J E N Z N E W S
Message from Jen
The months are marching on as we reluctantly meet the middle of 2011, and winter. Please ensure to provide layers for your children, a warm sweatshirt or jersey, hats and gumboots and a jacket for outdoors as we continue to get the children outside as much as possible. Please also be vigilant with winter bugs; runny noses and coughs thrive in childcare centres, a day or two at home often does wonders and stops the spread of germs. We teach the children to wipe their noses, wash their hands and cough into their elbow, which are key techniques for keeping germs away from others – also, us teachers need to stay healthy to be able to come to work and look after the children!
Samoan Independence Day
On Wednesday we celebrated Samoan Independence day. We extend a big thank you to Sulu, her daughter Monica and husband who came along and shared their culture, songs and dancing. The children got to wear lava-lava and try some beautiful Pasifika cuisine; chicken chop suey and rice, pineapple, banana and coconut. Thank you to everyone who contributed on the day. Take a look at our blog entry here.
Matariki
The official date for Matariki for 2011 is 4 June. We will celebrate this as a centre where the children will be performing a play based on the Maori myth “The Creation”. This is a good opportunity to get together; bring along some dinner and marshmallows to roast on a fire. This will be held on Friday 1 July at 4.30pm. Please wrap up warm with jackets, hats and gloves and bring a torch for spotlight. We look forward to seeing you all there.
Communication & Consultation Survey
We had a great response from the survey, thank you to those who took part; we value your input. Please see the published results on the notice board.
Promotions and Improvements
You may have noticed our billboard sign on the Main Road in the front of Burlington Cottage. It was brought to our attention that some people were not aware there is a childcare centre down Hicks Lane, let alone a Montessori Centre, so we decided to blast our face out on the road to increase awareness. It is important to note that word of mouth is a powerful medium, and our findings from the survey indicated that we have a lot of parents who value the Montessori method. Potential parents often choose centre’s that were recommended by friends and family, so please remember you are walking promotional tools as well and good word travels far. We also have pamphlets that we would love to pass on to our community who have suitable contacts/places to distribute these, please let us know.
You also may have noticed our new clear PVC walls made and installed by Brittin Canvas. These make a “second room” for outdoor play during cold or wet days; the teachers, and children, are loving them.
Korero Maori
The teachers at Jenz by no means claim to be fluent in Te Reo Maori, although we are consistent and we integrate commands and words into daily conversation. We regularly sing waiata and the children often request to do the haka, particularly the boys who enjoy this as an outlet for expression. It is also pleasing to hear the children speaking amongst themselves using Te Reo Maori and counting in Te Reo Maori. We appreciate recent feedback about the level of use of Te Reo Maori at Jenz and how this provides a positive environment for those families who do speak fluent Te Reo Maori at home. If you have similar feedback we would love to hear about it.
B4 School Check
The vision hearing check for 4 year olds will be on Thursday, 23 June at 10am. All children must have a signed consent form, without this they cannot be checked. If we do not already have one for your child on file, there will be one in your pocket. Please ensure these are returned as soon as possible.
Creative Pads fundraiser
You can purchase personalized writing pads where you can choose a design, colour and child’s name for $5.50 per pad and $1 from every pad goes back to Jenz. If you are interested, more information is on the notice board or please see a teacher.
CHILDREN'S PROFILES
Teachers work hard at capturing milestones and moments, observing and writing up learning stories about the various things your child does during their day, their abilities and development. The children also play an important role in contributing to their profiles too. The profiles provide such satisfying insight; it is lovely for parents to come in and spend five minutes or so with your child to go through their profile with them, or you can take the profile home and share with the rest of the family.
A pivotal part of the profiles is having the presence of a “parent voice”, this shows that parents are taking an interest in their child’s learning and are given opportunities to contribute and participate towards this. This can be expressed by:
- Commenting on or sharing your feelings about what they have been learning
- You may also recognize things they have been learning they are doing at home, and it is nice to share this with us, such as offering to help with jobs, wanting to do things for themselves, sounding out words they see, or they may show a particular interest in something.
- You can also share anything of interest from home, such as a photo with an explanation of something they were doing at home; maybe they went to the beach or on holiday.
All of these examples enrich the profiles and provide a complete picture of the child from the teacher’s perspective, the child’s perspective and the parent’s perspective. It also helps the teacher’s to get to know your child a little more and enables a deeper level of conversation with them.
There are sheets on the profile shelf in the Quiet Room; please help yourself and slip them into the profile on the next available space.
Farewell ~ Haere Ra...
This term we farewell Quinton Roderick, Sydney Grant-Smith and Phoebe Whyte who will all be attending Clive School. We wish them all the best and look forward to having them visit to tell us all about their new adventures.
Upcoming Events!
Matariki Celebrations - 4.30pm, 1 July
Parent Insight Evening - 7pm, 16 June
B4 School Check - 10am, 23 June
Housekeeping
Parent Book
The Parent Book is located on the table in the cloakroom and serves as a secondary communication line between parents and teachers to pass on any relevant information about your child for the day.
Person(s) who can pick up your child
The parent/primary caregiver of a child must provide written authority for others to collect their child.
1. Please sign a form next to the attendance register – prior to the arrangement.
2. Indicate on the attendance sheet in the morning, or phone the centre when this person will be collecting them.
Front Entrance Door
PLEASE FORCEFULLY PUSH/PULL THE ENTRANCE DOOR TO “CLICK” SHUT.
Newsletters
You can access our newsletter on our website and register to receive these by email.
Invoices
Save a tree and give your email address to the office to receive your weekly invoice by email.
Attendance Register
Please sign your child in and out on the Attendance Register each day. We must have these records as they are linked to Ministry funding.
Late arrivals
If you arrive after 9.00am please assist your child to choose their name tag and a tray, and then allow them to quietly choose an activity to do at a table.
Late fee at pick-up time
A late fee of $5 per 5 minutes after 3.30pm will be charged to invoices.
A Word from Dr Montessori:
“The greatest sign of success for a teacher... is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist.”
- Maria Montessori
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