Dear Parents of Pohutukawa Kindergarten Glendowie
We hope you have all had a lovely summer holiday.
A very warm welcome to the new tamariki, Theodore, Morocco, Amāia, Rose and Isobel and their Whānau, who are joining our Pohutukawa Kindergarten community. We also welcome some new siblings to our kindy, Alice who began just before Christmas break.
Term Dates
Term 1, 24 January – 14 April
Term 2, 2 May – 8 July
Term 3, 25 July – 30 September
Term 4, 17 October – 21 December
Dates / events:
Due to the levels, we are in at the moment we are holding off from any Whānau events at this point. Therefore, we will plan special events and experiences at kindy for the tamariki.
Children’s Day Sunday 6th March – We will celebrate with a kindy Dress Up Day on Friday 4th March.
PlayBall is running as an after kindy extra activity on Tuesdays 2.30pm to 3.15pm $90 for the term. Any child can book even if they don’t attend kindy or on that day.
The programme for this term:
As always, we are committed to developing and maintaining relationships with our kindy whānau and tamariki, thus fostering a true sense of belonging.
The early childhood education curriculum is called Te Whāriki. It has five strands one of which is Belonging. This is essential as the tamariki need to have a sense of belonging to kindy, that this is their place, so the can learn and grow.
Belonging/ Mana Whenua Strand, allows children to experience an environment where connecting links with family and the wider world are affirmed and extended. Tamariki will develop a feeling of belonging, and having a right to belong, in the early childhood setting.
Afternoon children – This term we are exploring books and developing pre-literacy skills and communication concepts will also be introduced and explored.
News from Home
At morning mat time we will offer the tamariki the opportunity to all share news from home. On any day of the week, the tamariki are welcome to bring in news to share with the group when this is relevant to them and their family. They may have just had a holiday, family visit or a special event happen. They may have found something interesting to bring in and show the other children. Photos, previously prepared news page or prompts of other kinds are a great tool to use for children to remember details of what they wanted to share. You are welcome to email photos to the Kindy email before 8am. Many of the tamariki have been sharing a story book from home. Through sharing parts of their personal life’s children feel valued as an important part of our learning community and develop their verbal language and confidence skills. Sharing from home also develops the sense of belonging.
Classrooms
The front classroom is called Heuro and the back classroom is called Puāwai. Heuro means seedling and Puāwai means Blossom. In the afternoon we are trailing splitting up into two groups allowing for more developmentally appropriate experiences for the tamariki.
Parent Input Reminder
Just a reminder that parents are invited and encouraged to contribute to their child’s individual planning book (Kete ako). You might want to add a story about something that your family have done together or a little summary of your child’s development or interests. If you are stuck for ideas, we have some basic templates you can take to use. You are also welcome to write feedback on the stories written about your child. This information sharing helps us to further get to know your child and provide a relevant and positive learning experience for them at Kindy.
Spaces Available
Currently we have spaces available, if you would like to enrol your child for any extra days, please let us know. Thank you for the recommendations to friends, please keep doing so and commenting on our Facebook page and community groups as this is our best form of advertising. We have several children off to school this year and with a bigger space we would love to have more friends to come and play.
REMINDERS:
Sun Safety –Summer is now at full strength and children are required to wear a hat if they wish to play outside. Please bring a named hat for your child, which you can leave in our hat box if you wish. We always have spare hats too. Although we do have some shade sails up, much of our outdoor area is still exposed to the sun so please apply sunscreen to your child before coming to kindergarten and make sensible clothing choices. We will encourage children to play under shade wherever possible.
Wet/Soiled clothes bag- Please include a reusable bag for wet clothes in your child’s kindy bag and bring suitable changes in case they are required.
Notice Recognise Respond – A reminder that if you would like this emailed to your inbox each time it is updated, please sign up via the website.
UPDATES:
Red Light- Parents are encouraged to drop their children off at the gate at this setting, if you need to come in because your child is unsettled, we do ask that u wear a mask whilst doing so.
School display – Four-year-old children – We have a display of what school the children are going to when they turn 5. Please let a teacher know what school your child will be attending when you know, so we can add them to the display.
Phones numbers and Email addresses – Please ensure we have a current email address so that we can keep you updated throughout the year on all upcoming events.
Staff
Sarah will be attending The Incredible Years course over the next 6 months on one Thursday’s a month.
Please remember we are always here to talk with you and share any thoughts or ideas you have for the kindergarten. You can contact the teachers via email or at the beginning and end of each session.
Warm regards,
Melanie, Sarah, Natasha and Alyse
