Welcome to our latest update of information and stories you may be interested in... We are moving into cooler weather. It would be a good idea to start thinking about getting your kindergartens ready for the cooler months ahead. We will have some reminders in future editions of the Kōrero. Jane. 
GOSH Update Just a reminder that to access the “My Kindergarten” section in GOSH, teams need to reset their password using the email they were sent by GOSH. From now the kindergarten's email address is the one to use to log in to GOSH. Just a reminder that the “My Kindergarten” view on GOSH allows teams to access their own Hazard Registers and Child Accident Registers. If you have any problems please contact lorraine.coulston@wmkindergartens.org.nz.
Kindergarten Business Cards We are now producing business cards for kindergartens who request them.
Please email Chanelle if your kindergarten is in need of business cards. The association will fund these.
Here is a sample of Tai Tamariki's business card: 
2019/20 Kindergarten Budgets We have begun the process of preparing the 2019/20 WMK Association budget and are due to present this to the Board in May. As usual we require your input as part of this process and are requesting that you prepare and submit your 2019/20 kindergarten budget to us over the coming month. Your kindergarten budget for the year to 30 June 2020 will be due at the Association by Friday 10 May 2019. Please work with your Senior Teacher, Kindergarten team and Committees (where appropriate) to complete this exercise, which will also mean budgeting for your 2019/20 fundraising activities, IT purchases and property projects, as well as use of your Equity and Targeted funding (where applicable). The budgets you submit will be collated and reviewed by the Association and will be used as a reference against which PA1 requests made during 2019/20 are evaluated. We will email you your budget template and instructions on Wednesday 10 April 2019 (these will include your current year results to make preparation easier). We are happy to assist you with your budgeting exercise, so please contact Brendon at the Association on (04) 232 1749 or email brendon.fyfe-gits@wmkindergartens.org.nz if you have questions or concerns.
2018/19 Whānau Contribution Tax Certificates Your families may be starting to ask about their 2018/19 Whānau Contribution/Donation Tax Certificates. These are being generated next week and will summarise all whānau contributions and other donations made to Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens (received and banked) in the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. They will be emailed directly to families in the week beginning 15 April 2019. It would be helpful if you could check that your parent and whānau email details in Infocare are accurate as these will be used to distribute the tax certificates. Any queries about the tax certificates can be emailed to donations@wmkindergartens.org.nz.
Lockdown Drills We have been asked by some of our kindergartens to clarify our procedures for lockdown and lockdown drills. We are also aware that some kindergartens have been visited by local Police requesting information about their lock down procedures and drills. In light of the Christchurch tragedy the kindergarten lockdown and lockdown drill procedures are being reviewed at a National level. The Association will continue to monitor these discussions and will keep you informed on any outcomes. In the meantime if you are approached by the Police for information about our procedures please feel free to get them to contact the Association directly.
You'll Find Us Now! We have had our new signage installed at the office, there should be no problems in finding us now! 
#GumbootupNZ Get your gumboots dusted off! Tomorrow is Gumboots day. For many, having depression is like walking through mud every day. Walk in their shoes for a day, put on your gumboots, give a gold coin donation and help to provide free councelling to any child in need. Send through your pics so we can put them in next week's Kōrero. 
A Great Resource For Your Children Birchville kindergarten was recently gifted a book from one of their families and they love it so much they want to share it with you. It is age appropriate for our children and covers several issues such as bullying, people who come from overseas, gay marriage, different foods, physical disabilities etc. This book can be bought at Paper Plus and possibly through other outlets.   Men's Network Meet Up Members of the Whānau Manaaki Association Men's Network group met up recently at the Southern Cross Hotel. If you are interested in knowing more about this group, or you want to join their facebook group please contact Adrian at adrian.smith@wmkindergartens.org.nz. Also keep an eye on future editions of the Kōrero for group events coming up. 
OMEP Meeting  The next meeting for OMEP Wellington is 15 April. There will be a presentation by Mary Jane Shuker on Fostering Children’s Early Literacy Skills. Storytimes in public libraries in Aotearoa New Zealand, as elsewhere around the world, rely predominantly on print resources to engage and delight the children attending. The aims of children’s storytime programmes in public libraries are many and diverse. A key stated aim of North American programmes, such as Every Child Ready to Read or Mother Goose on the Loose for example, is to introduce children to important pre-literacy and “school readiness” skills. In Aotearoa New Zealand, our study found that the librarians leading storytimes were less concerned with practices that supported some of the more formal early reading skills, focusing instead on techniques to increase children’s print motivation and engagement with books. This presentation will explore how preschool storytimes in New Zealand public libraries incorporate practices which have been identified as beneficial for children’s early literacy skills and the implications of our findings for everyday practices in early childhood centres. $10.00 for non-members No cost for members
This Week On Facebook   Miramar North Kindergarten recently held their wheelathon. They raised $956 and most of this has gone towards purchasing some lovely handmade wooden vehicles. We bet the children love these!  Northland kindergarten dug this out of the archives!!   
Raumati Beach recently had an enjoyable day at Nga Manu seeing the natural world up close and learning about our environment.
Handy Facebook Pages  I Am Hope is the youth and community focused support group run by The Key to Life Charitable Trust, started by Mike King. For the last three years Key To Life have been promoting positive attitudinal societal change in schools and communities up and down the country, and funding private care and counselling for young people stuck-in-the-mud on waiting lists. 
Previous Kōrero Editions If you are wanting to access previous editions of the Kōrero you can find them at www.wmkindergartens.org.nz/archive or you can click here. It is a good idea to save this link as an icon on your desktop.
Thank you for taking the time to read Kōrero. Don't forget to check out some of the stories listed down the side menu. Just click between the stories of use the Kōrero bar to come back to this page. | 
