Welcome to our latest update of information and stories you may be interested in... There is one week to go until we have a break over the festive season. Enjoy this last week with your children and each other. Jane. 
Payroll An update from the previous Kōrero – Could we please have your timesheets, returns and staff hour counts for the last week of the year in before 12.00pm Thursday 20th December. Then please forward any amendments for Friday 21st December by 10am on that Friday. We need to stick to these timeframes in order to get the first pay in January finalised and confirmed before the office closes on Friday 21st December. Anything received after 10am on Friday will be processed in the pay of Tuesday 15th January 2019. Just a reminder that the office is open from 3rd January, however there will only be a skeleton staff as many people will be on leave, including the payroll team. Only urgent queries will be able to be responded to. If you have an urgent query about your pay please call the main office number and tell Reception you have an urgent pay query, or call Karen on 021 857 826. Otherwise, you can leave a message on the payroll number and someone will get back to you after 7th January.
End of Year Infocare Cut-Off - Reminder Just a reminder of the notice that was in last week's Kōrero. It’s that time of year again when we have to close off Infocare for the end of month and term (and year!). As with normal month end requirements can you please ensure that the following is completed in Infocare by 3pm on Friday 21st December: - Sign in sheets marked in Infocare (actual attendance)
- Fee invoices (for the week ending Friday 21st December) created and committed
- Staff timetables (“staff hour count”) for the week ending Friday 21st December completed
- Online sign off of your monthly roll return
- Any ratio, attendance or roll issues are communicated to the Association (please call Cathryn or Tania)
If your support staff are unavailable to work on Friday can you please ensure arrangements are in place so that this deadline is met – this may mean that these tasks need to be completed by Teaching staff before the cut off. Payments Processing over the Christmas Break: Due to staff absences at the Association over the holiday break there will be changes to the timing of the weekly Association payment cycle. Payment of invoices will occur as follows over the coming weeks: Invoices received at the Association by Friday 7th Dec Paid on Monday 10th December Invoices received at the Association by Friday 14th Dec Paid on Monday 17th December Invoices received at the Association by Wednesday 19th Dec Paid on Friday 21st December Invoices received at the Association by Friday 4th Jan Paid on Wednesday 9th January Invoices received at the Association by Friday 11th Jan Paid on Monday 14th January Please ensure that regular suppliers to your kindergartens are made aware of these payment timeframes. Also, we’d encourage you to get all your December invoices emailed in prior to 21st December so we can arrange prompt payment for you. During the coming weeks all requests for urgent payments should continue to be emailed to accounts@wmkindergartens.org.nz Banking: Please ensure that there is little or no cash held at your kindergarten over the Christmas break. If you could aim to bank all petty cash and other receipts before Tuesday 18th December this will allow our Finance team to contact you with any queries they have before the end of the term. Can you also update Infocare with details of all deposits made. Fee Invoicing and Statements: The timetable for fortnightly fee statements being issued to families over the coming weeks is as follows: Statements for fees up to Friday 30th November Distributed Thursday 6th December Statements for fees up to Friday 14th December Distributed Thursday 20th December Statements for fees up to Friday 28th December Not Distributed Statements for fees up to Friday 11th January Not Distributed Statements for fees up to Friday 25th January Distributed Thursday 31st January Head Teachers will need to ensure that their support staff complete all invoicing for the last week of Term 4 by Friday 21st December. Please note that this will probably mean preparing invoices in advance for some children. Kindergarten Reporting: Kindergarten accounts for the financial year to 30th November 2018 will be emailed to kindergartens on Monday. Accounts for the financial year to 31st December 2018 will be circulated by Wednesday 23rd January 2018. As always your kindergarten accounts should be passed on to your Treasurers and Committees as appropriate. Infocare Lock Dates for 2019: Details of Infocare Lock Dates for 2019 will be circulated in the new year.
Professional Learning and Development 2019 We are pleased to announce that all of the meetings and PLD for 2019 have been confirmed, and there is an exciting year planned for the Association – hooray! Please see the link below to the PLD and Meeting Calendar: Term One 2019 here. We will also be sending each Kindergarten an email tomorrow - Annual PLD Wall Planner,
- PLD and Meeting Calendar: Term 1
- The Annual Administration Wall Planner attached as documents (these will be updated termly).
- Net login information and helpful hints
You will be able to enrol on HR.Net from Monday 7th January 2019 for all PLD sessions offered. The PLD online calendar can also be accessed 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 Annual PLD Wall Planner, Termly PLD and Meeting Calendar and the Annual Administration Wall Planner will only be updated each term. Enjoy planning for 2019! Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, The Senior Teacher Team, Hannah and Tania B.
MP Visits This week, National’s early childhood spokesperson Nicola Willis was hosted by Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens, visiting Nuanua and Toru Fetū. This is part of Whānau Manaaki’s efforts to engage with all political parties to ensure they understand our stance on providing quality early childhood education, 100% qualified teachers and the funding that goes with that. On her Facebook page, Nicola said “lots of great work happening here: supporting families, celebrating Pasifika languages, promoting participation in early education and inspiring men (and women) to become teachers.”  
Union Scholarships Available Early childhood teachers and support staff who are union members can apply for scholarships to pursue study or education. There are ten scholarships of up to $6,000 each, and applications close in May 2019. The scholarships are set up to advance NZEI’s strategic direction “Leading the Profession” by providing an opportunity for early childhood education and support staff members to enhance their skills and knowledge within the workplace and in education generally. Here’s a link for more information.
Persistence Pays Off When Deb Bird first arrived at Trentham Kindergarten, as relieving Head teacher, she questioned the lack of signage for Trentham Kindergarten from the Fergusson Drive /Tawai corner. Deb had had some trouble finding the kindergarten the first time! Together with the teaching team Deb took on the challenge! There were many emails, discussions, invitations, debates and arguments with the powers that be. Low and behold, with their persistence and help from many friends connected to the Council a shiny new sign was noticed at the corner of their road. The team are stoked and offer a huge thanks to the Upper Hutt Council for changing their bylaws/policy to make this happen. (Kindergartens who don’t have signs in Upper Hutt, you can request them now!)
Deb has finished her time at Trentham Kindergarten and is over the moon that this, by no means small feat, was achieved before she left!
Lansdowne Float Wins First Prize Lansdowne Kindergarten's Christmas float. “Baby Shark /pirate ship” won 1st prize in the Masterton parade. How cool is that!  
Festive Feel In the Association Office we are starting to feel rather festive and wanted to share with you our nativity scene that one of our team has made, very clever! 
Handy Facebook Pages  Here's a good page to follow The Magic Garden. We all love a well hidden sneaky fairy door, right?
Check out The Magic Garden on facebook to see all their new creations! 
This Week On Facebook   Bellevue Kindergarten – Getting in the Christmas spirit! Look at their awesome Christmas tree! Promoting sustainability and creativity!   Toru Fetū Kindergarten – The children had some fun in the sun!    Ngaio Kindergarten – The children have been doing their fair share of exploration work this week!
Appointments and Resignations Congratulations to the following on their recent appointments: | Kylee Vettori | Teacher | Adventure | | Kay Carmen | .6 Teacher | Adventure | | Barbara Cahn | Teacher | Arohanui | | Roxanna Johnston | .8 Teacher | Awatea | | Lily Garven | Teacher | Birchville | | Angie Kitto | Head Teacher | Carterton | | Jackie Ford | Teacher | Khandallah | | Sarah Collis | .2 Teacher | Ngahina | | Emma Stove | Teacher | Ngaio | | Teresa Kells | Head Teacher | Paremata | | Trudi Sutcliffe | Teacher | Paremata | | Anahera Winiata | Teacher | Te Timatanga Hou | | Petrina Gilligan | Teacher | Titahi Bay | | Helen Tyrell | Teacher | Waitangirua | | Rachel Grant | Administrator | Sunshine | | Misty Morehu | KBS Student | Cottle | | Maria Duff | .7 Teacher fixed term Jan 2019 to Dec 2019 | Trentham |
We wish all the best to the following who have resigned: | Sadie Gale | Teacher | Hataitai | | Lara Akbaba | Teacher | Raumati South | | Amanda Dowling | Itinerant/Teacher | WMK and Ngahina |
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