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Kia ora whanau
Thank you all for giving us such a warm welcome and being patient with us as we come up to speed and learn all your names. We have thoroughly enjoyed our first week with the Centre and getting to know your beautiful children.
Over the weekend Murray has upgraded the centre’s software, firewalls, back-ups and security set-up. We also have a new email address: . You are welcome to use this to notify absences or for other queries (the previous email address is re-directed to this one also).
Welcomes and Farewells
We welcome Skylah and her whanau to our Centre. The children have really enjoyed learning to play with and look after a younger baby.
We also wish Elisapeta all the best for starting school after Easter.
Last week we also said farewell to Gloria and thanked her for her fantastic contribution to this Centre over the last 18 months.
Our Learning Themes
We have extended with the “Our Bodies” topic into the topic of ‘looking after things’ – each other, our dolls, our plants, our toys and books and our outdoor area. The children have been busy with their artwork, creating beautiful pictures of themselves and their families.
This week it is all about Easter – chicks, eggs, rabbits and angels. Our song “Mrs Bunny” is very popular this week.
Coming up – Numbers and Planets: There has been a lot of interest in numbers so we will be building on this theme in the coming weeks. Some of the children have also expressed an interest in the planets and we are preparing our learning stories to further develop our programme.
Teaching Team Update
We have advertised a Head Teacher position for the Centre, open to internal and external applicants. This position will be responsible for the learning programme and the teaching team. While the position is vacant, Carol Rouse is kindly taking on the role of Head Teacher for us.
We are also arranging to have an additional registered teacher on the floor each day until the Head Teacher position is filled. This week and next we have Ruth Toyoshima joining us from Education Personnel. On Wednesdays (Carol’s day off) we also have Sara Francken (Registered Teacher).
Clare will be away for a few extra days over Easter (back Thursday 4 April) so during this time Carol will be in charge.
Congratulations to Kerry and her husband on the arrival of beautiful baby James whom we were lucky to meet at Gloria’s farewell on Friday. Kerry is on parental leave now and we expect to see her back in the centre later in the year.
Parent Meeting
We invite you all to a parent meeting 7-8 pm, Tuesday 9 April. At this meeting we would like to see as many parents and caregivers as possible. We plan to share our plans for the Centre, share with you the things we have been working on so far, and to get your feedback and input to the future planning.
We will also be seeking your input on our review of the Learning and Development policy at this meeting and during April. We will place copies of this policy at the front desk for you to take away, review and provide us with your feedback.
New Resources
We have provided additional resources to support our learning themes including paint brushes for painting fences, sponges and a scrubbing brush to clean things with. We have also provided a toddler chair, baby monitor and some new books.
Extra Special Thanks to ...
- Nicole for the boys clothes
- Margaret who keeps us supplied with plastic bags and yoghurt pots
- Carol who has provided some lovely baskets, a new alphabet game and some new books for the centre
Teachers’ Wish List
We would love to receive any of your old face cloths for wiping the children’s faces after meals
Housekeeping
Thank you to everyone who has set up an automatic payment for your childcare fees into the new account, or made other payment arrangements.
If you haven’t already done so, the account number for payment of fees is: 06-0529-0879705-00, or pick up an AP form from the office.
Please also remember to pack plenty of extra clothes for your child, so we can change them if they get wet or especially dirty.
Happy Easter
From the team at Smiley Faces