Welcome to our latest update of information and stories you may be interested in... This week we include the first news item about our conference. Make sure you have a good read of it and remember to look out for updates in all future editions of the Kōrero. And check out the good news story, first item!! A classic reflection of the dedication of all our staff! Jane. 
Congratulations! Congratulations Shelley from Petone Beach Kindergarten who won the MORE FM Good Sort award. Polly Gillespie came in personally to deliver Shelley a beautiful bunch of flowers to celebrate her being a good sort. Thanks to Mandy, one of our parents, who nominated Shelley for her work with her son Zach, who has autism, over the past two and a half years. Mandy wrote into the station to share the amazing work Shelley and her team does at Petone Beach Kindergarten - so well deserved Shelley. Congrats! 
Property Team Update  Barry Evans from the property team is away for the next 3 weeks. For any queries related to property work Barry has been involved with please contact Lorraine at Lorraine.Coulston@wmkindergartens.org.nz.
Paint Programme  Over the next month kindergartens will be contacted by painting contractors who are involved in the tender process for the external painting contract with the Association. These contractors may want to visit kindergartens as part of the preparation of their tender. There is no expectation of kindergarten teams other than to allow them onto the premises If you have any questions, please contact Lorraine at Lorraine.Coulston@wmkindergartens.org.nz.
Logos Here are some of our confirmed logos – You’ll notice some are quite different, some are relatively the same but all encapsulate the unique identity of their kindergarten. We are super excited about this! Please make sure that you have sent through your logo feedback if you have not already done so. We are keen to finalise your logos as soon as possible!!     
   
 
Website Updates Jenny and I have been working at updating your individual kindergarten pages on the website. You may have noticed some minor changes have been made to some of the pages. It would be great if you have any updates to any of your pages to please send an updated blurb describing your kindergarten and programme. If you are looking at sending something in here are a few things to remember: - keep it short, between 100 – 200 words
- put your more important and interesting bits at the top! Readers don’t always make it to the end of the blurb.
- make it easy to read, short sentences and maybe even bullet points where possible
- lastly not too much jargon, try for emotive language instead. ‘Jargony’ language doesn’t always portray the warm and welcoming environment that your kindergarten provides.
-Chanelle
Scam Calls  Every now and again we get scam calls through our phones. There have been some recent incidents where a caller pretends they are from the Ministry - Group Special Education, requesting money to fund activities for autistic children. This person also asks for the phone numbers of kindergarten staff. Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their approaches to steal money from businesses and consumers. Always be alert when you receive calls from unknown or blocked phone numbers, or an unusual call that appears to be from a trusted number. Beware of any requests made by phone for money or personal details. Scammers may ask for a contribution to a charity, or masquerade as law enforcement, or customer service from your bank, utility provider or tech support. If you receive an unexpected phone call, be cautious and return the call, dialling a registered number for the company, agency or individual who is claiming to contact you. He Whānau Manaaki O Tararua All Staff Conference 2018 Welcome to the first Conference update, there will be further news, information and guidance in weekly editions of Kōrero. We look forward to welcoming you to this year’s annual All Staff Conference on the 9th and 10th of July! The theme of this year’s two day Staff Conference is - PANONI - Celebrate! Challenge! Change! The All Staff Conference will once again be held in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, on Cable St in Wellington City. He Whānau Manaaki Staff Conference information. Non-teaching staff The All Staff Conference begins at 8.30am for non-teaching staff on Monday morning 9th July. A Conference Key Note speaker and a variety of workshops will take place for Homebased TONI Educators, Community Navigators, Transport Teams, Teacher Aides and Administrators. All non-teaching staff are warmly invited to attend and then to stay on for the whole staff meeting in the afternoon. Whole Staff Meeting The compulsory Whole Staff Meeting will be held on Monday, 9th July starting at 1.00pm at Te Papa in Wellington. All teachers, kindergarten based students and office staff are required to attend and all other staff strongly encouraged to attend. Teachers Conference The Teachers Conference will take place on Tuesday, 10 July at Te Papa in Wellington, beginning at 8.00am, with a prompt start of 8.30am. More details regarding content will be available in future editions of the Kōrero. Conference Registration Registration for workshops will open early in June through HR.Net, confirmation of dates for registration will be given in in future Kōrero editions. Please note that each staff member must enrol into HR.NET themselves using their personal login details. Accommodation Staff who are attending the Conference and live in Waikanae or further north, or in the Wairarapa are able to stay at the West or Bay Plaza Hotel, Oriental Parade on Monday 9th July and the cost of the room will be paid for by the Association. For accommodation requests please e-mail Lorraine Coulston at lorraine.coulston@wmkindergartens.org.nzbefore Friday 1st June 2018.
Education Summit Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens was well-represented at the education summit in Christchurch last weekend which attempted to answer the big questions in education. A values exercise found that hauora/wellbeing was seen as the most important, followed by respect, creativity, family/community and belonging. A lot of emphasis was placed on valuing culture, language and identity, and on lifelong learning. Around 800 people attended, including National MPs, parents and high school students as well as teachers across the different sectors. Many were disappointed that they were unable to go, but there will be regional hui later in the year, and there have been online opportunities to contribute (previously covered in Kōrero), with more online consultation planned. Lou Fruean, kaitiaki o kaupapa Māori says it was a worthwhile hui, and she appreciated the opportunity to hear from different groups of people, including students themselves who wanted their teachers to know them better. Lou took some photos (below), including of an artistic exercise as part of the summit, producing pou to illustrate the journeys of education. Caroline Mareko, Communities and Participation Manager for WMK says the hui gave hope for the future, and jolted people into thinking about education for the next 30 years. She says Pacific education was not as visible as it could have been in the hui outcomes, despite the number of Pasifika people participating, but she says the conversation was only the beginning of the process. A second event will be in Auckland this coming weekend. Here’s a link to some stories about the summit from RNZ: https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018643742/calls-for-change-from-education-summit https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/356782/emphasise-maori-knowledge-students-tell-summit https://www.nzherald.co.nz/education/news/article.cfm?c_id=35&objectid=12046296  
Kindergarten Parent Provides The Perfect Answer To Mike Hosking Broadcaster and commentator Mike Hosking annoyed many teachers this week with his question about early childood teachers pay, asking “is it fair to suggest the teacher responsible for teaching level three calculus be paid the same amount as the teacher painting pictures with the three year old?” Emily Writes, who comments on parenting issues for the highly regarded news website The Spinoff, invites Mike to come to her son’s kindergarten for the day to see what teachers actually do. “The teachers can talk to you about brain development – that’s what early childhood teachers study” she says. “You can actually hear about the absolutely crucial role played by teachers and parents in collaboration to build a child’s brain so that they feel secure and loved enough to learn how to live confidently in this complex world we’re in.” Emily asks: “What is more complex than not just supporting but growing the social, emotional, intellectual language and motor development of children?" And she explains that early childhood teachers don’t just support children, but whole villages. “They support their parents as well, they create a community of people, all working together for the benefit of the child.” Here’s a link to Emily’s article. And here’s a link to the original broadcast by Mike Hosking.
It’s New Zealand Sign Language Week  Sign language week is drawing to a close, but it’s always the right time to practice one of the official languages of New Zealand. Here’s a link to some activities including a video of Tiki Taane. And here’s a link for a video of the Prime Minister launching the week.
EDSM Therapy For Young Children With Autism Victoria University is offering an early intervention programme for young children with autism alongside research to assess the effectiveness of the programme. About 25 teachers attended a presentation at Toru Fetū Kindergarten on Wednesday night to hear about the Early Start Denver Model (EDSM) which, according to project leader Dr Larah van der Meer, shows “huge promise in the support of children with autism.” Victoria University is conducting research into the model about how effective it is within the New Zealand context. Hosted as part of the Association’s Pasifika arm of the Learning Support Framework Project, teachers found the presentation informative, providing tangible strategies for working with children who may be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 
Primary Teachers Pay Talks Start The primary teachers’ pay round started this week with NZEI Te Riu Roa claiming a pay rise of 16 per cent over two years. There are also claims in relation to working conditions. As part of the Kindergarten Teachers Collective Agreement (KTCA) there is an agreement to broadly pass on any pay increases negotiated in the primary sector. NZEI members can check the union website to find out details of the primary claim, and to find out exactly what the KTCA says about mainitaining comparable pay rates. The primary teachers’negotiating team is expected to report back to teachers next month. Here’s a link to an RNZ story about the pay round.
Reducing Teacher Workloads Education Minister Chris Hipkins has promised to scrap some reporting requirements for teachers to reduce workload. He has set up a taskforce of education sector groups to report by September on how to reduce “the compliance-focused workload” to ensure time to focus on teaching and learning. The taskforce was announced at the education summit in Christchurch last weekend. "The taskforce will look for those tasks that are unnecessary, overly complex, or duplicative with the aim of redesigning processes and reducing tasks, thereby reducing the burden of compliance and administration.” Teachers responding to an NZEI Te Riu Roa survey earlier this year said the administrative workload was a major factor that would lead them to leave teaching. The survey of 288 new teachers in primary and early childhood found 17 per cent expected to leave teaching within five years. The government’s move is part of a wider workforce strategy to tackle the teacher shortage, which follows reduced numbers training and an increase in rolls, partly because of immigration. There will also be a 14-year workforce "action plan" by April next year to improve teacher quality as well as numbers. The plan is expected to include changes to teacher training, an advisory service to share best practice and oversee professional learning, a focus on Māori identity language and culture, a focus on learning for leadership. A separate action plan on learning support needs is expected by October.
Death After Head Injury At Manawatu Centre A tragic story involving a death after an accident at an early childhood service in Palmerston North reinforces the need for good communication and record keeping about accidents. A 20-month-old boy died of a brain bleed after parents picked him up from his childcare centre. They were not told he had fallen. The boy’s parents said on Maori Television’s Native Affairs programme that staff at Little Monkey’s Preschool thought he had a fever. "I just knew instantly that there was something wrong with him” said his mother Ricardo Miranda. He deteriorated in the car and his parents took him to hospital where it was initially thought he had a virus. It took several hours to contact the centre to find out about the fall, by which time the boy had brain surgery and had suffered a cardiac arrest. The boy died at 4am the next morning. Miranda told Native Affairs that doctors "could have worked a whole lot quicker than they did" if they had known from the start that Lorenzo had suffered a fall. The centre is reported as saying that it was not clear that the boy had fallen. He was crying near a chair and it was thought it was possible he had fallen from the chair but no-one saw that happen. The Ministry of Education said both the police and Worksafe investigated the accident and the death has been referred to the coroner. The service was placed on a provisional license but is now on a full license again.
To Give Away We have three swing set components that we don't need anymore and we would like to give away. Please contact us at Miramar Central Kindergarten if you would like one or all of them.   
Hot Tip  Regardless of how simple (or complicated) it is to cook an egg, can we all at least agree that peeling those eggs can be downright defeating? The shell fragments cling onto the whites like glue and, in Doomsday scenarios, hold chunks of the smooth white flesh captive, leaving something chewed-looking behind. Gah!  Fill a pot with water and 1 teaspoon of baking soda, bring to a vigorous boil before adding your eggs. Once cooked the egg shells will practically fall off, a dream come true! 
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