Nau mai ki tenei wiki Kōrero. You may remember from last week that we invited you share local stories and information that we can share with other kindergartens in your area through the left hand side of the Kōrero. Thanks for sending this through. If you do have information that is relevant just to your kindergarten area please send it through to korero@wmkindergartens.org.nz Jane 
PLD First Aid In a previous edition of the Kōrero we let you know that the grace period for any Red Cross First Aid certification had been increased to 6 months. This means that your First Aid certificate is currently valid up to the end of 6 months past the expiry date shown. The PLD team are looking at First Aid refresher courses for next year and will be in touch with you if you need to renew your certification. In the meantime if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact Kaz by email on karen.craig@wmkindergartens.org.nz. Child Protection We will be running sessions next year. Keep an eye on the Kōrero to find out when these are happening, but a heads up they are normally scheduled during the term breaks.
Staff Sync Just a couple of reminders regarding Staff Sync. We need to make sure the hours in StaffSync are correct. Head Teachers/Teachers - Please make sure you tell the Reliever Coordinator if you book a short term reliever in advance yourself, or if the hours you asked for a reliever change. But please do book your relievers through the Coordinators as much as possible as this makes sure our Itinerants get work and everyone gets paid what they should. Short Term Relievers - Keep doing what you're doing for now, e.g timesheets, staff hour count, but also please make sure you let the Reliever Coordinators know if you accept an advance booking from a kindergarten, so they can book through StaffSync. Please remember to reply back to the requests for work, even if you are unable to relieve that day. It is good to let the reliever co-ordinators know Part-time teachers - Keep doing what you're doing for now, if you work, to tell us your extra hours. You're not loaded as relievers in StaffSync so we can't use it to pay you at the moment. We'll let you know if this changes. All Relievers - Please make sure to remember to use and update your calendar. If you are booked in a long term relieving position, (this is longer than 6 weeks) please make sure you advise the relievers co-ordinator, and mark yourself unavailable on your calendar. If you work extra hours please still send in timesheet. Thanks everyone. If you have any questions you can email karen.skett@wmkindergartens.org.nz or phone 021 857826.
Archive Project Emeritus Professor of Education Helen May is working on an archive project for the association and has been cataloguing and documenting material from our kindergartens and previous associations. She is holding discussions with libraries and museums about storing material in different regions where it can be maintained well and easily accessed. Helen has visited several kindergartens recently to gather material on site and is also available for advice for kindergartens on what to keep. “I’ve really enjoyed the visits” says Helen. If you have any historical kindergarten material including photos, documents, pamphlets, books or records about your kindergarten or the association or previous associations please contact Chanelle.
Using the Term “Pacific” Mandy shared during the Regional Staff Meetings in Term 3 that as an Association we are moving away from using the term “Pasifika” to using terms such as “Pacific Peoples” or “Pacific Island People”. We have had some teachers wanting to know more about what sits behind this decision. The following are some of the reasons for this change as an Association: - Currently the term Pasifika is a collective term used to describe people of Melanesian, Micronesian and Polynesian heritage who have migrated or have been born in New Zealand. This term was created by the Education Sector and was not a term agreed upon by the Pacific Island communities within New Zealand.
- Pasifika does not refer to a single ethnicity or nationality but does run the risk of creating a homogenous grouping.
- Historically the narrative for Pacific Island Peoples is based on colonialism, and these narratives still impact today. Language is powerful, and we are now aware that using Pasifika can indeed add to perpetuating the narrative of colonialism. This realisation prompts the decision to make a change.
- We want to support the latest indigenous research by Pacific Island scholars by using appropriate terms.
Lesley Rameka and Ali Glasgow discuss these issues briefly in their article Pacific lens on infant and toddler provision in early childhood education. (Rameka, L. K., & Glasgow, A. (2015). A Māori and MAI Journal, 4(2), 134–150). This article is also available in the Teachers’ Toolbox in Storypark. We will continue to keep you informed as we progress with making these subtle but important changes with the terminology we use. 
Kindergarten Photos No doubt, at one time or another, you will have seen Chanelle out in kindergartens taking photos for promotional purposes. What we’ve found is that parents and whānau love photos of teachers and children interacting most of all!
However, we have a few camera shy teachers out there. Meaning that these shots are not the easiest to get!
So if you have any photos showing teacher – child interactions, where the child has permission for publicity PLEASE send them through!
These photos are SO useful for us, whether it’s creating your next pamphlet, going into the annual report or sharing an announcement on facebook. These photos showcase your kindergarten for potential families and we love to share the amazing work that you all do!
Please send any photos through to Chanelle at chanelle.huia-rutten@wmkindergartens.org.nz Here are examples of what we are after:  
 
Election Banners By now you will have removed your election banners from your kindergarten fences. Can you please return these banners to the Porirua office 😃 You can give these to your Senior Teacher to return when they next visit if that suits better. We will store these until the next election and then re-distribute. Thanks! 
Health & Safety Committee Resignation After a number of years of dedicated service to the Association's Health & Safety Committee, Mel Hodder has decided to step down. We would to thank Mel for all her hard work on the committee and her commitment to promoting health and safety at Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens. Ka mau te wehi koe ! 
Growing Up In New Zealand Study Shows Worrying Trends A new report shows damp housing, inadequate food, obesity and unhappiness are issues for Kiwi children, despite most living busy lives in supportive families. Poverty, obesity and mental wellbeing are among a raft of measures the University of Auckland researchers examined in their study Growing Up in New Zealand, which released its Now We Are Eight: Life in Middle Childhood report this week. It continues a series following the lives of more than 6000 children born in 2009 and 2010. Growing Up in New Zealand researcher Susan Morton says the report provides a portrait of the everyday reality of young Kiwi children. Not being able to afford everyday necessities is still a common experience for some children, especially those living in high deprivation areas: - One in ten children experienced material hardship and this was more common for children who identified as Māori or Pasifika.
- Seventeen percent of mothers reported they "sometimes" ran out of food but 3 percent said this "always" happened for them.
Professor Morton said their research showed that around one-third of children had experienced persistent deprivation throughout their early lives. By the age of eight, these children were more likely to experience poorer mental wellbeing than those who had not experienced poverty at any time in their early years. "We know from previous research that children who experience persistent poverty in early life are more likely to face a multitude of poorer outcomes in adult life, but we also know that some children thrive despite experiencing ongoing adversity," she said. "We will be following these children's stories carefully to learn more about what supports and protects children through hardship and what allows them to thrive and flourish as they transition from childhood into adolescence." The study found that 34 percent of eight-year-olds are classed as overweight or obese, compared to 14 percent of pre-school children, and two thirds of those children wanted to be smaller. Two in three children also don't eat enough vegetables and one in three drank two or more fizzy drinks in the past week. The children lead busy lives, with more than half being involved in extracurricular activities such as sport or music, but the children also spend increasing amounts of time using screens. Ninety-five percent had access to at least one device at home and they averaged nearly three hours of passive screen time a day. Twelve percent often felt worried about their safety online and a quarter of mothers reported concerns about their children's online experience. Average screen time almost doubled since the pre-school years. While most children are growing up in supportive family environments - with 95 percent of mothers saying they regularly express physical affection with their child - one in ten children regularly witness psychological or verbal conflict between their mother and her partner. She said the report could help develop policies and services to support children growing up in New Zealand. "The information [the families] provide helps us learn more about what supports families and whānau and what enables all young children growing up in Aotearoa today to thrive."
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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