Kiwi Newsletter – November/December

Kia Ora everyone

We are now at the end of the year it’s so hard to believe. We hope you all enjoyed the picnic at Aotea Lagoon a beautiful spot and such great weather on the day. The Kiwi kaiako would like to take this opportunity to wish you a great Christmas and Happy New Year, and safe travels, and we look forward to a another fantastic year with your children in the kiwi room.

Thank you
A big thankyou to all of you who attended the working bee, the Centre is looking spick and span.

Welcome
We would like to welcome Jaya and her whanau Brian and Natasha, and Beatrice and whanau Lauren and Jules, we hope you enjoy your journey in the kiwi room with us.

Farewell
We have said goodbye to Elise, Tom and Hector who have joined the Tuataras. and also to Pete who is leaving the Centre we wish all of you well in your learning journey.

Birthdays October/November/December
Happy Birthday to:

October
James 23rd

NovemberYuna 14th
Matheo 16th
Lyn 17th
Lexie 17th

DecemberIsla 20th
Margaret 25th

Staffing
The Kiwi room staffing will remain the same next year with Joyce and Melissa continuing to relieve for us on a regular basis. This means there is continuity and familiar faces for our little ones. The kiwi kaiako are very grateful for their dedication and being a part of their learning journey.

Programme Planning
We have wound up our programme planning involving animals. This has been a great interest over the last few months. To enhance this programme we purchased new books involving animals with some books using Te Reo as well. We also made up picture cards, and a book in English and Te Reo to use on the table. These provided the tamariki with great visual experiences and talking points, where they learnt the names of animals in english and Te Reo. Music using songs about animals was high on the agenda and loved by all the tamariki who would be seen to be singing along the tunes and words on their own unaccompanied by a teacher. There was also many animal experiences set up in the room for the tamariki to experience such as a zoo, animal puppets, and farm animals.

Learning Outcomes:
Recognising symbols and concepts through picture cards.
Learning that objects and language connect.
Developing knowledge of Te Reo.
Developing imaginative play with the animal zoo, puppets and farm animals.
Caring for animals. (guniea pig visit from preschool)

The kaiako have enjoyed this programme and loved presenting the tamariki with the new books and waiata and being involved in all aspects of their learning journey about animals.

Enviroschools Sustainability Programme
We are pleased to announce that the Centre has obtained the bronze award for enviroschools. This is a great achievement and the Centre has an ongoing committment to sustainability. Our tamariki in the kiwi room are making contribution to this process. We have planted a crop of vegetables in the back of our room with the tamariki being involved, and we are now starting to harvest strawberries from our garden. Our latest contribution to the programme is a water valve to save water, This valve can turn the water off when not in use and stops our little kiwis from turning taps on and off and wasting water.
Our kiwi tamariki have also been involved in the cleaning and love to be given wet cloths so that they can clean off paint outside on the wall or wipe down tables and chairs. With our care code the children have been learning to care for one another and you may have seen learning stories that relate to caring for the environment and/or each other.

POLYHIGH CARE CODE Is as follows:

We care for each other
We care for ourselves.
We care for all living creatures.
We respect the environment.
We recycle, reduce, reuse.
We compost and feed our worms
We nourish and keep our bodies healthy.
All information on our sustainability programme is on the board to the left of the kitchen. Look for up to date information and learning stories.

SELF REVIEW (ART)
We have wound up this review and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the little kiwis involved in more art. We made great use of the plastic wall out in the conservatory area where the children had a big space to use and weren’t restricted by the confines of paper, and the view of the natural environment through the wall provided a great canvas in which to paint. We will continue to support art involvement and will develop more work with clay and fingerpaint etc. in the New Year.

Learning Outcomes
Tamariki became involved in art experiences and the use of texture and colour.
Tamariki learnt to use paint brushes.
Tamariki developed the skills of hand-eye coordination.
Tamariki had fun.
Tamariki learnt to work alongside one another.

We will start a new programme planning and a self review in the New Year, information will be out in the first newsletter next year.
Our enviroschools programme is Centre wide and is continually ongoing. If you have any sustainable practices that you use at home and think the Centre would benefit from please let the kaiako know. We are always looking for new ideas.

Reminders
Please sunblock your child before coming to the Centre.
Please supply sunhat and changes of clothes for the summer months.

Ka Kite,
The Kiwi Kaiako