Welcome to our latest update of information and stories you may be interested in... You will see we have set the date for the end of year all staff celebration, remember to put this in your diaries. Jane. 
Term/Year Dates 2019 We are still finalising the calendar for next year – with start and finish dates, Term Breaks and Annual Leave times etc. We will to send this out in the next week or two.
Property  Kevin Staunton is not available to be contacted for any property work until Thursday 20 September 2018. Any URGENT and ESSENTIAL maintenance requests need to be directed to Dean Ward and then the maintenance request process followed as usual. Any questions please contact Lorraine.Coulston@wmkindergartens.org.nz
Induction and Mentoring for PCT’s and Mentors Petone Working Men’s Club 4th October 9:00am to 1:00pm This is the final seminar for this year and all PCTs and their mentors are expected to attend. The programme is currently being finalised, and will include the workshop on Educative Mentoring for Mentors that was cancelled in July.
Giveaway Day The next giveaway day is being held on Saturday 15th September at Nuanua Kindergarten. If you have any goods you wish to donate to this giveaway day we would appreciate them being dropped off at the office before next Friday. Donated goods could include clothing, bedding, kitchen utensils, furniture and linen. We are always appreciative of the generosity of our kindergartens; their staff, families and community. Thank you.
Promotion and Messaging Requests Through Facebook A few of our kindergartens have recently been receiving messages on facebook from various companies/organisations asking if the kindergarten would promote their cause. We just want to remind our teams that kindergartens may promote sponsors and services which are relevant to ECE and Parents/Whānau, however promotion for businesses which are not relevant to ECE or families is not permitted. You can click here to view the Use of Kindergartens for Advertising policy. We are happy for you and your teaching team to decide if you think a certain service is relevant and then decide if this is something you would like to promote. For those services you choose not to promote we know you will handle the situation with respect and professionalism. If you are having an issue where you are repeatedly being approached by a specific person or company on facebook please let Chanelle at the office know, she will discuss options with you.
'One Organisation' For Kindergartens Not Proceeding Last weekend, the 25 kindergarten associations that make up New Zealand Kindergartens (NZK) decided against proceeding with the work to establish one national kindergarten organisation. The vote was close, with twelve associations in favour of proceeding, and thirteen against. The board of NZK will now work on supporting kindergartens to work together with better alliances and shared services. Whānau Manaaki Chief Executive Amanda Coulston says while the Whānau Manaaki board was disappointed with the way the vote went, work will continue on helping the kindergarten movement speak with one voice to advocate for kindergartens in the future.
MPs Visit Ōtaki Kindergarten Ōtaki Kindergarten welcomed local MP Nathan Guy and National’s Early Childhood Education spokesperson Nicola Willis to visit this week. The Kindergarten prepared for the occasion by showing the children photos of the two MPs, and discussing manaakitanga and practicing a waiata to welcome the visitors. The Ōtaki team used their facebook page to advertise the visit to families, and to remind them that quality education is what’s important, and that quality means 100 per cent qualified teachers - which are currently not fully funded. After “demonstrating persistence” at the carpentry table, Nathan Guy was welcomed at the sandpit cafe where he was offered various sand delicacies including the ever-popular chicken nuggets. Don’t forget to invite your MP to your kindergarten. It’s a good time to host national MPs as the party is currently revising its early childhood policy. If your MP is not available (for example Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson is also the Minister of Finance so he may not have time to get around every kindergarten in his electorate) then you can invite another locally based MP. Go to the toolbox in Storypark for more information about hosting politicians. If you need support, or have any questions, email jenny.davies@wmkindergartens.org.nz  
Tongan Language Week 
Mālō e lelei! Tongan Language Week / Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e Lea Faka-Tonga is being held from Sunday 2 September – Saturday 8 September 2018. You can find further resources here.
AGM 
Save The Date!  The all staff end of year celebration has been booked in for Friday 23rd November 2018 at the same venue as last year, Macs Brew Bar.. Please note this in your diaries, more details will follow closer to the time.
This Week On Facebook   
It was spring clean time at Una Williams this week! Great work team! 
At Taitoko Kindergarten this week tamariki have been exploring and experiencing a new way to paint. This is such a fantastic way for children to be creative while they are developing gross motor skills, balance, hand eye co-ordination and sensory exploration all while having a tremendous amount of fun. 
It’s so lovely to see our tamariki at Adventure Kindergarten looking at their portfolio books and sharing their learning with their friends. They can see themselves as learners, and how much they have changed since they first started kindergarten! One of Adventure Kindergarten's unique traditions that their tamariki have implemented, is the practice of doing a karanga (to call/summon) to gather the children onto the mat at lunchtime. It’s quite a big deal to have a turn, and as you can see and hear in the video, this is a wonderful example of leadership, courage, confidence and mana! Karawhuia kotiro ma!
Hot Tip  Hot Tips is taking a break for a couple of weeks. You can continue to send through your useful tips to korero@wmkindergartens.org.nz
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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