Nau mai ki te pānui tênei ko te Kōrero. 
Senior Teacher Update Kia ora koutou katoa, Induction and Mentoring Seminar 6 October 2021 We are looking forward to seeing all PCT’s and Mentors at our October seminar for 2021 – Please remember that your attendance at our seminars is an important requirement for completing your Induction and Mentoring Programme. To enrol go into Tūhonohono and enrol in the Porirua office group. You can however attend this PLD in one of three locations, WMK office, Whanganui Office or Silverstream office. The two workshops for this seminar are Whanau and an Introduction to internal Evaluation processes. Note the seminar now starts at 9.00am – and finishes at 1.00pm which is a change from the time advertised in the PLD calendar). Please talk with your Senior Teacher if you have any questions, or contact Lynette Wray.
Microsoft Office And Teams PLD Kia ora koutou, As we said in the Kōrero last week, next week we are running a number of Zoom sessions around three key aspects of our new IT systems and these are now up on Tūhonohono for you to enrol in (there are a number of different time options for each topic). The group size for each session is small so you will have an opportunity to ask questions. If you are joining in the Zoom as a team, we suggest that you have two laptops – one to engage in the zoom and one for you to give things a go as we work through the session. Introduction to Microsoft Teams and Onedrive: Are you feeling in the dark about Microsoft Teams and Onedrive? Do you want to know how these new programmes work together and what they mean for you and your team? This Introduction will provide an overview of both Microsoft Teams and OneDrive, and will help you to navigate some of the functions (and find your documents😊). Working with documents in Teams and OneDrive This session focusses on the easiest ways to find and open existing documents, create new ones, and how to save and share documents both in your kindergarten and also with external people. Working with Photos and Storypark in the new system. This will be an opportunity to explore ways of uploading photos and documents to Storypark so that you can set up processes for your team. There will also be some time to ask questions. If you are having any problems enrolling through Tūhonohono into one of these courses please contact Jan Hannon. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Child Protection PLD There are 2 spaces available on 15 October course being held in Te Puna (Porirua office). If you want to join this course, please enrol on Tūhonohono as soon as possible. This is the last Child Protection course for this year.
2022 Conference We are excited to be able to announce that we will be reintroducing our Full Staff Meeting and Conference next year, in 2022. We haven’t been able to hold it for a couple of years because of COVID and many of you have let us know how much you value and miss it. We will be holding it in October this time, instead of July, for a few reasons: - We are more confident about being ‘through’ the COVID thing and possible lock-downs etc;
- It will be Spring and so hopefully makes travelling a little easier for our people and our guests; and
- It will give us longer to plan (because we would normally have started planning a couple of months ago).
The Full Staff Meeting will be on the afternoon of Monday 3rd October and Conference will be on Tuesday 4th October. This does mean we are making some changes to our calendar for next year, specifically the close-down ‘week’ for Full Year services. They will still close for 5 days but this will be split between July and October as follows: - In July, kindergartens will close Thursday 14 and Friday 15
- In October, kindergartens will close Monday 3, Tuesday 4 and Wednesday 5.
In addition to these 5 days, Full Year Services can still have 2 additional Teacher-only (closed) days in 2022 – you can choose when you have these as usual and let us know. You may choose to add it on to one of the close-down periods or have it another time during the year, that’s up to teams to decide what will work best for them and their community. We have attached the new calendar here. There are four tabs for the different staff groups. Nothing has changed for the term dates themselves so there is little change for staff in Part-year services, other than the fact that the Full Staff Meeting on Monday 3 October is compulsory for Teachers. We look forward to bringing you more details about the conference and the meeting as we set things in place. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the calendar, the dates or expectations you can contact Anna Barker (from the People Team).
Successful AGM Last Thursday’s AGM in Masterton was well attended by every Wairarapa Kindergarten with teachers and families, board members and Whānau Manaaki office staff coming together. Chief Executive Amanda Coulston says it was a tribute to all who contributed. “I know you may find it unbelievable that AGMs can be a blast, but [our] one in Masterton was a blast - thanks to everyone.” “The Annual General Meeting is a really, really important part of what makes a strong, democratic organisation, and the strength of our democracy was beautifully illustrated.” Board Chair Emma McGregor thanked outgoing board members Amy Weightman, Tanya Emerson, Monika Ciolek and Kyran Smith for their contribution over recent years. The results of the board elections were declared, with Kath Cooper being elected for the first time, and Martin Robinson, Genia Kohrt and Iona To’omaga-Iona being re-elected. Former Deputy Chief Executive Jane Braun was gifted a life membership of Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens. Jane could not attend in person but in a statement paid tribute to all those staff volunteers and parents that she worked alongside. She used the whakatauki: Nā te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi (which translates as ‘with my food basket and your food basket, we can sustain everyone’ – or, by working together we can flourish. At the AGM, volunteers in our local kindergartens were recognized, with a small gift. Those recognized were: - Elisabeth Alloway from Martinborough Kindergarten,
- Doug Bracewell for supporting Landsdowne Kindergarten,
- Christa Ashby for Carterton Kindergarten,
- Zac Prestidge, Ben Philbert and Matt Stanley for supporting Meta Riddiford Kindergarten
- Gail Adamson for supporting Manaia Kindergarten
- Marie Fury for her support for Masterton West Kindergarten
- Brian Butler for supporting Greytown Kindergarten
- Sandra Clement & Darryl Thornton from Una Williams Kindergarten
- Karen and Bill Patrick - Kahurangi Kindergarten
- Gail Adamson from Manaia Kindergarten
- York St- Matt Adams for supporting York Street Kindergarten
- Ono Konise for supporting South End Kindergarten
The new board will be profiled in a future Kōrero edition.  Martinborough Kindergarten recognised
Elizabeth Alloway, pictured here with teachers Trinity Shaw, Megan Gibson and Jane McMahon. 
Landsdowne Kindergarten volunteer Doug Bracewell is recognised with kindergarten staff Tanya Emmerson and Dianne Fairhall and WM board chair Emma McGregor.
Kaiako Have The Chance To Be Vaccine Heroes Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson has challenged New Zealanders to encourage others to get vaccinated as the best way to defeat the COVID-19 virus. As you know, Ministry of Health advice is for everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. While we can’t require vaccination for staff, we encourage everyone to get the vaccine for themselves and their whānau. Getting vaccinated helps create a safe and healthy workplace for everyone. Teachers and support staff can use non-contact time to get their vaccine, for themselves or dependents. If you have any issues relating to time off for vaccination, please contact the People Team (formerly the Human Resources team). Latest results show 78 per cent of those eligible have had their first vaccine, but numbers are slowing as we aim for 90 per cent. There are significant differences in ethnicities, with Māori and Pacific rates behind. Of the current outbreak, 66 per cent of those with Covid are Pacific peoples and 15 per cent Māori. Ways to get vaccination rates up include community initiatives such as vaccination buses and Māori and Pasifika-led vaccination hubs - as well as ordinary people helping those in their own families who may be hesitant about getting the jab. "I think this is the bit where every single one of us has a responsibility," Grant Robertson said. "Sit down and have that conversation with the person in our lives who's maybe a little hesitant ... who is just a bit worried and a bit confused about some info.” "Each of us gets the chance to be a vaccine hero and go out and have that conversation. That's how we'll get there," Robertson said. Child Uplifts To End Following Report A report into Oranga Tamariki has recommended changes which would see an end to almost all cases where children are removed without notice from their families. The changes – which have been accepted by the Minister for Children - would see decision-making and resources shared with communities to work to prevent harm against children. More support needed to be provided to social workers and the role of Oranga Tamariki shifted to emergency care and assisting Māori collectives and communities. "This report will end uplifts as we have known them," Minister Kelvin Davis said. "I asked [the board] to get to the root of the problems with Oranga Tamariki and be completely honest with me about what it found. "What they provided was a confronting yet powerful report and I am pleased to say the Government has accepted all their recommendations. Davis said Oranga Tamariki staff had been doing "demanding and difficult work" without adequate support. "I want Oranga Tamariki to be the enabler that empowers communities and Māori to help children and their families in a way that works for them." Issues came to a head in 2019 after the website Newsroom published a video of the uplift of a week-old Māori baby in Hastings. That led to five damning reviews of Oranga Tamariki and its child uplift practices: an internal review, and inquiries by Whānau Ora, the Chief Ombudsman, the Children's Commissioner, and the Waitangi Tribunal.
Paula’s Farewell Whānau Manaaki farewelled Senior Teacher Paula Hunt last night with a function that included colleagues from her 40 years in kindergarten. The farewell was held under Covid level 2 rules with everyone seated and served. A floral theme recognised Paula’s love of gardening, and vintage china featured. Paula spoke about her gratitude for her long career, and those she had worked with. Paula asked for this message to be shared with your all: Just wanted to thank you all for the beautiful messages, cards and gifts I have received for my retirement. It has been a real privilege and pleasure to have worked with you over the last 40 years and I will take away with me such happy memories of my time at He Whānau Manaaki. Thanks also to the lovely people in the office who made my retirement party last night such a special event. It was just beautiful. Arohanui to you all. 
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