Nau mai ki tenei wiki Kōrero. Thanks to all of you who have attended meetings or had training over the last couple of weeks, there is certainly a lot going on. We appreciate the time you take to attend these sessions and your input into each of them. There are lots of changes happening, as Mandy has mentioned before, and we thank you for your flexibility and willingness to pick up new systems and processes. Naku te rourou nau te routou ka ora ai te iwi With your basket and my basket the people will thrive Jane 
Te Reo Māori Online PLD Opportunity For Kaiako - He Pātaka Reo We are pleased to announce that we have been given the wonderful opportunity to work in partnership with Te Rito Maioha, Early Childhood New Zealand to be able to offer an online Te Reo Māori course (He Pātaka Reo) for kaiako in 2021. He Pātaka Reo | Te Reo Pantry is an online professional learning and development course made up of three stages consisting of 6 akoranga in each. Each stage covers topics you can use both in your kindergarten and in daily conversations. They are designed to encourage and support you to build confidence in speaking te reo Māori, and will be a perfect PLD opportunity to support your progress in the Te Tiriti o Waitangi Partnership Standard for the Teaching Profession elaboration ‘’practise and develop the use of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori’’. Stage 1 starts with the basics including the Māori alphabet and correct pronunciation, how to greet someone and introduce yourself in a traditional way, and how to praise someone in te reo Māori. Stage 2 introduces more activity-based language to use with outdoor play, physical activity, shapes, painting and more. Stage 3 continues to grow kaiako use of te reo Māori with puzzles, reading, locating objects, and different words and phrases used in outdoor activities, animals and buildings. Each akoranga will take approximately 45 minutes. Kaiako can access and review any time throughout the year. We have a large number of spaces available - but these are limited so please get in quick! To express your interest please email Kaz Craig at karen.craig@wmkindergartens.org.nz with the following information: - Use this statement in the subject line – Expression of interest in Te Reo Māori online PLD opportunity for Kaiako - He Pātaka Reo
- State your full name
- Your WMK email address (please note we cannot accept/use personal email addresses to enrol)
- Region or city
- Cell phone number (should any troubleshooting be required).
Once your interest has been accepted, you will be enrolled into the online course and will then receive an email to your WM account with your individual sign in information and information on how to access He Pātaka Reo. Exciting times! Ko taku reo taku ohooho, ko taku reo taku mapihi mauria My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul Sharon, Kaz and the Senior Teacher Team
Hazards Week 9 of each term (which is this week 15 March) there are two tasks for Hazard Management that need to be undertaken: - Review of Hazard Register
- Review of Termly Hazard Checklist
Review of Hazard Register This is an opportunity to update your Hazard Register including: - Does the hazard still exist?
- If it does, review it to see if there are any changes to the actions and approaches to manage this hazard
As a result of feedback from teams, GOSH has created a more user friendly way to review your hazards. You will see now that there is a new icon on your “My Kindergarten” view. There is a new form called “Kindergarten Hazard Review Audit” (see below). This form has simplified the process for review as you no longer need to: - edit each hazard individually instead;
- a tick box has been created where you look at the hazards and if it still exists and you are happy with the ‘controls’ then you just tick the box.
Upon completing this record, all related hazard records on your Hazard Register will be updated to reflect this review. 
Review of Termly Hazard Checklist The Hazard checklist is able to be completed on GOSH and can be found in the “What would you like to report” section on the home page (please see the red circle below). Any hazards that are identified during this process that cannot be eliminated immediately are then entered onto your kindergartens Hazard Register using GOSH. 
Review of Accidents on GOSH Week 9 of this term– the week beginning 15 March 2021, is the time to review your child accident registers on GOSH. We are currently working with GOSH to streamline the process, making it easier to review and also to be able to create graphs, but currently the best way to review your accidents is : Go into your Parent Summary in “My Kindergarten” and you can filter by using the search option (blue arrow). You can enter a specific primary category and you will see all the accidents related to that category (yellow arrow). You can select the dates you want to look at (green arrow) and check the ones you emailed (grey arrow). You can also look at how many times you provided accident reports to parents (orange arrow). 
Gosh Instructional Videos As part of our commitment to supporting teams to feel confident using GOSH, we have produced some instructional videos which will be available on Storypark. We think that you will enjoy the videos as well as finding them informative. We would like to thank our wonderful Health and Safety Committee members Lisa Ford and Cinnamon Tararo for the time, energy and enthusiasm they put into writing and acting in the videos. Our plan is to create more of these and to have them available through both Storypark and GOSH.
Do You Have A New Laptop In Your Kindergarten? Some kindergartens will have received new laptops. Did you know you can connect your laptop to any existing screen you have in your office? You will need the right HDMI cord to do this. Once you have connected the screen to your laptop, you will be able to use one or two screens to manage your work. If you have any questions contact Tania at tania.braybrook@wmkindergartens.org.nz
Giveaway Day We will be holding a giveaway day at Nuanua kindergarten next Friday 19 March, 6pm-8pm We welcome any items of linen, kitchenware, furniture, clothing etc in good condition that you would be happy to donate. These items can be dropped off to the Association office from Wednesday next week.
Markers Wanted Do you have a Post Graduate qualification and are interested in marking ECE Qualification papers for Victoria University. Contact Jenny Ritchie at jenny.ritchie@vuw.ac.nz
Welcome Alice Welcome to Alice Sooalo who has joined Whānau Manaaki to be a Community Navigator in the Amataga team. Alice will be based in Horowhenua working with the Pacific community and working alongside Senior Teachers to support families in our kindergartens. Alice has a social policy background and was recently the manager of the Horowhenua/Otaki Children’s Team and Whanganui Children’s Team. Prior to this role Alice worked in the Ministry of Social Development in the Practice/Service Delivery Unit as well as other areas of the Ministry since 2003. She is very much involved in her church and in the community supporting services or organisations that help Pacific families and communities in Horowhenua. Alice brings with her an extensive network from Horowhenua, Palmerston North and Wellington as well as having a very supportive family. 
Next OMEP Meeting OMEP Wellington are hosting Jennie Ritchie for their next PLD session on the 15th of March. 
Board News - Monika Ciolek Whānau Manaaki Board member Monika Ciolek had used several early childhood services before her younger son began at Berhampore Kindergarten. She found kindergarten amazing, because of its quality and its values. Monika says the team at Berhampore supported her and her family when they went through a difficult time a few years back. “It made a huge difference. That’s why I wanted to give back.” She was really excited when she saw there was an opportunity to stand for the Board, because she wanted to contribute to the organisation, and also to get an idea of how governance works. “I was really proud, very privileged.’ On the Board she was impressed by the way new people were welcomed and given a voice. She appreciated the opportunity to learn about what Whānau Manaaki does outside of its core kindergarten service, in terms of supporting families and communities. She sees Kindergartens Aotearoa as an opportunity to give a national voice to a movement that has the interests of parents and children at its heart. She says across the region, Whānau Manaaki provides the support to teachers and staff and it’s a good idea to extend that support to other kindergartens around the country to have an even stronger voice. Monika sees the kindergarten movement as being at a crossroads because of the strength of the private sector, and she sees a need for kindergarten to have a strong voice for children, families and communities. “We can join forces and tell a better story.” 
Early Childhood Heroes Honoured For Children’s Day NZEI Te Riu Roa published a list of Ngā Hautipua Kōhungahunga, or ECE heroes, in fields such as manaakitanga and advocacy. Early childhood teachers from around the country featured, including several from our kindergartens. Nadia Filistin from NZEI Te Riu Roa said the awards honoured teachers for so many reasons: “From teams in Tūrangi and Ōtara that organised with agencies and iwi to deliver kai, firewood and play resources (out of their own money!); to whānau forced into hardship by lockdown wage cuts and redundancies; to a teacher in Otago helping to restore the environment around her kindergarten and spreading a love of bees; to a woman who started a Samoan language service movement out of Grey Lynn and who has been nourishing language and culture through 1000s of learners since; and to teachers in Christchurch who fought fires and held it all down for their learning community through a pandemic and multiple other traumatic events.” “This work isn’t just childcare, it’s holistic education and care: honouring whakapapa, nurturing belonging and empowering our youngest learners to be all they can.” “This incredibly valuable work remains underpaid and unrecognised at large. Great teachers are leaving every day because love can’t pay the bills or skyrocketing rent in our cities.” Here’s a link to the ECE Heroes page to read more. 
Children At The Centre The Commissioner for Children used World Children’s day to release a report calling for children to be at the centre of policy. A report from the Children’s Convention Monitoring Group outlines what has worked for children in the Covid 19 response and recommends ways to better implement children’s rights in laws, policies and practices. You can see that report here. Andrew Becroft said the views of children and young people need to be heard when policies are designed for children. "We keep hearing that COVID-19 is going to make outcomes for children and young people worse, but that’s only if we choose to let it", Commissioner Becroft says. "New Zealand has an opportunity to apply the lessons learned over the past year, to redesign our systems to tackle the big issues facing children and young people.”
Fight For Democracy In Myanmar Continues “Thank you NZ for your solidarity. We need that support for this fight, it is do or die for us, there is no other option.” Our Burmese TONI Educators in Etu Ao and the Burmese families in our kindergarten communities are supporting the fight for democracy in their country and you can help. UnionAID in New Zealand, which has trained young leaders in all walks of life including early childhood, has organised an appeal for donations to our Myanmar Democracy Fight Back Fund that will be used to support pro-democracy action in Myanmar. Nearly $7,000 has already been raised. This is the practical way you can support our friends, partners and fellow working people in their brave stand for democracy. Here’s the link which also explains more about the situation. 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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