Welcome to our latest update of information and stories you may be interested in... Another short week, enjoy! Jane 
Logo Proposals You may have seen the new logos designed for our Wairarapa kindergartens. All of our kindergartens are to get logos that align with the new WM branding. Please take your time to look at the logos and talk about them with your teams. Chanelle is really keen to get your feedback so if you have already received a copy of the proposed logo for your kindergarten please send your feedback through to her at chanelle.huia-rutten@wmkindergartens.org.nz. Those of you who are yet to receive a logo, they’re on their way soon!!! 
2017-18 Whānau Contribution Tax Certificates Your families may be starting to ask about their 2017-18 Whānau Contribution/Donation Tax Certificates. These will be emailed to families next week and will summarise all whānau contributions and other donations made to Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens (received and banked) in the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018. Any queries about the tax certificates should be emailed to donations@wmkindergartens.org.nz.
Part Time Teachers Get Together A part-time teachers’ support group has been started, and will have its first get together in the first week of the holidays in Johnsonville. Come to Room 5 at the Johnsonville Community Centre on Wednesday April 18 from 9 (for a 9.30 start). All welcome. Contact Debby, debby.king@wmkindergartens.org.nz for more info. See you there!
Whanganui Kindergarten Relationships Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens has entered into a relationship with the Whanganui Kindergarten Association to offer professional support, including senior teacher services and professional development. The Whanganui Kindergarten Association operates 14 kindergartens, mainly in the city of Whanganui but also including Taihape, Waiouru, and Ohakune as well as Maxwell, which is just north of the city. Whānau Manaaki will deliver the services in an integrated way with some senior teachers working with kindergartens in both associations. Whanganui teachers will attend the Whānau Manaaki conference in July, and teachers from both associations may attend other professional development options. Whanau Manaaki is confident that the arrangement will benefit teachers in both associations. It will start next term.
Celebrating Pedagogical Practice 20th April 2018 9.30am-1pm There is a variety of interesting things happening in our kindergartens, come along and hear what these three teams have been working on. A great opportunity to take away new ideas! Please remember to enrol on HR.net Agenda Presentation 1: What is Unique at Irmgard Ritchie Kindergarten? We have developed and continue to develop positive partnerships with parents/ whānau that contribute to positive outcomes for children. In this presentation, our team will present documentation, stories, photos and evidence on how we respond to children, parents and whanau to provide a warm, nurturing welcoming learning environment where their cultural identities are acknowledged, supported and extended. Rowena Echano and theIrmgard Ritchie Team Morning Tea Presentation 2: Nuanua Using Visual Aids in Responsive Teaching Practices It would be difficult to communicate ideas without seeing them in visual representation. Images express things in way words alone are not able to achieve. Nuanua recently has been implementing various visual resources, we have created individual visual laminated resources. In this workshop/presentation we will be providing specific examples of the effectiveness using visual resources have been. We will discuss the purposeful use of individualise open stories supporting speech and language development. We will also share a story of a child who was very resistant to wear his hearing aid/device. With the powerfulness of his superhero, and intentional use of visual representations he was proud to wear his hearing aids ad his peers perceived he had super hearing powers! Nuanua teaching team have been using visual lanyards to empower all children to communicate with the aid of visual pictures. The lanyards are effective in supporting children to understand routines/boundaries/expectations and opportunities to share their emotions through visual representation. Jordan Strong and the Nuanua Team Presentation 3: Videos Can Help Create More Exposure of Your Kindergarten’s Facebook Page Many of us have learnt to upload photographs to show tamariki learning that has happened throughout the day. However, have you tried promoting your kindergarten with videos? Video footage of tamariki learning through play often gets more views than our photos do. Join our short talk on ways you can use video clips to show learning that happens at your kindergarten. Scott Marris and the Katoa Team National Conversation About Education The government is seeking views about what’s important when it comes to education. There’s an online survey that all teachers are encouraged to fill in. Here’s your chance to stress the importance of high quality education in the early years! The government also wants to hear from parents, so encourage your whānau to fill it in also. It takes about 20 minutes, but you can save the survey and return to it if you want to. Here’s the link to have your say: conversation.education.govt.nz. The government is also holding two national education summits in May as part of its consultation process, and regional meetings will follow these. We will continue to provide information about how to get involved in the government review of education.
Education Council Causes Issues For Pasifika Language ECE Teachers Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens featured in a RNZ story about problems for Pasifika language speaking early childhood teachers having to pass the IELTs English test at a very high level to qualify to teach. The Education Council has set the level for the test at 7, which is higher than the level for post graduate study. Those who completed secondary education in the Pacific Islands need to sit the test, even though many New Zealand born teaching students may not pass this test at that level. This requirement, introduced in 2011, has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of Pasifika speakers training as ECE teachers, and has made it hard for language-focused services to survive. Here’s a link to the full story. And here’s a link to another story on the same issue.
Gun Safety At ECE In The News Whānau Manaaki featured in a radio item and various newspaper stories about gun play, with Chief Executive Amanda Coulston questioning standardised kits being given to 130 Evolve centres. While accepting that the gun safety details such as targets for practice and cardboard gun safes may be an appropriate response in one centre to children’s current interests, sending them out wholesale is not necessarily the best approach. Here’s a link to that item. And here’s a link to another story that questions whether the Evolve approach helps normalise the use of guns in society.
Risk Good For Children – East Harbour Kindergarten Features East Harbour Kindergarten was on the front page of the Dom Post over Easter, with a story about managing risk. Head teacher Jemma Bunning explained that children at East Harbour climb trees and use real carpentry tools, and that risk is part of learning. Well done East Harbour! You can read the full story here. 
Tui Park Whānau Gathering 
Farewell at Waikanae Waikanae Kindergarten are farewelling one of their team. After 25 years Karen Backler is leaving. See the invitation on the left with details of Karen's farewell celebrations.
For Sale Matariki Kindergarten have a large blue Treadsafe climbing box (1.2 m in height) that they would like to either sell or swap. If you are interested please contact the kindergarten directly.
Hot Tip  Do you ever have cables slipping off your desk?
Laptop users have it rough - every time they unplug their ethernet, speakers or power cables the cables seem to fall right off the desk. Sure, you can buy a really expensive docking station for your laptop, or you could just give those cables something to catch on when you unplug them, and that's where binder clips come in. Just slide the cables through the metal wings and you're good to go! 
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