Nau mai ki tenei wiki Kōrero.  Tēnā koutou e te whānau, whanui This is the last Kōrero for the year, the last “formal” correspondence with you. Each year we recognise and thank all of you for the wonderful work you do. We thank you for working with children and families on a daily basis - at times when it’s cold and wet outside, and at times when there are challenges you are facing in your own lives. We thank you for supporting the children and for supporting your colleagues. We also recognise those who have left us through death, and celebrate those who have joined us through new life. The thing about spending each day together over an extended period of time, is that you share in the highs and lows of life, and it often strengthens your bonds of friendship and solidarity. And this year, those thank yous, and celebrations, and commemorations have been experienced within a unique environment of a global pandemic: Covid-19. This layer of complexity has been thrown across our lives for almost the entire year. And as with so many amazing experiences, it has brought out the best and the worst of us - thankfully, in this world of He Whānau Manaaki, the best has far outweighed the worst. The phrase he waka eke noa - we’re all in this together, became a common phrase used throughout this year. And from our TONI homebased educators, our teachers, our navigators, our office staff, our support staff, our senior teachers, our transport team, we truly were all in this together. Ka mau te wehi koutou - you are awesome! So thank you, thank you for all that you have done. Thank you for working together to make things great for children and their whānau. Thank you for caring for yourselves and for each other. To those who are leaving us to take up other adventures and challenges, we wish you only good fortune, and to those of you who are joining us again in the New Year - we’ve got lots to do, it’ll be challenging and exciting. Have a peaceful break. As-salaam alaikum Mandy 
Pays Over Christmas and New Year Just a reminder the next pay is Tuesday 29 December. The Payroll Team won’t have long to process this pay (as the office will be closed from 23 December) so we need kindergartens to send in their returns a little early. - Tomorrow, Friday 18 December send in Returns/Staff Hour count for:
- Week of 14-18 Dec; and
- Prediction for the following week, Monday 21 (for part-year) and Tuesday 22 (for full-year)
- On Monday 21 or Tuesday 22 December (your last day) send in amended Returns/Staff Hour count for those days by 9am.
If you have any questions please email payroll@wmkindergartens.org.nz or call the Porirua office and someone in the team can help you. Or you can email karen.skett@wmkindergartens.org.nz. Finance Update End of Year Infocare Cut-Off It’s that time of year again when we have to close off Infocare for the end of month, and term, and year! We’re asking that you complete your year-end infocare work by 3pm on your last day of opening for the year, which will be: Part Year Kindergartens: Monday 21 December Full Day and Full Year Kindergartens: Tuesday 22 December This means the following is required: - Sign in sheets marked in Infocare (actual attendance)
- Fee invoices (for the week ending Friday 25 December, Monday and/or Tuesday only) created and committed
- Staff timetables (“staff hour count”) for the week ending Friday 25 December, Monday and/or Tuesday only) completed
- Online sign off of your monthly roll return
- Any ratio, frequent absence, attendance or roll issues are communicated to the Association (please call Tania Braybrook)
If your support staff are unavailable to work on Monday/Tuesday can you please make arrangements for this work to be completed by the due date – 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 limited payment runs being made over this time. The last supplier payment run for the year will be made on 21 December and we will endeavour to make payment of invoices, as follows, over the coming weeks: Invoices received at the Association by Friday 18 Dec - Paid on Monday 21 December Invoices received at the Association by Friday 8 Jan - Paid on Monday 11 January Invoices received at the Association by Friday 15 Jan - Paid on Monday 18 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 tomorrow, 18 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 and marked as URGENT in the subject line. 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 tomorrow, Friday 18 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 11 December - Distributed Friday 18 December Statements for fees up to Friday 25 December - Distributed Friday 15 January Statements for fees up to Friday 8 January - Distributed Friday 15 January Statements for fees up to Friday 22 January - Distributed Friday 29 January Head Teachers will need to ensure that their support staff complete all invoicing for the last week of Term 4 (Monday and/or Tuesday 21/22 December) on the last day of term. Kindergarten Finance Reports Your November Kindergarten reports have been emailed this week. Your December Kindergarten reports will be emailed to you by Wednesday 20 January 2021. As always your kindergarten accounts should be passed on to your Treasurers and Committees as appropriate. Infocare Lock Dates for 2021 Details of Infocare Lock Dates for 2021 will be circulated in the new year.
Learning Support Portfolio and Survey You will have received an email last Friday with a survey monkey link to complete. The deadline for completion of the survey is tomorrow, Friday 18 December. We would appreciate if you could have this completed by tomorrow.
Social Competency Kit and Policy Review- Update Just a reminder that the due date for responding to our questions around the Social Competency Kit and Policy Review is tomorrow, Friday 18 December. Please send feedback by email to Catha catha.ritchie@wmkindergartens.org.nz
Giveaway Day Our final giveaway day for the year is this Saturday, 19 December at Nuanua Kindergarten. We would welcome any items of linen, kitchen ware, furniture, clothing etc in good condition that you would be happy to donate. If you have any items that you are wanting to donate these can be dropped off to the Association office tomorrow morning. Finally a huge thank you to everyone who has supported and contributed in the work of Amataga throughout the year i.e. Etu Ao, Whānau Ora, and Engaging Priority Families and our Give Away Days. Our team wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Welcome Book Recall We are having to recall the square welcome booklets as they have been reviewed and the updated version will be printed and distributed in the new year 😃 Please can you return all of your stocks to Chanelle at the Association office as soon as possible or you can destroy them in your recycling bins.
Regional Meetings Due to the need to keep numbers down and ensure the ability to socially distance, we have re-arranged the PR1 and PR2 Regional Groups. A separate email has gone to all of the affected Kindergartens, but here are the new groupings for general information. | Porirua City Group 1 | Porirua City Group 2 | Adventure | Ascot Park | Awatea | Brian Webb | Katoa | Discovery | Maraeroa | Moira Gallegher | Nuanua | Paremata Creche | Papakowhai | Paremata | Toru Fetu | Plimmerton | Waitangirua | Pukerua Bay | Etu Ao Visiting Teachers | Tairangi | | | Tawa Central | | | Titahi Bay | | | Tui Park |
Now, more than ever, it is really necessary to keep an eye on numbers - and not just for catering purposes. If you find that you can't attend the meeting to which you are assigned, but you could attend an alternative, then please contact Kaz (Karen.craig@wmkindergartens.org.nz) so that she can make the necessary arrangements. You can check out the dates for upcoming Regional Meetings in the PLD Calendar by clicking on the PLD tab below.
First Aid Just a reminder that the grace period for the expiry of First Aid Certification has been extended to 6 months. We will be offering refresher opportunities in all of the term breaks through 2021. You can check out the upcoming First Aid Course dates by clicking on the PLD tab below. Please remember to sign up for a course through HR.Net.
Changes In Services To Minimise Choking As you will know the licensing criteria about food in early childhood services is changing, from 25 January next year. The idea of the changes is to minimise the risk of choking. The changes include children sitting down to eat and changes to what food is served and what food parents are encouraged to provide. Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens is in discussion with the Ministry of Education about how the new guidelines will work in practice. We will update our policies and guidelines and have them to you early next year.
Art In Early Childhood An virtual international arts symposium for teachers is being held between the 21 and 27 February 2021. Lou Fruean and Lisa Terreni will be presenting as part of this symposium. Click here to learn more about it.
E Bike Discounts  As indicated in a previous Kōrero story, Whānau Manaaki employees can get the government’s E bike discount. You can get a discount of up to 30 per cent from Evo or MyRide. You can just visit an Evo or My Ride store and say you’re part of the Education scheme. Your practicing certificate (for teachers) could be useful here, or just give them information about where you work and what you do. Here is the website from Evo www.evocycles.co.nz/workplace/moe which has plenty of info. Sheppard/My Ride is still developing its education site, but there are fliers with information. Here’s a link to the fliers:
Rose Pere Leaves A Great Legacy We were all saddened by the passing of Rose Pere, a great leader in the early childhood movement in New Zealand and internationally, who died earlier this week. Dr Rangimarie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere is well known to many around Aotearoa because of her ground breaking work and influence. She has presented at Whānau Manaaki conferences and other early education events for many years., inspiring teachers to work together to develop a truly Tiriti-based approach. Rose advocated for the importance of including and weaving te ao Māori into the curriculum, and developed the ‘Te Wheke’ framework which is widely known and respected. Pere’s model integrates wairuatanga (spirituality), tinana (the body), hinengaro (the mind), and whanaungatanga (the extended family). It also includes mana, the integrity and prestige of the individual; mauri, the life principle, which includes language; and whatumanawa, the expression of feelings. Rose’s work and influence on thousands both here and across the world and her willingness to share her work with everyone will be remembered, as will her vitality. Whānau Manaaki’s Kaitiaki o Kaupapa Māori Louana Fruean says Rose was very forthright and had a great sense of humour. “I recall when she said after being introduced at our conference that the letters CBE after her name meant ‘Celestial Being Entity’ lol!”. Haere atu ra e te Māreikura, Haere atu ra!  Rose, pictured with Sonja Murphy, kaiako at Katoa Kindergarten, after Rangimarie's address to our conference last year.
Congratulations! Huge congratulations to Yan, from our Finance Team, who graduated during the week with a Master of Professional Accounting with Merit from Canterbury University. Here she is with her partner Steven. Well done Yan, we are so proud of you! 
Appointments And Resignations Congratulations to the following on their recent appointments: Gemma Crowe | Teacher | Arohanui | Megan Hawley | Teacher | Birchville | Tania Person | Teacher | Heretaunga | Nicola Kenneally | Teacher | Karori | Sheena Given | .7 Teacher | Lansdowne | Tracey Lambert | .4 Teacher | Otaki | Milly Honey | .8 Teacher | Owhiro Bay | Joe Purdy | Teacher | Owhiro Bay | Nadine Watkin | Teacher | Papakowhai | Julia Wratt | Teacher | Pikopiko Clyde Quay | Anahera Winiata | Teacher | Taitoko | Matthew Smith | .6 Teacher | Waitangirua | Leanne Mulhern | Administrator | Adventure | Emma Comeskey | Administrator | Awatea/Ascot Park | Helen Renwick | Administrator | Karori | Vicky Rice | Administrator | Lansdowne | Lorraine MacKinnon | Administrator | Matariki | Odette White | Administrator | Paremata | Kathy Rota-Aleni | Driver | WMK |
We wish all the best to the following who have resigned: Lofi Kupu | Visiting Teacher | Amataga | Diana Blake | Administrator | Karori | Gayle Harrison | Administrator | Paremata |
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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