Nau mai ki tenei wiki Kōrero. Leading up to and during the rāhui we saw the wonderful work you were doing with your kindergarten tamariki and whānau. We do not want to lose the momentum of keeping ourselves and our kindergarten communities safe in these Covid 19 times. I would encourage you to read the item below, Don't Be Complacent, as a reminder of what we should be doing at kindergarten and in our homes. He hono tangata kore a motu, kāpā he taura, waka a motu Connections between people cannot be severed, whereas those of a canoe rope can. Jane 
New PLD in Wairarapa -Ngā Ukurere Pēpi  Kia ora koutou inspiring ukulele players😊 The Ngā Ukurere Pēpi sessions will occur outside of operational hours with children in attendance. Term 3 dates are, 13 August and 15 September 2020. The venue is at Carterton Kindergarten. This was determined by the high number of teachers from mid to south Wairarapa expressing their interest. Option 1: 4pm-5pm was by far the preferred time to meet. Please ensure you enrol via HR.Net and the Kōrero PLD section will be updated as well for your convenience. I look forward to seeing you on the 13 August. If you do not have a ukulele there will be some spares to use. Otherwise bring your smile and enthusiasm for some fun learning together. I will prepare some handouts and information for the first session and follow up with electronic copies too. Like Jake Shimaburuko says, the world would be a better place if we all played ukulele! See you there, Catha
Child Protection Courses 29 Sept Masterton Motor Lodge - 13 spaces left 30 Sept Te Puna (WM Office Porirua) - 9 spaces left 1 Oct Whanganui - both morning and afternoon sessions have plenty of space available 2 Oct Te Puna (WM Office Porirua) - Morning session has 27 spaces available; Afternoon session still wide open 8 Oct Te Puna (Porirua) - this session is now full.
Join The WM Board A reminder that this year we are looking for both staff and parent representation on the WM Board. Click on the heading to download the following forms:
TONI Recruitment Just a reminder that we are looking to recruit our next cohort of TONI homebased educators. See the posters below, which can be printed out and placed on your kindergarten notice boards if you are in the Porirua or Otaki area. 
General Election  At the recent Head Teacher meetings you were given election resources to take back to your kindergartens. The item below demonstrates how these resources could be used when engaging with your communities in the up coming election. Some kindergarten parents from Arab speaking backgrounds were surprised to hear they can vote in New Zealand when they attended a parent workshop at Newtown Kindergarten last weekend. Newtown Kindergarten Head Teacher Erin, organised the workshop which included parents from Wellington South and Berhampore Kindergartens. Speakers from the Electoral Commission and Plunket attended, and Hanaa, Whānau Manaaki’s Community Navigator, who works with Muslim families across the kindergartens, translated for them. She says the families filled in enrolment forms and took some home for their families. “It was really successful.” They appreciated hearing about the election and about the referenda on euthanasia and cannabis. “Everyone was happy, they appreciate the offer.” The Electoral Commission is coming back to the kindergarten during session to talk to more families. Parents also heard about getting children to sleep and healthy food. Further workshops are planned on different topics. 
Don’t Be Complacent The Director-General of Health is warning people not to be complacent about Covid 19, warning that a further outbreak is almost inevitable – it’s a case of when, not if, it returns. In Victoria, 11,000 people are currently infected with the virus. In particular, contact tracing is crucial to containing any outbreak without more drastic measures. People should remember the health advice, in particular: - Download the Covid tracer app and use it to track your movements
- Display the QR code at your kindergarten and encourage people to use it
- Stay home if unwell
- Consult your doctor and get tested if it is recommended
- Wash your hands thoroughly.
In our kindergartens we should remember to reinforce health messages with our children and families, and encourage people to use the QR codes that we have displayed. Make sure you have several posters in places that are convenient for families to use. Despite over 600,000 kiwis registering for the app, most people are not using it regularly. There were some problems with the app when it was first introduced but it is continually being improved. The Covid 19 website remains a good source of information. 
New Rental Laws Provide Greater Stability for Families The government has passed a new law this week, providing more rights for tenants. At the moment people can be evicted with 90 days’ notice without a reason being given. The changes to tenancy laws make it harder to evict families and mean rents can only rise every 12 months instead of every six months. The law also stops bidding wars where tenants are played off against each other to put the rent up. It also allows victims of domestic violence to get out of their tenancies. Associate Housing Minister Kris Faafoi said the law change would ensure the nearly one third of New Zealanders who lived in rental properties could set down roots in their community. Cook Island Language Week This week, across our kindergartens and in the office, we are celebrating Cook Island Language Week. At Tairangi Kindergarten Evie and Ava-Lee made the most of the opportunity to help make titi which they wore with pride! You can see them both below! Here is a collage of some of the activities this week. 50 Years Celebration
Whāea Sue Retires And We Celebrate Matariki It was a night of festivities and remembrance as the Otaki Kindergarten community came together to celebrate the amazing teaching career of Sue Barrett and to celebrate Matariki. Sue has been a teacher at Otaki Kindergarten for 28 years, 25 of those years as Head Teacher. It was a wonderful celebration!  
Invite From Awatea 
Knitters Thanked Katie and Raewyn, Senior Teachers in Whanganui, went to the Gonville library today to thank the Gonville Knitters for all their amazing contributions to our kindergartens both on the Plateau and in Whanganui. The Gonville Knitters have been contributing beautiful hats, socks, slippers, jerseys and cardigans to our kindergartens for over four years now. 
This Week On Facebook  
Handy Facebook Pages  Altogether Autism provides individually researched information for families living with, professionals working with, and people on the autism spectrum. 
Appointments and Resignations Congratulations to the following on their recent appointments: | Maryjane Winiata | .8 Teacher | Awatea | | Paola Miribiran | Head Teacher | Johnsonville West | | Kim Thomson | Teacher | Totara Park |
We wish all the best to the following who have retired or resigned: | Carolyn Evans | Teacher | Cottle | | Karen Knight | Head Teacher | Birchville | | Ruth Gwyther | Teacher | York Street | | Margaret McDonald | .3125 Teacher | Bellevue |
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.
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