News

...Jo Clare for the huge bags of spare clothing      ...Melissa Shipley for the art resources
...Amelia Turner for the toys and resources      ...Ben Driessens for the egg cartons
...Jane & Mark Brown for the toys      ...Tina Marsh for the plastic trays and lids      ...Tessa Ash for the resources
...Yukimi Paynter for the lids      ...The Mystery Donor for the box of resources left in the foyer

HOUSEKEEPING

·       Nau mai, hoki mai – Welcome back to another fun-filled year at Ready Steady Play! We hope everyone enjoyed a great break.

·       Clocking in & out – A reminder to everyone to please clock your child both in and out every time they attend.

·       Three week absence rule – Children are able to be absent from preschool for a maximum of 3 weeks at a time unless a medical certificate is provided. After this time Ministry of Education funding, 20 Hours ECE funding and WINZ childcare subsidies stop. Please keep this in mind when planning your holidays.

·       Annual Review – Our annual review survey forms were distributed earlier this month with a return date of Friday 27 January. So far, we have received a disappointing number of completed forms and would appreciate parents taking the time to give their valuable feedback. Any and all comments are welcomed.

·       Shapes crackers –Shapes crackers have been appearing regularly in lunchboxes and we’d like parents to be aware that the ‘nutritional’ content of this brand is similar to that of potato chips. Although crackers in general are on the centre’s Healthy Foods list we ask parents to be mindful of the brand purchased.

·       Resources needed please – The Nīkau side would really like some pot plants if you have any please and any odd pieces of rope – any length, size or colour. The Kauri side is in need of buttons, coloured stones, coloured glass and any other treasures suitable for mosaic in concrete.

hua rākau	- fruit	parāoa	- bread
hua whenua	- vegetables	mīti	- meat
hanawiti	- sandwich	tīhi	- cheese
miraka kawa	- yoghurt	wai māori	- plain water

He māma noa iho!

It’s easy as!

Carboard tubes	Icecream containers	buttons	Seeds
Stickers	Plastic bottles	Acorns	Pegs
Driftwood	Bottle tops, jar lids	Wrapping paper	Straws
Plant pots	Greeting cards	String, wool	Corks
Ribbons	Non-toxic plants/seedlings	Carpentry nails	Beads
Lace	Preserving jar rings	Zips	Cellophane
Assorted shells	Recycled A4 paper	Old candles	Cotton reels

These policies are currently under review. We invite your comments, feedback & suggestions at any time.

Welcome back to a new year. We hope your had an enjoyable break.

There has been a change in dynamics in the Toitoi room this year as we have had Connor, Jack, Archie, Sam and Joel move on to the Nikau room and we have had Emily and Kieran join us. We would like to warmly welcome Emily, Kieran and their whanau to the Toitoi room. With these changes and the fact we have all been away on holiday we have decided our programme focus will be based on relationships. We want to establish relationships with our new children and re-establish the relationships we have with our returning children.

Nga mihi of te tau hou! Happy new year! Welcome back to you all, especially our new friends who have transitioned from the Toitoi side and joined us from the local community.

With the increase of children on the Nikau side our current focus is guiding and supporting htem to become familiar with what is acceptable behaviour.

There have been new additions to our room as well - the fish tank in the corner and the two spiders nests. Take a moment to enjoy these with your child when you come in during the day.

As many friends are still away on holiday, the Horoeka and Kauri rooms have joined together with children and teachers all playing on the Kauri side. This has been a great opportunity for our older children to role model, care for and enjoy playing with the younger children. This tuakana/teina relationship is supported by teachers and is a large part of the programme this month.

With a number of Kauri children off to school and transitioning in the next month this is proving a beneficial time.

The Horoeka side would like to welcome Denise on board. Denise will be starting her teaching journey with us on 7th February. We look forward to getting to know her better as we are sure she is us.