Rutherford Street Kindergarten Newsletter - February News 2012
Kia ora koutou!
Welcome: Welcome to our new children and their families. We will hold a lunch later in the term so that families can take the opportunity to meet one another.
Thanks: A big thanks to those who worked to keep the kindergarten gardens and pets going over the holidays – not to mention helping out with the end of term cleanup and washing as well. This is all very much appreciated!
The Grounds:Have you seen the wonderful new changes in our grounds? The fence at the end behind the swings is new and the building has been refreshed with a new coat of paint. Doesn’t it look great!
Curriculum:The focus for the next few weeks will be around settling into the environment for the new children and resettling for the rest. So far our new children have been busy getting to know the teachers, one another and exploring the curriculum areas, and helping to weed and water the gardens.
Many of our children are talking about the beach and camping experiences they took part in over the holidays so we are also doing a focus called ‘Under the Sea’, which we will continue to develop over the coming weeks. We are planning a trip in two or three weeks to the Tahunanui rockpools which will require a child: adult ratio of 2:1, so parents/grandparents/caregivers are very welcome to come along! There will be a notice about this very soon.
We have already booked some morning sessions for the term with Noa Parker, who comes in to do yoga with our children. We plan to have Kath Bee in also for some afternoon sessions. And we will keep you posted via the outside noticeboard about Constable John Donovan, who is returning this term for a road/carseat safety session.
Angie, Ann, Ruby and I have been busy setting our goals for what we want to achieve this year as far as our own professional development goes, which of course includes being aware of how this will impact positively on our children’s education and care. Please keep an eye on the ‘What’s Happening?’ book as this is one way that you can keep up with what your child has been doing in any one week. It will also keep you informed about our short and long term planning. Discussion is another way to keep in touch with what your child is doing – please feel free to talk to us and ask what they’ve been up to. We will give you regular feedback too.
Purple Cake Day March 1st: Some of our wonderful parents are involved in organising Purple Cake Day, and our centre will take part! It will be held on Thursday March 1st and we will have lots of purple in the kindergarten environment. Children are encouraged to wear purple clothing and to bring a gold coin donation which will be passed on the Purple Cake Day organisers. This year all funds raised will go to children in Nepal. We will put a notice in your pockets closer to the time with more details.
General: Lots of reminders for families:
Sign-in Daysheets:
Please remember to sign your child in on arrival on the appropriate morning and afternoon daysheets in the office window – this is a Ministry of Education requirement and is also needed in case of emergencies. If you are visiting for any length of time with your child, please write your own name at the bottom of the daysheet.
Healthy Food:
We promote healthy eating, so please ensure healthy food for your children in their lunch boxes. At this hot time of year, we put ice packs into the chilly bins at morning tea time so that the food of children staying all day is kept cool. Note that we are a peanut free centre. Please leave peanut butter, muesli bars and any other items with peanuts in them for eating at home. We encourage children to eat only their own food and if there is any food shared for example from the garden, baking sessions or birthdays, we will record it the kitchen. We will take your child’s allergies seriously, so if there are any changes please keep us informed.
Sun Hats:
Every child should have a named sunhat that is kept on the hat line at kindergarten to be worn outside. This is for Term 1 and Term 4 in every year and keeps our children protected from the long-term, harmful effects of too much UV. Please apply sunscreen to your child before they come to kindergarten – we have sunscreen on site which you are welcome to use if you forget. We will apply sunscreen after lunch to the children staying all day, especially those playing out in the sun.
Change of Clothing:
Could you ensure your child always has a change of clothing in their bags – especially at this time of year when we have lots of water play both in the water trough and in the sandpit…and sometimes on the slide!
Naming belongings:
Please remember to name your child’s clothes, drink bottle and lunch box. This makes it much easier for us to return ‘lost’ gear to the right family and saves confusion over similar belongs! There are vivid markers kept in the small basket above the shelf where the lunch boxes usually sit, and also in the basket by the sign in daysheets in the office window.
‘Green Bag’:
Please keep an eco ‘green’ bag in your child’s bag for wet clothing – this saves using lots of plastic bags. You can buy these very cheaply at your local supermarket. Thanks.
Parent Library and Wall Displays:
Please feel welcome to borrow books from the Parent’s Library which is situated just through the door to the inside area, on the left. There’s a notebook for recording the date and which book/s you are borrowing. Please feel welcome to look at the walls inside kindergarten – we change the wall displays every term or so and there is also a Parent’s Noticeboard above the lino floor which contains information relevant to you, including material from the Ministry of Education and our own committee matters like policies and minutes.
Policies: The policy for this month is our Philosophy and Programme Planning Statement. We have a regular review cycle for our policies which you are welcome to have input into, either by adding notes or letting Mary or one of the teachers know your thoughts or by attending a committee meeting. Current policies are displayed on the inside Parent’s Noticeboard.
Committee Meeting: The first committee meeting for the year will be held on Wednesday February 15th here at kindergarten, at 7.30pm. All welcome!
Newsletter
Rutherford Street Kindergarten Newsletter - February News 2012
Kia ora koutou!
Welcome: Welcome to our new children and their families. We will hold a lunch later in the term so that families can take the opportunity to meet one another.
Thanks: A big thanks to those who worked to keep the kindergarten gardens and pets going over the holidays – not to mention helping out with the end of term cleanup and washing as well. This is all very much appreciated!
The Grounds:Have you seen the wonderful new changes in our grounds? The fence at the end behind the swings is new and the building has been refreshed with a new coat of paint. Doesn’t it look great!
Curriculum:The focus for the next few weeks will be around settling into the environment for the new children and resettling for the rest. So far our new children have been busy getting to know the teachers, one another and exploring the curriculum areas, and helping to weed and water the gardens.
Many of our children are talking about the beach and camping experiences they took part in over the holidays so we are also doing a focus called ‘Under the Sea’, which we will continue to develop over the coming weeks. We are planning a trip in two or three weeks to the Tahunanui rockpools which will require a child: adult ratio of 2:1, so parents/grandparents/caregivers are very welcome to come along! There will be a notice about this very soon.
We have already booked some morning sessions for the term with Noa Parker, who comes in to do yoga with our children. We plan to have Kath Bee in also for some afternoon sessions. And we will keep you posted via the outside noticeboard about Constable John Donovan, who is returning this term for a road/carseat safety session.
Angie, Ann, Ruby and I have been busy setting our goals for what we want to achieve this year as far as our own professional development goes, which of course includes being aware of how this will impact positively on our children’s education and care. Please keep an eye on the ‘What’s Happening?’ book as this is one way that you can keep up with what your child has been doing in any one week. It will also keep you informed about our short and long term planning. Discussion is another way to keep in touch with what your child is doing – please feel free to talk to us and ask what they’ve been up to. We will give you regular feedback too.
Purple Cake Day March 1st: Some of our wonderful parents are involved in organising Purple Cake Day, and our centre will take part! It will be held on Thursday March 1st and we will have lots of purple in the kindergarten environment. Children are encouraged to wear purple clothing and to bring a gold coin donation which will be passed on the Purple Cake Day organisers. This year all funds raised will go to children in Nepal. We will put a notice in your pockets closer to the time with more details.
General: Lots of reminders for families:
Sign-in Daysheets:
Please remember to sign your child in on arrival on the appropriate morning and afternoon daysheets in the office window – this is a Ministry of Education requirement and is also needed in case of emergencies. If you are visiting for any length of time with your child, please write your own name at the bottom of the daysheet.
Healthy Food:
We promote healthy eating, so please ensure healthy food for your children in their lunch boxes. At this hot time of year, we put ice packs into the chilly bins at morning tea time so that the food of children staying all day is kept cool. Note that we are a peanut free centre. Please leave peanut butter, muesli bars and any other items with peanuts in them for eating at home. We encourage children to eat only their own food and if there is any food shared for example from the garden, baking sessions or birthdays, we will record it the kitchen. We will take your child’s allergies seriously, so if there are any changes please keep us informed.
Sun Hats:
Every child should have a named sunhat that is kept on the hat line at kindergarten to be worn outside. This is for Term 1 and Term 4 in every year and keeps our children protected from the long-term, harmful effects of too much UV. Please apply sunscreen to your child before they come to kindergarten – we have sunscreen on site which you are welcome to use if you forget. We will apply sunscreen after lunch to the children staying all day, especially those playing out in the sun.
Change of Clothing:
Could you ensure your child always has a change of clothing in their bags – especially at this time of year when we have lots of water play both in the water trough and in the sandpit…and sometimes on the slide!
Naming belongings:
Please remember to name your child’s clothes, drink bottle and lunch box. This makes it much easier for us to return ‘lost’ gear to the right family and saves confusion over similar belongs! There are vivid markers kept in the small basket above the shelf where the lunch boxes usually sit, and also in the basket by the sign in daysheets in the office window.
‘Green Bag’:
Please keep an eco ‘green’ bag in your child’s bag for wet clothing – this saves using lots of plastic bags. You can buy these very cheaply at your local supermarket. Thanks.
Parent Library and Wall Displays:
Please feel welcome to borrow books from the Parent’s Library which is situated just through the door to the inside area, on the left. There’s a notebook for recording the date and which book/s you are borrowing. Please feel welcome to look at the walls inside kindergarten – we change the wall displays every term or so and there is also a Parent’s Noticeboard above the lino floor which contains information relevant to you, including material from the Ministry of Education and our own committee matters like policies and minutes.
Policies: The policy for this month is our Philosophy and Programme Planning Statement. We have a regular review cycle for our policies which you are welcome to have input into, either by adding notes or letting Mary or one of the teachers know your thoughts or by attending a committee meeting. Current policies are displayed on the inside Parent’s Noticeboard.
Committee Meeting: The first committee meeting for the year will be held on Wednesday February 15th here at kindergarten, at 7.30pm. All welcome!
Mary, Angie, Ann, Ruby, Ji Young and Esther.