Centre Manager’s Report: September & October

 Tēnā koutou katoa,

Spring has been on and off so far, but it’s lovely to finally feel the sunshine and see flowers blooming all around us. We hope you’ve all had a chance to enjoy the season’s beauty.

A very warm welcome to our new tamariki — Faisal, Riya, Harper and David. We are excited to be part of your learning journey here at Karori Kids.

We also warmly welcome Amy, a second-year student from Victoria University, who is completing her six-week practicum with us.

We would also like to extend a very warm welcome to Celedonia, who will be relieving and covering the maternity leave for our cook.

Sadly, we are farewelling Regan, who is heading to Christchurch to pursue his Master’s degree. We wish him all the very best in his studies and future endeavours.

BUSY TAMARIKI KARORI KIDS                        

1. Mid-Autumn Festival (06 October) The children had a wonderful time celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival through stories, music, and dance. Shasha took the lead in engaging our tamariki in arts and crafts activities, where they created beautiful lanterns and jade rabbit paintings. We also decorated the Centre with colourful lanterns and shared a special lunch of dumplings and noodles to celebrate Chinese culture and cuisine. 2.Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori Our Te Reo Māori Week was a wonderful success. A heartfelt thank you to Mercy for beautifully setting up the Centre with Te Reo Māori displays and resources. Throughout the week, kaiako and tamariki actively engaged in using Te Reo through games, storytelling, and waiata, which were enjoyed by everyone. 3. Supporting Cultural Goals We continue to celebrate and support the diverse cultural backgrounds of our tamariki and whānau. This includes incorporating artefacts, stories, and activities that reflect Vietnamese, Chinese, Spanish, Indian, Sri Lankan and other cultural heritages. Children’s cultural goals are represented throughout the centre, and we encourage whānau to continue sharing their traditions with us. These contributions help children recognise and connect with their own identity. 4. Building and Construction Tamariki have been actively engaged in building and construction using wooden blocks, magnetic tiles, and LEGO. These activities foster creativity, collaboration, and the development of social and problem-solving skills. 5. Transition to School For our Thunderbirds, we continue to focus on supporting key school readiness skills such as independence, manaakitanga, and self-regulation. Reena organised a scavenger hunt that helped strengthen children’s mathematical understanding through counting and sorting. Sanja continued to introduce and revisit phonics, supporting children’s pronunciation and early literacy development. 6. Children’s Common Interests: Painting & Drawing Many children are currently exploring painting, drawing, and collage, which supports creativity, fine motor development, and pencil grip. Teachers are enhancing these experiences by incorporating natural materials and thought-provoking prompts to inspire deeper learning.

Learning Outcomes (Te Ara Whānui Whāriki and NELP) 1a. Making connections between people, places and things in their world | te waihanga hononga 1b. Understanding how things work here and adapting to change | te māramatanga ki te āhua o ngā whakahaere me te mōhio ki te panoni 2a. Making connections between people, places and things in their world | te waihanga hononga 2b. Understanding how things work here and adapting to change | te māramatanga ki te āhua o ngā whakahaere me te mōhio ki te panoni 3a. Showing respect for kaupapa and the rights of others | te mahi whakaute 4a. Recognising mathematical concepts and using them with purpose | he kōrero pāngarau 4b. Playing, imagining, inventing and experimenting | te whakaaro me te tūhurahura i te pūtaiao 5a. Recognising print symbols and concepts and using them with enjoyment, meaning and purpose | he kōrero tuhituh 5b. He Kōrero Pāngarau: Recognising and using mathematical concepts with purpose 6a. Expressing feelings and ideas using various materials and modes | he kōrero auaha 6b.Recognising print symbols and using them with enjoyment and purpose | he kōrero tuhituhi

Father’s Day Celebration (Friday, 5 September)

This was one of the highlights of the term! A huge thank you to all the dads who joined us. You truly deserved that special celebration.

Professional Development

Reena has been participating in the Incredible Years programme — a valuable series of workshops that support positive behaviour guidance and effective teaching strategies.

Reena as second in charge

We also take this opportunity to congratulate Reena on her new position as Second in Charge (2IC). She truly deserves this role, having shown strong commitment, professionalism, and care in her work with tamariki and whānau.

New Internal Evaluation

Building on our recent evaluation, we are now focusing on children’s social and emotional competence. This evaluation aligns with Kōwhiti Whakapae and will consider our teaching practices, resources, and ongoing professional development to strengthen this important area of learning.

 “To what extent do our current assessment practices on social and emotional competence at Karori Kids align with the criteria and principles outlined in Kōwhiti Whakapae?”

We will look at the following indicators:

1.Learning stories clearly demonstrate the development and progression of social and emotional competence, with links to the learning descriptors and progressions outlined in Kōwhiti Whakapae.

2.Teachers can articulate and demonstrate how their assessment practices reflect the principles and criteria of Kōwhiti Whakapae, particularly in relation to social and emotional learning.

3.Assessment processes actively incorporate whānau input and reflect their aspirations for their child’s social and emotional development, in line with the partnership principles of Kōwhiti Whakapae.

4.Children’s voices and perspectives are visible in assessments of social and emotional competence, in ways that align with Kōwhiti Whakapae's emphasis on identity and agency

Upcoming events

• Teachers Only Day: 24 October

• Costume Party: 31 October

November

• Working Bee (TBC)

• Trip to Zealandia (TBC)

• Christmas Party: 22 November

• Last Day of Term: 19 December

Reminders

• Please provide updated immunisation records for your 4-year-old child.

• As per enrolment agreements, children must attend a minimum of six hours per day.

• We kindly ask that children do not bring toys from home.

• Cultural items are always welcome and appreciated to support inclusive learning.

• News time is for sharing meaningful items—please discourage bringing toys for this 

Acknowledgements

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our wonderful parents and committee members for their ongoing support, time, and talents. A special mention to our committee members: Claudio, Shao, Sumit and Gaetan, Kate, Rony and Pasan

Your support makes a real difference at Karori Kids. We are especially grateful to our    committee, whose dedication and encouragement of the teaching team strengthen our Centre and help us provide the best possible experience for our tamariki and whānau.

     As we reflect on the importance of community, we are reminded of a Māori proverb:

   "He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata!"What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people!

Thank you for being such an important part of our Karori Kids whānau.