Nau mai ki tenei wiki Kōrero. Te Wiki o te reo Māori is next week 9 – 15 September. The theme for 2019 is ‘Kia kaha te reo Māori – let’s make the Māori language strong’. We look forward to hearing what you've done during this week to contribute to the revitalisation of te reo Māori. Jane 
For Whanganui Staff:
Please click here find the lastest update of Mahi Tahi. You can also find the agenda for the full staff meeting here.
Evacuation Drills: Following discussions with the NZ Fire Service there is now no requirement to alert the Fire Service using GOSH when scheduling a 6 monthly drill. However, as with the previous process, the Fire Service Communication Centre must be called 10 minutes before the drill, on phone 04 801 0812. You will then complete the revised Report on an Evacuation form on GOSH.
He Whānau Manaaki Kindergarten Association Men’s Group Termly Gathering Come along and share some casual drinks and maybe a bite to eat and Network with your colleagues from the He Whānau Manaaki Kindergarten Association Men’s Group.
Meeting Point: Fortune Favours Restaurant and Bar 7 Leeds Street @6.30pm Friday, 27th of September Please contact Adrian Smith at: adrian.smith@wmkindergartens.org.nz, or 021 260 3096 if you want any further information or if you wish to join our Facebook Group.
Child Wellbeing Strategy Announced The government has announced a new child wellbeing strategy. Announcing the strategy, the Prime Minister said New Zealand should be a place “where all children and young people are loved, confident, happy and healthy, and are empowered to reach their full potential”. The strategy was developed by the Prime Minister’s department after extensive consultation, and includes input from young people. The Strategy includes nine principles and six wellbeing outcomes. It will be accompanied by an action programme. https://dpmc.govt.nz/our-programmes/child-and-youth-wellbeing-strategy The strategy has been welcomed by those advocating for children, but organisations stress that the strategy has to be accompanied by meaningful initiatives to address the problems children face. The lunches in schools pilot programme is one of these initiatives.
Changing or Cancelling a Leave Request We know that sometimes things change in your busy lives and you need to change your leave requests. If your request hasn’t been approved, i.e. it’s still pending, you can go back into your iPayroll kiosk and modify or cancel your request. However, once the request has been approved you’re not able to change it. In this case, just call or flick Karen or the payroll team an email and one of us can either cancel your leave or change it for you. If you’re wanting to change dates or the leave type, please don’t submit a second request as this gets confusing and things get missed. Just let us know and we’ll do it for you. We’re always happy to chat with you if you need to just get in touch.
-HR & Payroll team 😊
Government caps interest rates for predatory lenders In Korero last week, we featured a submission made by Caroline Mareko on behalf of Pasifika workers about the need tfor tighter controls on predatory lenders. This week, the Minister announced that there would be a cap on short term lenders interest rates. The Minister, who is also the MP for Mana, Kris Farfoi, also announced tighter rules for mobile trucks which often offer easy credit for overpriced goods from trucks criculating in low income neighbourhoods. This change shows how lobbying and taking part in the select commmittee process can have an impact. Groups advocating for low income families have welcomed the move, but note that with an interest rate cap of 0.8 per cent, people can still face effective interest rates of 300 per cent a year, which causes families to get into a never ending spiral of debt. Here’s a link to more information: https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/115483477/interest-rate-cap-regulation-of-truck-shops-coming-as-part-of-govt-crackdown
Government looking to improve teacher supply The government has announced a range of measures to increase the supply of early childhood teachers, including supporting recruitment from overseas. Fewer people have been training as early childhood teachers in recent years, and many have left the sector, with low wages – around $22 an hour in the private sector – contributing to this. Kindergartens, with a more attractive collective agreement, have not had the same difficulty attracting and retaining teachers, but the numbers applying for jobs have been declining. The package includes attracting more people into training in early childhood education, a relocation grant for overseas teachers moving here, and an increase in the discretionary hours policy that allows people to maintain funding rates for qualified teachers when employing unqualified teachers. The Ministry of Education is also looking at changing regulations around how primary trained teachers can be used in centres, so that they can hold the role of “person responsible” at an ECE centre. New Zealand Kindergartens has welcomed the package as a sign that the government is listening to the sector, but urges funding for 100 per cent qualified teachers to promote and retain quality early education. Growing our teacher workforce
Free and healthy lunches in schools The government is trialling free school lunches in 30 schools next year, with 120 schools to offer free lunches to all children at their schools from 2021. The programme is part of the Government’s Child Youth and Wellbeing Strategy. The strategy recognises that reducing child poverty is vital to improving the wellbeing of children. New Zealand Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy The 30 schools will be in Bay of Plenty/Waiariki and Hawkes Bay / Tairawhiti, and have been identified by the Ministry of Education using the equity index. In launching the programme the Prime Minister said that regular nutritious meals give children the energy, focus and concentration they need to learn and develop. Between 150,000 and 250,000 New Zealand children are in poverty, depending on how it is measured. One in five children experience food insecurity, and in our most disadvantaged communities, 40 percent of parents run out of food sometimes or often. The Ministry of Education will work with schools and their communities, to support the design and delivery of free school lunches. The scope of the programme is limited at this stage because the Government wants to trial what is involved in providing free lunches in a mix of school types and locations. The effects of the programme on wellbeing and learning will be evaluated. Here’s a link to more information: https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/overall-strategies-and-policies/wellbeing-in-education/free-and-healthy-school-lunches/
Measles The measles outbreak in Auckland provides a timely reminder that kindergartens need to make sure their immunisation registers are up to date. Neary a thousand people have been diagnosed with measles in the current outbreak, almost all in the Auckland region. Infocare priovdes an easy way to make sure that you know which children have provided immunisation records. Where the records have not been provided, the children may still have been immunised. Ask your families to provide documentation if they can. Encourage families whose children have not been vaccinated or who do not know, to go to their GP. Vaccinations for children are free. A programme within the Etu Ao homebased service showed that parents and whānau were very receptive to being approached to discuss vaccination and appreciated help in obtaining their medical records. Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens needs to be prepared in case the measles epidemic spreads. Staff born before 1969 are considered to have immunity, either through having measles or being exposed to those with the disease. Those born after 1969 may not be vaccinated and may be considered at risk. Any staff in this category should seek a vaccination, which is free. One vaccination provides 95 per cent immunity. At the moment there is good supply of the vaccination. Heres are some facts about measles from the Ministry of Health: - Measles is highly contagious – and easily preventable.
- It affects both children and adults.
- Two doses of the measles vaccine provides the most effective protection for yourself, your family and the wider community. After one dose of the MMR vaccine, about 95% of people are protected from measles. After two doses, more than 99% people are protected.
- In New Zealand, if you were born in 1969 or later, you can get the measles vaccine for free.
- Vaccination is particularly important if you are planning to travel anywhere overseas – to protect yourself and to help prevent outbreaks in New Zealand.
- First symptoms are: fever, cough, a runny nose, sore and watery “pink” eyes, sometimes small white spots on the back inner cheek of the mouth.
More information is available here: https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/diseases-and-illnesses/measles?fbclid=IwAR3psifqEEhnNR8YZbO4YQbm0tz-03VmtmRG2ESKFG-gzHprKaoHm8vQkoc
Poster for download here.
Action Plan for Pacific Education Last year the Pacific Education Team asked you what you thought of their education system and where they could make changes for the benefit of Pacific learners. They want to express their gratitude to all of you who shared your ideas and opinions either face-to-face at one of the 27 fono they held nationwide or through their online survey. What you shared with them is guiding the work of the Ministry of Education. To read about some of the announcements for Pacific learners and their families from the latest budget, gohere. They will share more details about some of the education funding at their next fono (read on for more!). They know there is still a lot of work to make sure the education system is working for all Pacific learners and families. This is why Minister Salesa is committed to using your experiences to shape the wider work in education, and to changing the way the Ministry works with Pacific families and communities. To start working differently and reciprocally, they want to come back and collaborate with you to design the next Action Plan for Pacific Education. This will build off all you shared with them last year and make sure they’re capturing what you shared with them. The Ministry of Education will be holding a series of fono from 26 August to 4 October across the country to ask: - Have we honoured and valued your voices in our proposed vision for Pacific education and the changes we need to see to get there
- What do you think about the actions the Ministry is taking to make change for Pacific learners and families?
- How do we know that we are making progress?
To find out where they will be and when – see their list of fono here and the Wellington ones below. This page will be update as venues are confirmed. There is more information here that you can print off and share with your families:
- Porirua fono - Lower Hutt Tokelau fono - Palmerston North fono - Lower Hutt fono
- Porirua Tokelau fono
- Wellington Learning Support & Disability fono
Wadestown Kindergarten Celebrates 40th Birthday!
 
Featuring the Wadestown Establishment Committee.
Māori Language Week 
Whakanuia te wiki o te reo Māori – Celebrate Māori Language Week! 9-14 September. 9 Mahuru | 9 September 2019, March. Where: Parliament Ground to Te Ngākau Civic Square, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington Start time: 12pm. Finish time: 2pm Register here:https://tetaurawhiri.wufoo.com/forms/m1lft4bp150wouv/ Kia Kaha te reo Māori is the theme for this year’s Māori Language Week. ‘Kia Kaha’ is a well-known phrase in New Zealand, meaning ‘be strong’. We often talk about language health, strength, and revitalisation. So when we say ‘Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’ we’re saying - ‘Let’s make the Māori language strong'. You can get a kupu sent to your email each day within a sentence: kaitiaki@kupu.maori.nz Or you can view the event of facebook Here.
Argentina Day at Irmgard Ritchie Hola! At Irmgard Ritchie Kindergarten, We had the Argentina Day. Ambassador Fausto Crozet and Christian from Argentina Embassy visited us and shared their experiences and knowledge about Argentina and it’s colourful culture and language. We had lots of singing (canta), sharing ideas (la comunicacion), and sharing food (comida). It is great to celebrate diversity and differences within our children and whanau. Our Argentina family was the one who initiated and helped organise this special celebration. Bien hecho! Message from Ada, Manu's mum, "Thank you and all the teachers for hosting Argentina Day today and for giving us the opportunity to share our culture. It was great!"  
September Snippets - Celebrating Tongan Language week 
This week on facebook 
Pages to follow! If you haven't already, you can follow Tongan Language week on facebook to view up to date info and resources! 
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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