrete area, which gets very hot in the summer.

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.

Parking

Again we would like to remind you to please not park any highsided vechicles 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.

Survey

Have you seen the survey on the ‘Torbay Facebook page’ that has been set up to make Deep Creek Road safer for our children? Please support this as it directly affects our community and ideally we would like to see a zebra crossing to help slow traffic and make the road safer for everyone. For more information you can visit Road Safety Petition

Quiz Night - Sat 3rd Sept

May Newsletter

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 20^th 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 17^th 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 27^th 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.

Newsletter - March 2016

March 2016

Term Dates:

Term 1:

 Older Group: 25 January – 13 April

Younger Group: 21 January – 15 April

Teachers’ Update

What a busy few weeks we have had here at kindergarten. The excitement has peaked in the last few days with the arrival of our eggs in the incubator. We have been so lucky to be here when some of the chickens have hatched and now we are enjoying watching them in the brooder. They are getting bigger and more active every day. This experience has been wonderful for both our older and younger children and we have been able to make the most of the learning opportunities both at mat time and in our displays. When you check out the chickens we would love you to take time to read the display and share with your child.

This interest in nature will be enhanced for our older group with a visit from Brian Lawton, an entomologist, as well as a trip to Kiwi Valley Farm, to get up close with the animals.

As usual, summer has presented us with some fabulous days and we have enjoyed getting wet in the lazy river and under the sprinkler as well as lazy afternoons reading and playing games in the shade from our wonderful trees. How lucky we are with our beautiful outdoor environment.

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.

Ride-a-Thon

We are coming up to our annual Ride-a-Thon, the first of only 2 fundraisers that we hold during the year.

This fun event is a chance for families to get together and to raise some money for your kindergarten. So bring the Grandparents, Aunts Uncles and friendly neighbours along for a fun family day.

Date: Saturday 19^th March

Time: 11-1pm

Place: Torbay Primary School

See the attached flyer for all the important details.

Parking

This is an on-going issue outside kindergarten. 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.

Dates to Remember

Date	Event
Tues 8th March	Committee Meeting
Thurs 10th March	Hearing and Vision (younger group)
Mon 14th March	Autumn Harvest Morning Hearing and Vision (older group)
Sat 19th March	Ride-a-Thon
Wed 23rd March	Entomologist visit (older group)
Wed 6th April	Kiwi Valley (older group)

Hearing and Vision

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 normal session times for both the older and younger group.

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 have received an invoice for the term a few weeks ago. It would be great if we can get all fees and donations in well before the end of term. Thanks very much, we really appreciate your support.

Gate safety

When leaving the kindergarten could you please check that the gate is closed securely and make sure that only your own children exit the gate with you. Last week a child raced out with another family and straight on to the road. Please help us to make sure that this doesn’t happen again

Labelling

Please take the time to label your child’s belongings, including hats, lunchboxes and containers, drink bottles and clothes. This helps

us to remind your child to return these items to their bags during session.

A massive thank you

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone for another fantastic quiz night.
Thanks to our wonderful committee, our sponsors, to everyone for all the donations of goods and services, for selling raffle tickets, and for showing up on the night.
We raised an amazing $6500!
This will be put towards the rebuild of our entrance way to make it safer and easier for all our kindergarten families and members of the community.