Welcome to our latest update of information and stories you may be interested in... Wow what a cold blast we had this week, that was a wee shock to the system! Hope you managed to rug up warm. To those of you about to head in to Term break, and those who are in centres that remain open, have a great couple of weeks. Jane. 
Senior Teacher Announcement A very warm welcome to Helen Tyrell who has been appointed permanently to the Senior Teaching team – congratulations Helen! Helen joined the Association as a teacher in 2010 at Waitangirua Kindergarten, and was then awarded the position of Head Teacher in 2014. She brings a wealth of knowledge with her to this new role, especially her particular expertise in Pacifica leadership and building sustainable relationships with parents, whānau and local communities. Helen joined the Senior Teaching team in Term 1 of this year as an Acting Senior Teacher, and will continue to support the kindergartens she worked with during this time. I know that you will join us in congratulating her as she continues this exciting journey!
Leadership Hui 18th April 2018 It’s that time of year again, and time to celebrate with our Leadership Hui! We look forward to catching up with all Head Teachers, Assistant Head Teachers and Visiting Teachers. We have an exciting day planned, you can find the kaupapa for the day here. Please note that the hui will start promptly at 8:45am with coffee, tea, refreshments from 8:15am. Safe travels and see you all at the Cossie Club, Upper Hutt on the 18th! Senior Teaching Team
Full Year PLD Day 5th May 2018 Hooray! It’s Full Year PLD time! We look forward to catching up with those of you who work in our full year kindergartens and sharing in some wonderful PLD! We have an exciting day planned, you can find the kaupapa for the day here. Please note that we will be starting promptly at 9.00 and coffee, tea, refreshments are available from 8:30am. Safe travels everyone and see you all at the Mana Cruising Club on Saturday 5th May! Jane H and Sharon Professional Learning and Development, and Administration information Kia ora koutou katoa, Please find attached the following information: These are designed to help you with your planning and workload for 2018. You can use them as we have suggested or use your own system – whatever works best for you! All Staff Professional Learning and Development information for 2018 The annual PLD Wall Planner enables you to see the whole years PLD at a glance. As promised we have included an updated version. We recommend that you print this updated version on A3 and stick it onto your office wall - you won’t miss an opportunity to choose and plan your PLD for 2018! The Term two PLD and Meeting Calendar is designed to provide more detailed information, so that you can make your PLD decisions and plan ahead. The PLD online calendar can also be accessed using the tab at the bottom of this page or through Outlook 365. This is already uploaded to your Kindergarten e-mail system and can be accessed by clicking on the calendar icon which is usually on the bottom left hand side of your e-mail screen. The online calendar is constantly updated and will provide you with ‘real-time’ information, whereas the planner will only be updated each term. Just a quick reminder to please ensure that you enrol for all your choices of PD through HR.Net. These enrolments help us to plan for any additional seating etc., and also helps us to make sure that we have enough tea, coffee and kai to keep you going throughout the session! The other advantage of enrolling through HR.Net is that it sends confirmation of course enrolment to both work and personal email addresses (if you have provided a personal email address). This process also means that you will receive additional emails if there are any changes to the PD regarding enrolment, venue or time. We are aware that sometimes it can be tricky accessing or navigating HR.Net, therefore, if you have any questions or you are having trouble enrolling onto a session please contact Hannah who will be happy to help you: hannah.toomaga@wmkindergartens.org.nz. Annual Administration Wall Planner information for 2018 The annual Administration Calendar enables you to see what’s required of you by the office over the coming year. You also have the option of adding your own administrative key dates and events to the planner. As promised we have attached the updated version, we recommend that you print this on A3 and stick it onto your office wall - you won’t miss the opportunity to meet your deadlines! Thank you everyone, Sharon, Senior Teachers, Lupeni, Tania and Hannah
2018/19 Kindergarten Budgets Thanks to all those who have emailed your 2018/19 kindergarten budgets in by the due date. Your submissions are being reviewed by Senior Managers over the term break so we will get back to you with any questions after this. The information you have provided has been really useful and will be included in the Association Budget prepared in May. For those that have still to complete their Budget Templates please email them to brendon.fyfe-gits@wmkindergartens.org.nz before the end of the term so that they can be included as part of the review and approval process.
2017-2018 Whānau Contribution Tax Certificates Your families may be starting to ask about their 2017-18 Whānau Contribution/Donation Tax Certificates. These will be emailed to families tomorrow and will summarise all whānau contributions and other donations made to Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens (received and banked) in the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018. Any queries about the tax certificates should be emailed to donations@wmkindergartens.org.nz.
Key Boxes  Please ensure that there is a key for your kindergarten and any gates in the key box. Alarm codes need to be in the key box also. Grants - Pelorus Trust You may be aware that successful grant funds are deposited directly into the Association's bank account. Quite often these deposits do not reference what Kindergarten the grant has been approved for. This can prove difficult for our finance team to allocate funds to the correct kindergarten. Pelorus Trust grants are now managed through an online portal. We have made arrangements with them to have Jan's email address included in all dealings with the kindergartens to avoid the mis-allocation of grant funds. It will mean, though, that you will have to add Jan's details to your Pelorus Trust account. To do this go to www.pelorustrust.net.nz and log in. From there click on the Home tab. There you will see a tab Manage Users. From there you can add Jan as a contact. Her email address is jan.hannon@wmkiindergartens.org.nz. Pelorus Trust would also prefer if you made application in your Kindergarten name only and not our full legal name. You would then tick that you are affiliated to a local organisation. Note you do not need to attach a letter confirming the affiliation. If you have any questions on this, or other grant questions, please contact Jan.
Logo Proposals Just a reminder from last week, all of our kindergartens are to get logos that align with the new WM branding. Please take your time to look at the logos and talk about them with your teams. Chanelle is really keen to get your feedback so if you have already received a copy of the proposed logo for your kindergarten please send your feedback through to her at chanelle.huia-rutten@wmkindergartens.org.nz. Those of you who are yet to receive a logo, they’re on their way soon!!!
Brazilian Visitors at Paraparaumu Beach Kindergarten Paraparaumu Kindergarten hosted a journalist from Brazil this week, keen to learn about the New Zealand early childhood education system. The teaching team was pleased to have the opportunity to explain Te Whāriki and it gave them a good chance to articulate their practice, says teacher Alison Burt. “It was great to proudly sell our kindergarten, curriculum, practice and generally our Education system.” Alison says Brazilian journalist Fabio has a five-year old son, and was astonished by the differences in practice between the two countries. In particular he was surprised to see children using real carpentry tools. “They were all blown away by what they saw and heard….they had their ear talked off a bit!” “All in all a very worthwhile visit…for everyone.” The visit was organised by Education New Zealand, and it was about showing how New Zealand prepares children for the future.  
New Strategic Plan The government has announced that there will be a new strategic plan for early childhood education, and has signalled changes to private early childhood services. Both these moves are likely to benefit children, families, and not for profit services including kindergarten. In announcing the plan, minister Chris Hipkins spoke of “creating a shared vision for what early learning should achieve for children and exploring what settings best support these outcomes. This includes the nature of the early childhood education market, along with the network which underpins it and the role of government in managing provision.” In a radio interview, the Minister also questioned whether allowing new centres to open next to existing services was a good use of resources. A previous strategic plan, Ngā Huarahi Aratiki – Pathways to the Future, lead to the increased focus on quality throughout the sector from when it was introduced in 2002 until it was abandoned by the National government in 2010. Here’s the link to a statement on the Ministry’s website, with details of who is on the advisory committee and the reference group for the strategic plan, and a link to the terms of reference. The announcement was welcomed by the sector, with this press release from New Zealand Kindergartens. NZEI Te Riu Roa also responded positively, you can read that here. And here’s a radio item about what the new approach could mean for the sector.
Free Art Paper A printing business has recently gone into receivership leaving their paper behind. Large reams of carriage paper (as wide as a car) is available for free to any kindergarten that wants it. You will need to pick the paper up by contacting Cisca at 027 2222827 to arrange a time. As the paper is very large and heavy you will need two people to collect it. The paper is located in Lower Hutt behind Cubney and Meade Streets on Hutt Rd. 
Hide and Seek or it Could be a Hot Tip! Dean was out and about this week and snapped a new hiding place for one of our teachers! Wonder how long it will take for the children to find them! 
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