Home | Outreach | Kindergarten | Kindy News
Kindy News PDF Print E-mail

 

18 February 2013

 

Dear Parents / Caregivers,

 

TERM DATES 2013

 

Term 1     Tuesday 29 January  -  Friday 19 April  (12 weeks)

Term 2                 Monday 6 May  -  Friday 12 July  (10 weeks)

Term 3     Monday 29 July  -  Friday 27 September  (9 weeks)

Term 4     Monday 14 October  -  Friday 6 December  (8 weeks)

 

Staffing -  Our staff are Patsy Clark (Supervisor), Sandy Smith, Lizelda Fourie, and Gail Smith.

Eileen Hildreth is our Office Administrator.

Fees -  These are now due for Term 1.  These are $2.00 per hour for those children not receiving ‘20 hours ECE’ and there are 12 weeks in this term.  You should receive an account soon.  If you would like to pay your fees via the internet please see Patsy.  Thank you to those people who have already paid their fees.

 

Chalk Fundraiser -  Thank you to those who supported this fundraiser last year.  We have received $250.00 worth of vouchers to use for purchasing new resources.

 

ERO (Education Review Office) will be visiting us in Week 9 of this term (25-28 March 2013).  Please see the attached letter from them.

 

Focus for this term -  The children have been showing a lot of interest in what is happening with the church building work around us and we will be extending their learning in this area throughout the term.

 

We realize the building work is causing parking difficulties but we appreciate your patience and ask that you please be considerate of the businesses around us.  If you are unsure of where you are able to park, please ask one of the staff.

 

The teachers have been writing stories about the children’s learning and some of these are displayed on the wall.  Please feel free to write comments in the spaces provided.  We will also be working on individual stories for their profiles throughout the term.

 

Self review -  The staff are also continuing to work on extending the children’s knowledge and understanding of the bi-cultural nature of New Zealand.  We will be using this as the basis of our self review focus which is Te Wh?riki Strand 2 Belonging which states that ‘children and their families feel a sense of belonging’.

 

We have been introducing some new words and phrases in te reo M?ori.

 

Whiti mai te r?  -  the sun is shining

Pupuhi mai te hau  -  the wind is blowing

 

It would be great if you could support your child in their learning by becoming familiar with them yourselves.

 

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Patsy


 

Reminders

SAFETY -  Please be careful when using the kindy gate and ensure that no other children leave without their parents.

FIRE AND EARTHQUAKE DRILLS -

We practice these each term with the children so that staff and children are familiar with what to do in such emergencies.

In the event of an earthquake, the children are taught to get down on the floor and curl up like a turtle or to go under a table.

On hearing the fire alarm, the children are taught to evacuate the building and go to the Assembly point for a roll call.

BORROWING BOX -  We have introduced a box with a variety of resources for the children to borrow.  They may borrow one resource at a time and return it the following week.  This includes an excellent series from the Ministry of Education called the My Feelings series.  Please feel free to look through them with your child and fill out the notebook if they wish to borrow something.

SUNHATS  - You are reminded that we have a Sun Safety Policy which states that staff and children will wear sunhats when outside in Terms 1 and 4 of each year.  To help us comply with this Policy please ensure your child has a named sunhat in their bag.  Hats should be full brimmed or have a peak and flaps.  You may find it easier to have a hat especially for Kindy, which can then be left in your child’s bag. It would also be helpful if any visitors to the Kindy could also wear sunhats when outside.

SUNBLOCK -  During this term please apply sunblock to your child before they come to kindy.  Most good sunblocks last for up to 4 hours, but if you particularly want your child to have more sunblock

applied, please supply us with some in a named container which will be left at kindy for the term.

The children all wear sunhats while playing outside and a large area of the playground does have shade cover.  Also, the way our sessions are operated, the children are not outside in the sun for a whole session.  We realise this may be more of an issue for the Wednesday session when the children are here for a longer time.

SNACKS -  Keep these as simple and as healthy as possible - great snacks are sandwiches, fruit, buns, vegetables, crackers, cheese, yoghurt, scones and pikelets.  Remember that muesli bars, cakes, roll ups and biscuits contain sugar that cause tooth decay and chips contain large amounts of salt and fat.  These all contribute to weight concerns and other health problems.  Start now and teach your children healthy eating habits!

Vision / Hearing -  The vision hearing technician will visit the kindy on Wednesday 27th February to check the hearing and

vision of 4 year old children who have not been seen before, or who require re-checks from a previous visit.

Please inform us if your child is currently

under specialist care for an ear or vision

defect.  If your child does not normally attend kindy on Wednesdays, you may still bring them in to see the technician.  Please check with Patsy about a suitable time.

If you do not want your child checked, please let me know.

CUPS -  Please ensure your child has a plastic cup in their bag.  We have jugs of water on the tables at snack time and the children learn to pour their own drinks.