Nau mai ki tenei wiki Kōrero. Gosh aren't we living in some interesting times with the shootings continuing in America, Prime Ministers stepping down overseas to our very own land occupations up north among other events. Through all of these our wonderful teams continue to work so hard and passionately for our tamariki. Keep up the good work! Jane. 
Kevin Staunton  Kevin Staunton, who was a member of Whānau Manaaki’s property team, passed away over the weekend after a battle with cancer. Kevin had been unwell for a number of months and so was unable to work, but some of you will have known him through the work he did with our kindergartens and the work he did in the homes of our Etu Ao TONI Homebased Educators. His calm, friendly manner was much appreciated by those who worked with him. Moe mai ra Kevin, moe mai ra.
For Whanganui Staff Click here to view the latest update of Mahi Tahi. Click Full Year Kindergartens and Staff Travel Claim to view these documents.
GOSH Some kindergartens may be experiencing difficulties accessing forms on GOSH. This is as a result of the browser kindergartens are using to access GOSH. If you are experiencing difficulties can you please change the browser you are using to Google Chrome. If you have any issues with this, please contact Tania.Braybrook@wmkindergartens.org.nz
Policies We have received some very useful feedback as part of the Waitohi licence process around some Health and Safety Policies and we have made some amendments to incorporate this feedback. Please have a read of the following policies on the website to ensure that your procedures are consistent with the HWM policies: - Management of Illness (addition of bullet point 17)
- Administration of Medication (minor change of wording under bullet point 5)
- Safety in the Sun (change extra attention to sun safety from September to April)
Whanganui and Central Plateau PLD Just a reminder that Whanganui and Central Plateau Senior Teachers, Head Teachers and Team Leaders are scheduled to meet Thursday 15th August from 3pm to 5pm. Topic: Leading Te Manawa: Intentional Teaching and Learning Support Overview Venue: St Johns Club, 158 Glasgow Street, Whanganui (Parking at Bowling club on Wicksteed Street). If you haven't already let Kaz know, please could you follow this link to let her know of dietary requirements.
Senior Teacher Team Changes There are some changes to the Senior Teacher team we need to let you know about – some sad, some exciting... We are sad to be saying farewell to Jo Cox who has been working with the Whanganui and Central Plateau kindergartens. Jo is leaving Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens to move to be closer to family, including a new grandchild. We know it can be really hard being away from family and while we will miss Jo, we wish her all the best in the Hawkes Bay. Raewyn McKenna, who has been part-tme Senior Teacher and part-time Centre Manager at Te Puna Ako Ki Tōtara Puku in Whanganui, will now become a full time Senior Teacher. We know her team at Te Puna Ako Ki Tōtara Puku will miss Raewyn but they will still be able to work alongside her as she will be based in the Whanganui office and will work with teams in that area. Jane Horrax, who is part of the Senior Teacher team, will now be based in Waiouru, working out of Waiouru Kindergarten for six months. She will be the Senior Teacher for Taihape, Ohakune and Waiouru Kindergartens. We are excited to welcome Simone Laupepe-Sua to the Senior Teacher team. Many of you will know Simone from her time at Katoa Kindergarten a few years ago. She didn’t go far away, working in other parts of the sector, and we are pleased she will be back with us, relieving as Senior Teacher while Jane is in Waiouru. The teams who will be working with Simone will be advised next week.
Former Whanganui Association Kindergartens - The Last Two! St John’s Hill Kindergarten is in a suburb on the north of the city, near the Great North Road and State Highway 3 to Taranaki. St John’s Hill offers six or seven hour days to families, with most attending for seven hours. The kindergarten has been serving its community for 60 years. It is located in a green area, near the croquet, bridge, harriers and cricket clubs in an area known as Kaiherau. It is near the well-known Virginia Lake/Rotokawau, a reserve with bird life and walks. Gardening is a strong focus in the kindergarten, with extensive vegetable and herb gardens, and a focus on cooking, recycling scraps and sustainability. A major fundraising project is underway to further develop the outdoor space, with a larger sandpit and more area for the large gardens. Children at the kindergarten come from many cultural backgrounds, leading to learning about the world and cultural identity. The kindergarten has a strong committee and receives great support from parents and the community, as well as enjoying good relationships with local schools. 
St John's Teaching Team - Back Row: Rachel Hessell, Sabine Horman Front Row: Shelley Kyle, Catherine Bonisch, Tracey Baxter
Pūtiki Kindergarten PūtiIki Kindergarten is a small kindergarten near the Whanganui River. It is on the south east edge of town near the state highway south. Its families come from near and far, with some from outside the city. Pūtiiki Kindergarten is close to Pūtiki marae and the children visit the marae every Monday morning to share karakia with the kohanga reo and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori. Head teacher Megan Bishop says the special relationship with the marae and the Māori immersion services gives the kindergarten a special focus, and supports the kaiako commitment to Te Reo Māori and bicultural practice. The school, the kohanga and the kindergarten also visit each other regularly. “We have a strong focus on whanaungatanga – relationships” says Megan. 
O A’u O Le Samoa 101 and 102 Whānau Manaaki in Partnership with Excel Pacific are proud to bring back its revised Aganu’u Fa’asamoa programme for beginners. This programme is delivered by Excel Pacific Trust throughout New Zealand. “O A’u O le Samoa 101” programme provides learners with relevant information about the values and practices of Samoan culture and language and how these might be applied to everyday life and for participating or contributing within family and community to those born and raised outside of Samoa. It is a beginner’s course for those seeking to gain a basic understanding of Fa’asamoa. At the same time the new ‘O A’u O le Samoa 102’ programme will run. Check out further information here and if you have any questions you can contact Danny Mareko at danny.mareko@wmkindergartens.org.nz
Etu Ao Logo Shines On Vans Our Etu Ao Homebased Service has recently been rebranded. The new branding reflects the frigatebird, which is found across all tropical and subtropical oceans, and the morning star, Etu Ao. During this last week the vans, that transport the children to their TONI educators, have been sign written to reflect this new branding. 
...........and safety first in the vans, ft Kypra and Ted! 
Te Timataga Hou Kindergarten Teacher Stars In Film Levin kindergarten teacher Anahera Winiata is in Canada for the world premiere of the film she stars in Ruahine – Stories In Her Skin. The film, shot at Pariha Pā in Levin last year, is about the art of moko. It’s described as “a beautifully lyrical and intimate documentary”. It’s been chosen to screen at the Asinabka festival in Ottawa, celebrating indigenous arts and culture. Anahera teaches at Te Timatanga Hou Kindergarten and her team was at the screening in Levin this week. Anahera’s colleague Megan Smith says it was amazing to see the film, and there was a great turnout at the Focal Point Cinema. See This Week On Facebook below. The film also stars Anahera’s sister in law Janice Cherie Pania Eriha. You can find out more about this movie by going through to the facebook page here.  Anahera smiles!
Research Help Wanted x 2 Are you a recently graduated ECE Teacher? We have been approached by Kath Cooper who is a Doctoral student in Education at Victoria University of Wellington. She is looking to interview newly graduated ECE teachers about how their Initial Teacher Education programme helped them to work with Rainbow Families (parents who are takatāpui, lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual).
Each interview would be about an hour and Kath can travel to you. A small gift voucher will be provided to acknowledge your time.
Can you help?
Kath would like to hear from you if you graduated from an Initial Teacher Education programme, between July 2018 and July 2019.
If this is something that interests you, and you would like to know more contact Kath on Kathleen.cooper@hotmail.co.nz
If you do not meet the criteria, but know someone who does, please pass this on.
Steven Langdon is a PhD student in the School of Psychology at Massey University, New Zealand. He is conducting research into helping behaviours that employees engage in outside of their formal role (also referred to as organisational citizenship behaviours or OCB) in Non-Governmental and Non-Profit Organisations (including Charities). The aim of this research project is to test a novel theoretical model that investigates the processes that lead to Organizational Citizenship Behaviour in Non-Governmental and Non-Profit Organizations. This is interesting because of the unique employment relationships in NGO/NPOs. Previous research has demonstrated that employees of NGO/NPOs have high levels of commitment towards the organisational mission, which creates an interesting setting for Organisational Citizenship Behaviour research. It is expected that the questionnaire will take about 20 minutes to complete. All participants will receive a summary of results and go into the draw to win an Apple Watch. You can click here to go through to the advertisement. You can access the questionnaire and the studies information sheet by following this link.
OMEP Meeting  The next meeting of the OMEP Wellington Chapter will be held on Monday 19 August at 6pm. This meeting will discuss education for sustainability (EfS) as a philosophy in ECE. Click here for further details.
This Week On Facebook  
Term 3 is well underway at South End Kindergarten and the children have been exploring story telling within the environment. The 3 Billy Goats Gruff has been the favourite of the last two weeks and they have had lots of independent re-enactments from the tamariki... some of the children have even being telling the story at home!
Handy Facebook Pages  
Congratulations! Nic Fitzgerald welcomed beautiful Maisie Quinn to her family on 25 June. Congratulations Nic! We look forward to meeting her.  
Congratulations to Raewyn McKenna who participated in a half marathon this past weekend, despite having a cold, and did really well. Not sure why she needed to run if nothing was chasing her but it was an achievement!
Congratulations to Adrienne Smith, who jetted off from Wellington after the conference direct to Hamilton to compete in the national band competitions with Whanganui Brass. They came 3rd overall and are now looking forward to competing in Shanghai.
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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