This is the last Korero for the year – I’m sure time speeds up the older you get! Next week some services close on Wednesday 20th while others have their last day on Friday 22nd. The office closes on Friday too. Some of us will be back at work on the 3rd of January while others start back on the 8th, and others still on the 23rd. What a diverse organisation we are – reflecting the diverse needs of the parents and whānau who support our services. Thanks to all of you for the hard mahi you have carried out throughout the year. Many of you have faced personal challenges and many others have had to contend with professional challenges, as you have grappled with new thinking, provocations, and reflected on yourself in the job that you do. Challenge and change are the realities of life, and in fact form part of the essence of life – but sometimes when you’re going through it all, accepting such a reality is a bit of a pain! Thanks for focusing on the work you do and on making things good for children. Thanks to the teachers, the TONI homebased educators, the administrators, the teacher aides and kaimahi, the students, the cooks, the transport team, the cleaners, and everyone who works in our diverse and dynamic office. To those of you who are leaving us to move on to other adventures in 2018, we wish you only good fortune; to those who are returning to continue the work that we do, 2018 is going to be a year of challenges and opportunities; never before has the focus been on the wellbeing of young children as it is and will be under this Government. The nation is talking about it. It’s our area of expertise, that’s what we’re passionate about . Have a restful and lovely break, and come back refreshed and ready to go: we’ve got lots to do!! Mandy 
Key Boxes  Please ensure that there is a key for your kindergarten and any gates in the key box. Alarm codes need to be in the key box also.
Key Box Lock Codes It is important we have the up to date codes for all of the lock boxes at each kindergarten, particularly before any long term closure. Would you please email through your lock box code to Lorraine, at lorraine.coulston@wmkindergartens.org.nz before the end of day on Tuesday 19th December.
Support Staff Appraisal Process Today we emailed a letter, and the new Appraisal Kit for Support Staff to your kindergarten.. Please can you make sure all Support Staff in your kindergarten (Administrators, Teacher Aids, Kaimahi, etc) recieve a copy of both the letter and the kit.” Please note that the Wairarapa and Kapiti venues are to be confirmed.
All Staff Professional Learning and Development Information for 2018 Just to give you all a quick ‘heads-up’ that an annual PLD Calendar for 2018 will be made available to all staff next Tuesday through e-mail. You will be able to view the whole years PLD on a wall planner, in the termly paper PLD calendar and through the online calendar – you won’t miss an opportunity to choose and plan your PLD for 2018!
Administration Calendar information for 2018 An annual Administration Calendar will be made available to all Kindergarten teams next Tuesday through e-mail. The Administration Calendar will support teams to plan effectively for 2018 and assist with managing workload. We are sending out this information next week by e-mail so that you have it ready for 2018. However, we will also be providing regular updates in future editions of Korero. Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.  Christmas Pays You will receive your pay as usual on the 20th December 2017. The following pay that is due on the 3rd January 2018 will be deposited early and be available to you on Saturday 30th December 2017. Please ensure your timesheets, returns and staff hour counts are sent in before you finish for the year and/or by 9.00am Friday, 22nd December at the latest. Any received after this date will be processed in the pay of 17th January 2018.
NZEI Recognition Leanne Nelson and Julie Crawley were recently recognised for the work they have done with NZEI over the past 10 years, supporting members and the NZEI. Both Leanne and Julie were awarded Life Membership of NZEI at an end of year celebration on Friday. This is a great honor and a well deserved recognition of the work these two have done for and on behalf of NZEI members, well done! 
Sick Leave Entitlement All teachers will have received a letter explaining how the new sick leave provisions apply to them under the collective employment agreement. We appreciate that some people are struggling to understand the letter, hopefully the following will help: Before the latest collective agreement was signed teachers were allocated 5 days sick leave each year (regular entitlement) and then received additional sick leave at certain anniversary dates, called additional entitlements. These additional entitlements were allocated in advance and in larger amounts. Example: Service | Regular entitlement | Additional Entitlement (allocated in advance) | Start date | | 10 days | 6 months* | 5 days | | 1 year | | 14 days | 1 year 6 months | 5 days | | 2 years 6 months | 5 days | | 3 years 6 months | 5 days | | | 4 years 6 months | 5 days | | 5 years | | 20 days | 5 years 6 months up to 9 years 6 months | 5 days each year | | 10 years | | 15 days | 10 years 6 months to 19 years 6 months | 5 days each year | | 20 years | | 20 days | 20 years 6 months to 29 years 6 months | 5 days each year | | 30 years | | 27 days |
* Every year becomes your anniversary date for your regular entitlement of 5 days
For 30+ years you get 5 regular days per year. There are no more additional entitlements. From the 1st January 2018 any new sick leave entitlement will be allocated at 9 days per year, 5 days regular entitlement and 4 days additional entitlement (allocated yearly and replacing the additional entitlement allocated in advance and on significant anniversary dates, ie 1, 5, 10 and 20 years service). Going forward there will not be any sick leave (additional entitlements) allocated in advance. You now you get an entitlement each year. It will still accumulate if you don't use it. (There are some anomolies for those teachers that do not work five days a week). For those staff that have had advanced sick leave allocated to them, as per the chart above, a Translation Agreement has been prepared to deal with the transition of that advanced leave and the new provisions. The Translation Agreement looks at when each individual received their last additional entitlement and calculates when the new 4 day additional entitlement will begin. Therefore just about every teacher will have a different calculation because most teachers do not have the exact same years of service. Signing the letter you received and getting it back to us by the 21st December 2017 would be much appreciated, however should you wish to have more time, you are able to. As you are aware, next week is the last week of term and the kindergarten year and so is very busy. Because the payroll team are processing two pays next week, and processing other end of year payroll requirements, and because each teacher’s situation is slightly different, it would be more efficient if teachers could email the payroll team with their queries, and then these can be addressed in a measured and systematic way. Email them with your queries to: payroll@wmkindergartens.org.nz. You can also make contact with your NZEI Representative who will also be able to explain the changes. Thanks for your patience around this issue, as with most change processes, there is always a time of uncertainty. End of Year Infocare Cut-Off You will have read in last week's Kōrero 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 by3pm on Wednesday 20 December: - Sign in sheets marked in Infocare (actual attendance)
- Fee invoices (for the week ending Wednesday 20 December) created and committed
- Staff timetables (“staff hour count”) for theweek ending Wednesday 20 Decembercompleted
- Online sign off of your monthly roll return
- Any ratio, attendance or roll issues are communicated to the Association (please call Hannah or Tania)
For Full Day (Johnsonville, Owhiro Bay, Matariki, Kahurangi, Toru Fetu, Nuanua, Te Timatanga Hou, Tai Tamariki) and Full Year (Greytown, Bellevue & Tui Park) kindergartens that are open until Friday, the above Infocare tasks should be completed by 3pm on Friday 22 December (your last day of term). If your support staff are unavailable to work on the days above 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 over the coming weeks as follows: Invoices received at the Association by Friday 8 Dec Paid on Monday 11 December Invoices received at the Association by Friday 15 Dec Paid on Monday 18 December Invoices received at the Association by Wednesday 20 Dec Paid on Friday 22 December Invoices received at the Association by Friday 5 Jan Paid on Monday 8 January Invoices received at the Association by Friday 12 Jan Paid on Monday 15 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 20 December so we can arrange prompt payment for you. During the coming weeks all requests for urgent payments should continue to be emailed toaccounts@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 Friday 15 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 1 December Distributed Thursday 7 December Statements for fees up to Friday 15 December Distributed Thursday 21 December Statements for fees up to Friday 5 January Distributed Thursday 11 January Statements for fees up to Friday 19 January Distributed Thursday 25 January Head Teachers will need to ensure that their support staff complete all invoicing for the last week of Term 4 by Wednesday 20 December (Friday 22 December for All Day and Full Year kindergartens). Please note that this will probably mean preparing invoices in advance for some children. Kindergarten Reporting: Kindergarten accounts for the financial year to 30 November 2017 will be emailed to kindergartens tomorrow. Accounts for the financial year to 31 December 2017 will be circulated on Wednesday 24 January 2018. As always your kindergarten accounts should be passed on to your Treasurers and Committees as appropriate. Infocare Lock Dates for 2018: Details of Infocare Lock Dates for 2018 will be circulated in the new year.
Thanks from the Amataga Team  A very big thank you to all the Kindergarten teams and your families for all you have done for the Amataga team and the children and families they work with over the past 2 months. Your generosity and kindness is appreciated. On behalf of the team we want to wish you all very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Stay safe and we look forward to working with you all in 2018. 
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