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Welcome to our latest update of information and stories you may be interested in...
We are looking forward to catching up with as many of you as possible at the End of Year Christmas Function on Friday. It is shaping up to be a great night.
Our Full Staff Celebration is Tomorrow!
New venue, a DJ with Karaoke, a dance floor for you to boogie on, and a dress up photo corner!
We want you to have a fantastic time, and so in addition to the above, we have arranged a variety of different finger food to be served throughout the night ending with ham on the bone, bread rolls and some delicious condiments (there will be Vegetarian, Gluten free and Vegan alternatives provided also).
It will be great to see you all and to celebrate another year of the fantastic work we all do – we rock! 
When: Friday 17th November 2017
Time: 5.00pm to 10.00pm (please note 5.00pm is the confirmed time)
Where: Mac’s Brew Bar
4 Taranaki Street
Wellington (down the waterfront from Te Papa)
- All staff employed by Whānau Manaaki Kindergartens are welcome and encouraged to attend
- Non-alcoholic drinks will be free while alcoholic drinks will be subsidised($3 per drink) - this includes single shot spirits. You can pay by eftpos or cash, both will be available, and two bars will be open.
Transport Details:
For Teams in Levin and Along the Coast:
Into Wellington:
A bus will be leaving from Levin and will stop at:
- 3.00pm Levin Railway Station
- 3.50pm Otaki Railway Station
- 4.05pm Waikanae, Carpark opposite New World
- 4.15pm Paraparaumu Railway Station
- 4.30pm Pukerua Bay – Bus stop opposite Wairaka Road
From Wellington:
The bus will leave Wellington at 9.00pm. It is important to please reserve your space on the bus. Please email Hannah at hannah.toomaga@wmkindergartens.org.nzas we are limited to 53 seats.
For Wairarapa Teams:
Reimbursement will be made for your train fare. If you prefer to carpool, we will reimburse your travel costs.
Please note:the last train for Wairarapa leaves Wellington 10.25pm.
Christmas Pays
You will receive your pay as usual on the 20thDecember 2017.
The following pay that is due on the 3rdJanuary 2018 will be deposited early and be available to you on Saturday 30thDecember 2017.
Christmas Leave
The end of the year is fast approaching, and the payroll team have commenced inputting leave requests for all staff for the compulsory leave periods over for the Christmas closedown.
You may receive an email advising that your leave has been approved - please don’t be alarmed - this just enables us to get on top of the end of year rush and ensure that all pays can be processed on time over the Christmas/New Year period.
Keeping Our Computers Safe
Each Thursday you will receive a reminder on your computer to keep your computer turned on overnight. This is so BOS (our computer IT support) can ensure that your computer is kept up to date with necessary maintenance (protecting you for viruses etc).
We know that sometimes this message is overlooked and computers are shut down at the end of the day. So, from next week, if you inadvertently shut your computer down at the end of day on a Thursday, BOS will force your computer to shut down on a Friday at 3pm to undertake the necessary maintenance.
We need to take this action as increasingly there is malware and viruses out there that can do serious damage to our computers and networks. Thanks for your co-operation.
If you have any questions just contact Jane at jane.braun@wmkindergartens.org.nz
Give Away Day
There will be another give away day held on Saturday 25th November at Nuanua Kindergarten.
We are very fortunate for the generosity and care we receive from our kindergartens, families, the wider community and networks who give us items that our families would benefit from. Everything we receive is given away to families for free.
If you have any items that you would like to give away including clothing, linen, curtains, furniture, electronics, appliances, toys, books, shoes, kitchen ware, jewellery, make up, toiletries, food (tin and packet) etc please contact Tania at tania.braybrook@wmkindergartens.org.nz or drop them directly to the Association office in Elsdon.
Sick Leave Provisions for Teachers
You will be aware that the Kindergarten Teachers, Head Teachers and Senior Teachers’ Collective Agreement 2017-2019 which was renewed earlier this year contains new Sick Leave provisions for permanent and long-term relieving teachers. From 1 January 2018 the new entitlements are:
- 9 days Sick Leave per year; however
- Are also subject to Translation Arrangements to take into account any Additional Entitlements (under the old provisions) you have already received.
As per the Translation Arrangements we will be writing to all permanent and long-term relieving teachers with how the new provisions and translation arrangements will apply to you.
We are planning to send these letters next week by email using your individual Whānau Manaaki email address. Please check and read your letter carefully and either return your signed copy by 8 December or respond with any queries you have to payroll@wmkindergartens.org.nz or call Karen Skett on 021 857 826.
Toru Fetu Children Perform at Te Papa
Children from Toru Fetu Kindergarten were among those performing at Te Papa last week.
The theme was Tuakana/teina (older learning from the younger and vice versa) with whanaunga ako (reciprocal realationships) as the vehicle. Lou threaded everything together by looking at the pakiwaitara/pūrākau (stories) of each kindergarten/ece/kura to find the connecting links.
Teacher Maria Tierney says the children really enjoyed performing. “They loved singing, they loved dancing.”
“It was awesome for a multicultural kindergarten to be part of a Maori performance within an authentic Maori environment.”
Churton Park Children Perform at Local Craft Market
During the term Churton Park Kindergarten practiced waiata to perform at the annual Churton Park Craft Market last Friday at Amesbury School.
We performed “Tihei Mauri Ora.” “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” in mandarin and also “E rere taku poi.”
Our performers looked impressive in their piupiu made by a group of parents and borrowed ones from Katoa, Discovery, Brooklyn and Khandallah Kindergartens. We had bought 50 new poi and borrowed more from Brooklyn.
Our tamariki sang with pride to our whānau and our local community, tumeke! We will be performing again here at our Kindergarten Fair on Saturday 9th December.
He Whānau Manaaki Kindergarten Association Men's Group
The group try to catch up once a term. There is no pressure to commit to anything and all staff are welcome and valued.
Keep an eye out in future editions of the Kōrero for upcoming events including casual drinks. Recently the group met at the Rogue and Vagabond bar and the Arborist in the CBD. These occasions have been a relaxed way for the group to catch up and have a drink (or not).
The group is open to ideas for future PLD and activites, feel free to join and watch this space!
Earlier this month Nick (Island Bay), Craig (Island Bay), Andrew (Khandallah), Adrian (Strathmore Park/Johnsonville Full Day) and Fabian (Strathmore Park) participated in a fun and thought provoking event at the Childspace Worksop in Ōhāriu Valley. It was a great way to be inspired, share stores and meet other colleagues in our field.
During the event they discussed the updated curriculum's exploration strand, the importance of risky play and working with ahi (fire). They also had a go at paper engineering.
Thanks to Robin, Toni, Max, Stuart and David for hosting us at the workshop.
 
If you are interested in joining the group or want some more information please email Adrian at Adrian.Smith@wmkindergartens.org.nz.
Hazard Reporting 
Just a reminder that teams are required to complete the process of identifying hazards. This process was due to be completed by the end of week 3 this term.
This process is detailed in the hazard information that was sent to teams at the beginning of this term.
Just a reminder the process is:
- Teams use the Annual Checklist (available in HWM documents section on GOSH) to identify potential hazards which relate to their kindergarten. Once teams have identified which hazards from the list they believe are applicable to their kindergarten, using the Report a Hazard form on GOSH they add these to their kindergarten Hazard Register.
- Teams may also choose to add hazards to their Hazard Register which they have identified and which are not on the Annual Checklist but are applicable to their kindergarten only. These hazards should only be entered onto the Hazard Register if they are not able to be eliminated immediately.
- If teams identify any hazards which require the property team to eliminate they will need to follow the process for requesting maintenance detailed in the Maintenance Flow chart (available in HWM documents section on GOSH)
- Every kindergarten has their own Hazard Register on GOSH. This can be accessed by clicking on the Hazard registers section on the GOSH home page. Access to kindergarten Hazard Registers requires an email address and password which was included in the hazard information sent to teams at the beginning of the term.
- The Hazard Register is reviewed by your team at the end of each term. The review date for each is entered on GOSH by using the edit option for each hazard and entering the information required
- Senior Teachers will chose one hazard from each kindergarten’s Hazard Register and review the process undertaken by the team
- TheTermly Hazard Checklistis completed during week 9 of each term. The checklist is downloaded from GOSH and is then completed manually. Any hazards that are identified during this process that cannot be eliminated immediately are then entered onto your kindergartens Hazard Register using GOSH. Once you have completed the Termly Hazard Checklist, please upload this onto GOSH using the Hazard checks form and then following the prompts.
Please note that any hazards identified using any part of the Hazard process. that cannot be eliminated immediately so are added to GOSH, consideration must be given regarding howthese hazards are communicated with rest of the team
If you require the Hazard information to be resent or if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contactLorraine.Coulston@wmkindergartens.org.nz
Free for Pick Up
Plimmerton Kindergarten have this magnetic board that they would like to give away to another Kindergarten.
If you are interested in this please contact the Kindergarten direct. Please note you will have to pick this up!
 
Thank you for taking the time to read Kōrero.
Don't forget to check out some of the stories listed down the side menu. Just click between the stories of use the Kōrero bar to come back to this page.
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