Following on from a visit from the Minsitry of Education Julie Anderson and Amy Millar in March, the Minsitry followed along their visit to "actively encourage" us to enter into this year's Awards - something we had never considered, and something we were very proud to have our fabulous Kindergarten highlighted as being worthy of entering such a prestigious award.
So, instead of a year to prepare, we had just weeks to collate, research, disseminate and document our 30 page limit entry form (we have turned our entry into a book for viewing at Kindy - be sure to take a moment to read through our mahi). Along with our entry we also had a video clip allowance of 5min to share our mahi - a big thank you to Megan Graham (Teacher Support and Professional Photographer) for technical support!
Entries closed 5th April 2019.
Judging of entries April/May 2019.
Finalists announced 14th June 2019.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US!
On the 6th of August we have a Production Crew joining us to create our Finalists Film which will be shared at the Awards Ceremony and then on the Prime Minister's Educational Excellence Awards Website for the whole country/world to see! This is our time to shine. On the day we will need our Kindy community to showcase our Southern Hospitality, welcoming our visitors, the sharing of kai, stories, and Kindy journey.
On the 30th of July Professor Helen May and Professor Wendy Lee will be flying down to Winton Kindergarten for Judging.
Wendy Lee: Wendy Lee is the director of ELP Ltd, which provides professional learning opportunities for teachers in the early childhood education (ECE) sector in New Zealand. Over the past two decades, her team has provided professional learning for teachers interested in the application of Learning Stories in many other countries including England, Germany, the USA, and especially China.
Helen May: Helen May taught for nine years as a primary school teacher in the junior classes. Later, when Helen had her own children, she worked in childcare including five years as the Coordinator of the Victoria University of Wellington crèche.
In 1987 Helen began work in teacher education at Hamilton Teachers' College and later the University of Waikato. During the early 1990s she was the co-director, with Margaret Carr, of the early childhood curriculum project that led to the development of Te Whāriki, the first national curriculum guidelines for early childhood in New Zealand.
For more information follow the link https://www.pmawards.education.govt.nz/judges/
On the 10th of September the Teaching Team will fly to Wellington for the Prime Minister's Educational Excellence Awards Ceremony and Gala Event, be to held at The Beehive.
Again, wow. As teachers, this is as big as it gets. Being selected as a Finalist opens a world of possibilities for our Kindergarten Association, children, whanau, and teaching team. Our mahi is already shared locally throughout Southland, and now we have the opportunity to showcase our programme to the entire country. To achieve on such a high level takes a village. Thank you to each and every one of our Kindy families for creating and contributing to our collective successes.
Philippines Independence Day
As this special day approached Kaiako shared a traditional Filipino dance on youtube called 'Tinkling' - this is a fast paced dance involving two people tapping and sliding two bamboo poles on the ground and against each other while dancer(s) move in and out of them. Check out this youtube clip - you may become inspired to give it a go at home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT2vQA1z2sY
On Wednesday 12th June we came together to celebrate this special day with some of our Filipino whanau at Kindy and shared some delicious kai (food) made for a plethora of food choices. A huge thanks to our Filipino families in sharing your 'specail' day of tribute with us!
"On the 12th June 1898, the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands in the western Pacific Ocean named after Spanish King Philip II, declared independence from Spain after more than 300 years of colonial rule. Today’s Doodle salutes Philippines Independence Day, celebrated across the islands and in Filipino communities all over the world.
A commemorative ceremony takes place each year in Kawit, in the province of Cavite, where the Declaration of Independence was first read by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista at the home of General Emilio Aguinaldo, now known as the Aguinaldo Shrine. Besides the public reading of this historic document—in the original Spanish as well as in Tagalog—the first flag raising is reenacted.
The flag itself is a powerful symbol of the independence movement: blue representing truth and justice, red symbolizing patriotism, and white standing for equality. The stars at the flag’s corners represent Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the three main regions of the Philippines. The eight rays surrounding the sun stand for the first eight provinces that battled against Spain.
Independence Day is marked by festive parades nationwide, including a police and military parade in the capital city of Manila that culminates with a speech by the president, followed by a 21-gun salute. Families and friends take advantage of this day off from work and school to enjoy quality time together, this year to celebrate this country’s 121 years of independence.
Maligayang Araw ng Kasarinlan!"
Polyfest Art
This years Polyfest Art theme is Master Class with the whakatauki
"Ma mua ka kite a muri, ma muri ka ora a mua"
"Those who lead give sight to those who follow, those who follow give life to those who lead"
We are so honoured and excited to have Elysia Te Atatu who lead the Kapa Haka group for our Takitimu Waka Project last year to be our Master in our Polyfest art journey. This year we are wanting to create a ataahua art piece involving harakeke (flax) and weaving.
butter knife to extract moisture from the flaxElysia came into Kindy on Wednesday and shared her knowledge and skills surrounding harakeke. She taught us about the harakeke plant and the importance of cutting the outer leaves (awhi rito) and leaving the smaller inner baby leaves (rito) to grow - thus sustaining the growth of the harakeke. She also shared and demonstrated the tools she uses to soften, strip and cut the harakeke - creating differing thicknesses and textures. Other definitions Elysia shared include:
Rau - is a leaf or harakeke blade
Muka - the fibre extracted from harakeke
Mama (awhi rito) - the mother blade of the harakeke
Papa (awhi rito) - the father blade of the harakeke
We had a wonderful time with Elysia, she captivated us all through waiata and demonstrating a range of weaving techniques and designs. We can't wait to see her at Kindy again next week!!
We also found out how shells were, and still are used as a tool for preparing harakeke for weaving. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us Elysia!! It was also great to hear and see our Mums and grandparents sharing their previous experiences with harakeke - what a fountain of knowledge!!
Experiences like these further embed our tamariki in the natural world as they continue to build a close relationship with the plants, animals and elements of the world and strengthen their understanding of sustainability and our duty to be kaitiaki for the living world.
Forest Kindy
A warm welcome to our newest member Ella! Thank you to Rhydel and Pippa for sharing your knowledge with Ella about our special places, spaces, rituals and routines, and health and safety practises. We spent our morning at the Monster Truck Track and Waka, retelling the Legend of the Takitimu Mountains - be sure to revisit this at home with your child - it is so special that our oral storytelling is being passed on through the Forest Kindy group as children head off to school and new children begin their Taiao Tuhura journey.
Have a fantastic week!!
The Teaching Team
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