Welcome to our latest update of information and stories you may be interested in... A few people have been contacting us about the term dates for next year. These were in the Kōrero dated 13th September however we have repeated them for you in this week's edition. Also a reminder to RSVP to Hannah if you are attending the End of Year All Staff Celebration. Cut off date is the 16th November. Jane. 
Dates for 2019  Key dates for next year are: - Wed 3 January: Full Day Kindergartens open
- Mon 7 January: Full-year School Day Kindergartens open
- Wed 23 January: Part-year School Day Kindergartens open
- Mon 15 April – Friday 26 April: Part-year Kindergartens closed for Term Break
- Mon 8 July – Full Staff Meeting (compulsory for all teachers)
- Tues 9 July – Conference
- Mon 8 July – Friday 12 July: Full-year Kindergartens closed for PD week
- Mon 8 July – Friday 19 July: Part-year Kindergartens closed for Term Break
- Mon 30 September – Friday 11 October: Part-year Kindergartens closed for Term Break
- Thurs 19 December: Last day for Part-year Kindergartens (closed from Fri 20)
- Friday 20 December: Last day for Full-year Kindergartens (closed from Mon 23)
We have developed calendars for the different groups of staff (Teachers and Support Staff) in the different types of Kindergarten, showing compulsory Annual Leave days, Professional Development days (where applicable) and Public Holidays which were emailed in September 2018. If you have any questions you can contact Karen Skett at karen.skett@wmkindergartens.org.nzor on 021 857 826.
End Of Year Full Staff Function  Remember to please save this date in your calendars. When: Friday 23rd November 2018 Time: 5.30pm to 10pm Where: Mac’s Brew Bar 4 Taranaki Street Wellington (Opposite Te Papa) - All Staff employed by Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens welcome and encouraged to attend.
- We will provide food and non-alcoholic drinks free of charge. A selection of subsidised alcoholic drinks ($3 per drink) will be available on the night.
- For catering purposes it is really important that we know who from your team will be attending. Please RSVP the names of attendees tohannah.toomaga@wmkindergartens.org.nz. We need these details no later than Friday 16thNovember.
Transport Details A bus will be leaving from Levin and will stop at - 3.30pm Levin Railway Station
- 3.50pm Otaki Railway Station
- 4.05pm Waikanae, carpark opposite New World
- 4.15pm Paraparaumu Railway Station
- 4.30pm Pukerua Bay – Bus stop opposite Wairaka Road
- The bus will leave Wellington at 9.30pm. It is important to please reserve your space on the bus as we are limited to 53 seats. Please email Hannah at hannah.toomaga@wmkindergartens.org.nz.
Policy Reviews As mentioned last week when we first formed Whānau Manaaki all the policies were developed into a single policy format. This has meant that a lot of policies are due for review at the same time. This means for the next while, we will continue to send out policies on a regular basis for your comment. This week please find attached the following policies: Feedback on these policies is due back to jane.braun@wmkindergartens.org.nz by Friday 30th November. Please also make these policies available to your community for comment where appropriate.
Payroll Tips – Requesting Leave through iPayroll Sick Leave – We don’t generally expect you to apply for Sick Leave, particularly when you have a Sick Leave Balance. If you are having a longer period of sick leave and you know that in advance, for an operation for example, it can be helpful if you apply for that leave as it helps with planning. Leave Without Pay – We do need online requests for this type of leave please. While there isn’t a maximum or minimum amount of days people can have, and we do try to be as generous as we can, it is discretionary and we do want to consider things like: How much leave has the person had? How much leave have other members of the team had? Is this the right sort of leave? Is this going to be disruptive to the kindergarten? So please give us a reason for the leave in the Reason box so we can make sure we’re making fair and good decisions. Bereavement Leave – When you know in advance that you want to attend a funeral and need to take leave from work, we do ask that you request that leave. Please let us know, in the Reason box, who the person is who has passed away, or more importantly, their relationship to you. This is so we can make sure you’re getting the right amount of leave and we are applying our policy fairly. We do understand that when people have had a significant bereavement, requesting leave may be the last thing they think about. In this case, we ask that the Head Teacher, or someone else in the team, contact Karen, or their Senior Teacher, and let us know. We may need to have contact with the person at some point, or ask another member of the team to liaise with them for us, to confirm how much leave they will be taking and any other support we might be able to offer. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Karen at karen.skett@wmkindergartens.org.nz .
We Want Your Children's Art! We are after photos of your favourite children’s artworks alongside the first name of the child and their age. We are wanting these so we can create some personalized cards. Please send your images in to Chanelle at chanelle.huia-rutten@wmkindergartens.org.nz. A few pictures to inspire you –   
 
IELTs Test News The Teaching Council, as its now called, is playing down suggestions that the IELTs test might be scrapped, but it is reviewing its policy for English language testing. The test has been widely criticised as inappropriate for New Zealand teachers, unnecessary for New Zealand trained teachers, and expensive and restrictive in terms of feedback and availability of sample tests. Media this week have reported that the test is likely to be scrapped, but the Teaching Council says that’s not correct. The Teaching Council has been criticised for inconsistent and even racist application of its policy. Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens has advocated for changes, which particularly impact on Pasifika teachers in the early childhood sector. No details are available about the time frame for the policy change.
Our Education System - Is It Racist? Following an international report by UNICEF that found New Zealand has one of the highest rates of inequality in education in the world, researchers have been looking at the factors involved. University of Waikato Associate Professor Lesley Pihama says racism is a major factor in education that needs to be confronted. While it is challenging for teachers to be accused of racism, a recent report by the Children’s Commissioner based on interviews with students overwhelmingly said they experienced racism, so it has to be accepted, confronted, and changes made. Māori students generally achieve lower than non-Māori when looking at NCEA achievement, ECE attendance, and primary reading scores. But those in Māori medium at high school achieve much higher NCEA results than Māori in mainstream schools. Pihama says racism and bias doesn’t exist in Māori medium schools, where kids are free to be themselves, and “fully Māori”. UNICEF child rights advocacy director Andre Whittaker said culture matters. Culture and building relationships needs to be affirmed in the classroom. Children who went through Māori medium education achieve higher results in university and in their career, he says. “When students feel they belong, they do better.” UNICEF is currently working on recognising the impact of colonisation on indigenous communities. During this process, which includes engaging with iwi and whānau, rangatahi describe specific instances of bias and racism in mainstream education. Researcher Jess Berentson-Shaw says poverty, stressed families and communities, concentration of resources across generations, and racism and bias in the education system all contribute to inequality. But she also has solutions. In her report for Unicef she says education needs to be more culturally connected for Māori children. “Schools in in New Zealand that focus on building these connections, most notable cultural ones for Māori students, have been able to rebalance educational wellbeing according to the Education Review Office. “Māori children who experience a strong sense of connectedness in their families and communities experience greater wellbeing including educational wellbeing. The majority culture in New Zealand is Pākehā culture and Pākekā children are more likely to experience cultural connectedness as the default setting in schools.” Berentson-Shaw says improving incomes and reducing stress in families and communities is also crucial. Combatting Racism The Teaching Council is doing some work on combatting racism, working with the Human Rights Commission. The idea of the project is to change practice to make sure the code and standards for the teaching profession are upheld. Its project, Give Nothing to Racism, includes a survey that you can do here to help frame the project. Here’s a link to take the survey: And if you want to know more about this project, here’s the link.
Toru Fetū Celebrates Toru Fetū held a community celebration last week, to mark the Prime Minister’s award. Lana Nootai was the MC and local MPs Kris Fa'afoi and Jan Logie spoke, while Rev Falkland Liuvaie gave the devotions, while the kaumatua were Callum and Hinemoa Katene. The children performed beautifully and even the weather came to the party. The award was officially unveiled, followed by dancing and magnificent food. Thanks to all involved for their hard work, including Maraeroa School. You can see a video clip of the morning here: (Someone else performed beautifully too, you rock Mandy!) 
Spring Planting At Adventure The teachers and children planted pumpkin seeds that Anne had gathered from her visit to Parihaka. Interestingly, our tamariki who whakapapa to Taranaki, were the most keen to participate in this activity. It is our way to acknowledge and pay respect to the tupuna and the descendants of Parihaka. E te Atua o te rangimārie,
Kia whakapaingia ngā uri o Parihaka. We look to our past to provide lessons for our future. The present is a place to check our past.
Parihaka speaks to us of peace,
A new way of seeking justice,
It opens up the horizon of hope.
To bring glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and goodwill to all people.
How can we be instruments of peace? What do we need to do? Come together, talk together, walk together, work together.
When our peace is challenged,
The message keeps us true.
Keep ploughing the land, keep honouring mana whenua.
E ngā manu e rua, Te Whiti o Rongomai kōrua ko Tohu Kākahi, Ngā mihi, tēnā kōrua.
Korōria ki te Atua ki runga rawa, maungārongo ki te whenua, whakaaro pai ki ngā tāngata katoa. Mō āke āke, Āmene.
The Raukura (white feather) is a sign of peace associated with the people of Parihaka.
  
This Week On Facebook   
Over the last few days Onslow Kindergarten have been celebrating Diwali - the Festival of Lights. The children have been involved in making their own Diva lamps and decorating them as well as Designing their own mendhi ( henna) patterns. Kairavi wore traditional clothes and shared Indian sweets and treat with us. As well as introducing a traditional Indian dance to us all.  Happy Diwali to Shruti and her family from Katoa Kindergarten. Thanks for the yummy treats!  Cathryn, from the Finance Team in the Association Office, dressed in her beautiful sari to celebrate Diwali!  
What to do on a wet summer's day at Masterton West Kindergarten?
Free To Give Away Matairangi Kindergarten have this storage trolley to give away. You must be able to pick it up from the Kindergarten, give them a call! 
Silverstream Kindergarten have the following items to give away, give them a call if you are interested, you will need to pick them up.  
 
Awatea Kindergarten have some pillows to give away which can be used for making poi, also some large cardboard tubes. Give them a call! 
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