Kia Ora Karori Kids Whanau!
Welcome to Karori Kids!
We would like to welcome Briana who has started this month and our new teacher, Merciana. We look forward to getting to know Merciana and Briana. We also sadly said goodbye to Vincent (one of our teachers).
Birthdays
A big happy 5th birthday to Angus and harae ra as he leaves us to start his new journey at big school. We wish you the best of luck.
What have we been up to?
Community Outings – We have been going for lots more outings over the past month. We have been visiting the community gardens, stopping in at our local fruit shop, the botanic gardens and much more.
Outdoor Renovations – To create a space for us to use outside, regardless of weather, one of our lovely Dad’s has made our deck a bit more weather-proof.
ShakeOut 2022 – New Zealand ShakeOut is our national earthquake drill day. It is a self-run drill where everyone around the country can practice what they would do in an earthquake. Everyone did the right thing straight away; turtle drops, and even held their position for two minutes! Then we had congratulatory hugs and high fives for a job well done. You can be SUPER proud of you clever and well drilled tamariki!
Thunderbirds – Our thunderbirds have been learning about physiology. Healthy eating and other related factors that affect children’s health and well-being have also been discussed.
Teachers Only Day – During our teachers only day we discussed ERO requirements as we will be expecting their visit early next year. We talked about our plans for 2023 and reflected on the standards for the teaching profession. It was a very successful and productive day.
Diwali- We had a great time learning about Diwali. Reena, who is originally from India was able to talk to us about this important festive in this country. Food, songs, Indian cultural dress were also presented on that day.
Sustainability- We continue to expose our children to environmentally sustainable practice. Gardening, composting and recycling are some of the activities that we continue to do with our tamariki to reinforce the important of looking after our Mother earth.
Sports Day - We had our annual sports day at Ben Burn park which was a great success. Bean bag races, long jump, tug of war, the children (and teachers) had so much fun.
Working Bee - Our working bee was also a success. A great turnout from our families and lots was achieved. Thank you to all those who came and helped.
Upcoming Dates/Events
Christmas Party - Friday 16th of December 3pm-6pm.
PD Attended – October and November.
Our Karori Kids team recognize the importance of continuous learning. We make sure that teachers are up to date with the current trends in ECE. Recently, our teachers attended the following professional development;
Catherine – Achieving Leadership Excellence
Tracy – Visual Arts & Leadership in ECE + Aligning your physical environment with your priorities for learning charge
Gina – Child Protection Policy + Aligning your physical environment with your priorities for learning charge
Our kaiako have also been in their final stages of their Professional growth Cycle and are in the process of writing the final remarks. Everyone has been working hard on their goals throughout this year so it is a great achievement for everyone to be wrapping this up.
Savannah's application for her full registration has been approved however, sadly she will be leaving us in the new year. Savannah will be relocating to Auckland ahead of her trip around Europe. We have 3 candidates for her position and have scheduled interviews in the upcoming weeks.
Illnesses (Covid-19 and flu)
For the month October of November, we still had quite a few children away due to the flu. Sadly, we have had one family who got Covid-19 last month. As we are now to a long-term strategy for COVID-19, mask wearing is no longer required and household contacts of a person with COVID-19 do not need to isolate, but instead are asked to complete a RAT test each day, for 5 days. All other recommended public health measures will stay in place as we know they reduce the spread of infectious illnesses including COVID-19. These include ensuring our indoor spaces are well-ventilated, maintaining good hand hygiene, encouraging everyone to cough or sneeze into elbows and, most importantly, staying home and getting tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms.
Sunscreen
We are now applying sunscreen each morning and afternoon. If your child needs a special sunscreen, please provide a named one.
Reminders
-Please name your children’s clothing.
-Please ring/email the teachers if your child is going to be away.
- Make sure that you send spare clothing for your child.
-Please remind your children to keep their toys at home
Policies
Three policies have been reviewed for the month of November: Sun Safety Procedures, Communication with Parents/Caregivers and Record of Incident/Allegation.
A new child protection policy was also adopted from the Ministry of Education. This will be sent to you soon.
Facebook and Google
We encourage parents to share why they love Karori Kids so feel free to leave a google review. This helps promote our centre and gets our name out into the community! We also encourage families to visit our Facebook page where we share photos and updates so you can see what your children are busy doing!
General
We continue to build that much-needed resilience to thrive in these ever-changing times and encourage you to stay connected to support your child’s development here within our Karori Kids Community. Thank you for your on-going support!
Ehara taku toa I te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.
Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of many.