Minnies Preschool and Nursery November 2016
Minnies Preschool and Nursery November 2016
Our Vision:
We will provide a curriculum that lays the foundations for a love of learning as we inspire children to be curious and independent learners whilst supporting all akonga to build positive connections between home and the Centre.
Welcome/Kia Ora Everyone
We welcome Adele, who is a registered early childhood teacher. Adele will be starting at Minnies as a teacher in the preschool on the 5th of December. We are looking forward to getting to know Adele and excited about the new ideas and teaching experience she will bring to our Minnies team.
We also welcome Danielle back from maternity leave. Danielle is our Curriculum Manager and she will be working in each of our four Canterbury Early Learning Centres.
We would like to welcome Emera, Gabe, Xavierand Rupert to the preschool and we are looking forward to getting to know you all, as well as your families. The Nursery has also had Alecia and Anna join them for some fun and wonderful care.
Darcy, Hugh and Celeste have transitioned from our Nursery to the Preschool. They have settled into preschool life with ease and are happily exploring all the learning areas and experiences provided for them.
We said ka kite to Boston and wish him, and his Mum and Dad all the best for their future.
We farewell our preschool teacher Rochelle, and wish her all the best for her new teaching opportunity in West Melton. As a farewell to Rochelle we are going to have an afternoon tea on Thursday 17 November and we invite our parents to join us at 2pm.
We have some important events coming up at Minnies, so please put these in your calendar:
- We are having our Family Christmas Partyat Minnies Preschoolon Friday 2nd December between 3:30pm and 5:30pm. We would love our families and children to join us for this exciting event. Please bring along a picnic or takeaway tea if you wish and join in the fun. We will have a children’s entertainer,and Santa will bring a gift for each of our Minnies children.
- We invite our parents and whanau to a farewell afternoon tea for Rochelle on Thursday 17 November at 2pm.
Christmas holidays
Minnies will close on Friday 23rd December at 3pm. To help with planning we would like to have an indication of the number of children who will be attending Minnies during the Christmas period. If you have not already done so, please complete a Christmas Holiday form to indicate whether your child will or will not be attending Minnies during this period. Please see Cathy if you require a Christmas Holiday form.
To receive ½ fees whilst your child is absent from preschool during the Christmas period you need to return the Holiday Form by 1st December 2016.
We will be closed on Monday 26th & Tuesday 27th December 2016, and Monday 2nd & Tuesday 3rd January 2017.
Reminders for Parents
- If you have your child’s learning portfolio at home please return it as soon as possible so your child’s key teacher is able to continue forward planning individual learning opportunities for your child.
- Sun Safety.During term 4 and term 1 we ask that you please ensure your child has a named sun hat and you apply sun screen before arriving at Minnies. Sun screen will be reapplied throughout the day using theHelp-It Ultra Block Sunscreen SPF 30+ 1product.Please inform us if your child has an allergy to this product, and provide your own sun screen to be stored at the Centre. The teachers will encourage the children to wear a sun hat when outside and children who do not have a sun hat will be asked to play inside. Your child’s hat can be left in their bag and the teacher’s will support them to find their own hat before they head outside to play.
- We have children at Minnies with nut allergies, so we appreciate not having any nuts or nut products brought into the Centre, including peanut butter, bars or biscuits, or any cooked food or other items which contain nuts.
- Please ensure that you keep us up to date with your child’s current immunisations, and provide us with the immunisation documentation in their Well-Child book, or your General Practitioner can email details to us. If your child does not show as immunised in our records and there is an outbreak of an infectious disease you will be asked to keep your child at home until the infectious period finishes.
- Please ensure that you sign your child in and out of Minnies at the correct time on our daily role in the entrance hall. We appreciate parents/caregivers not letting their children draw on our daily role which is an official document used as a check list in the case of an emergency and for billing purposes.
- If your preschool child has not got a house on our whanaungatanga wall, or if they are a nursery child, a flower on the family wall, we would love some photos of your family/friends and pets, so we can create a house or flower for your child. The children love to look at their own house or flower which gives them a wonderful sense of belonging.
Teacher Education
Our preschool teacher, Alexe, has recently completed a Meditrain First Aid course to update her First Aid certificate.
(All Minnies teachers have current first aid certificates)
Thank you
We appreciate the time and effort that our families went to for providing dishes for their children to share during our cultural lunch.
It was fantastic to watch the children trying many new flavours and foods during this lunch which also extended their knowledge of food from various cultures around the world. The cultural lunch also provided the opportunity for children to bring food from their own country of ethnicity which provided a sense of pride and belonging in the Minnies environment.
Thank you to Lily B’s family who provided us with a coir block for our worm farm and shared their knowledge with us about worm farming.
The children loved Michael Recycle (Our Woodend Preschool Centre Leader, Sheryl) visiting to read books and teach us about our new Bokashi system. We really appreciate her time and the fun she created for our Minnies children during her visit.
Thank you to the families who gave us New World’s Little Gardens which the children had lots of fun planting.
Thank You from Steve and Lloyd
Our furry friends Steve and Lloydare always grateful for the delicious vegetables that many of our families kindly provide for them. (Unfortunately they cannot eat lettuce as it is too high in water content, which can make them sick.)
Transition to School Group
Karla has been following the children’s interest in patterns during term 4, and has enjoyed the challenge of extending our 4 year olds skills, knowledge and dispositions during the transition to school programme. Many of the 4 year olds have also continued with the opportunity of going to Elmwood Park to take part in Playball on Friday afternoons during term 4.
Minnies Preschool Policy
We are currently reviewing our Health and Safety Policy. We have a copy of this policy in our entrance hall and invite you to read this policy and add your thoughts/comments about it on the parent feedback form.
If you haven’t already, please ‘Like us’ on Facebook and enjoy seeing the wonderful experiences and play that your children are involved in during their day at Minnies. We also use Facebook for communicating messages of upcoming events and other information about Minnies.
facebook.com/Minnies-Preschool-343181609124332/
We have a homebased care called Family Tree. If you would like to become a homebased educator or would like to find out more information about Family Tree Homebased care please see our website and Facebook page, or we have brochures available in our entrance hall.
Face Book page:
Website:
Aroha nui,
From The Minnies Team
“The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences”
-Loris Malaguzzi