Our trip to the Beach - 4th March 2011

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Our tribute to the people of Canterbury...

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What a great day Monday was as we paid tribute to the victims of the Canterbury earthquake that occurred on the 22nd of February. Such a tragic day for Christchurch and New Zealand as a country. We can only but imagine what the people of Christchurch are going through at the moment. Thanks to all who made a donation - We managed to raise $352.40 and the tally continues to rise daily as the donation tin stays on the kitchen bench.

Our thought continue to be with the people of Christchurch and all our families who have friends and loved ones that have been affected by the quake.

Kylie and Judy

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Out and About in the Community

Well the Inaugural Autumn Winton Flower show has come around again and the children have been so busy preparing works of art to enter into the show.

The ocean has been a huge topic of interest since returning back to Kindergarten for the year, so we thought, why not capture this interest and turn it into art. We are very lucky in that the organisers of the show ask us to put on a display each year and it's a great way to get out and about within the local community...And the children just LOVE seeing their art work on display.

We have been discussing the show for a few weeks now with the children curious about what it's all about and eager to be part of it. Molly Maguire in particular has been SUPER excited about the show and even managed to enter her own exhibits into the show from home...And she managed to take home 'First Prize' and a 'Special Mention' award for her floral sand saucer!! What a great effort and I hope all the excitement was worth it Molly!!

It was great to see families getting on board and working alongside their children to enter products made from home. Katrina Waters made her own Ballerina painted egg to come in Third place and Karl Gilbert done so well with his carrots that he won First prize...He was very very chuffed!! What a great effort everyone.

The show is open until tomorrow afternoon and it is well worth a look with children's entries to AMAZING floral art designs.

But can you believe there is no section for Kindergarten children's photography so we were a wee bit sneaky and added them into the 'over' 10 years category only to take out not only first place...but second and third as well!! We certainly have some budding photographers with a great eye for detail here at Winton Kindergarten!!

Thanks to our helpers that came with us this morning...and if you don't manage to make it to the show, the Winton Kindergarten display will be on show in the project room from next week onwards...It's pretty darn cool!! What a bunch of competent and confident learners you are producing, Ka Pai!!

Katrina's 'Painted egg in a cup' - Looking very cool!!

Yep, some definite budding photographers at Winton Kindergarten that is for sure!!

Karl's first prize carrots alongside Winton Kindy's second prize ones, we do make a great team...

That's it for us,

Ka kite ano

Kylie and Judy

Haere Mai ... Welcome Back Everyone !!!

A BIG welcome back to all our families & especially all our NEW families. Check out our 'Sand Artwork' that the children have been creating on the lightbox over the week. It looks AMAZING.

The newsletter has been e-mailed out to everyone ... if you didn't receive a copy, there is a hard copy available (on the wall just above the sign-in desk). Evaluation of Learning (Term 4 2010) are presently being e-mailed out (along with some technie cliches) let us know if you have received them.

You may have noticed a new face amongst our teaching team ... we welcome Leila Zamani who will join us on a Tue, Wed & Thur for the term. Leila completed some of her Teacher training in Southland & is presently preparing for her wedding in March before moving to Gore with her husband Mark. So a BIG warm Winton welcome to Leila.

Keep the 10 February free ... we have our first Kindy Parent Group meeting @ Kindy 7pm. Our format for our meetings, for 2011, will be very SOCIAL & very informal ... that is, we want LOTS of parents to come along, to socialize & to make our Kindy the 'HUB" of Winton. ALL the boring stuff is done by Judy (lucky me) so PLEASE we want as many faces along as we can get.

A Project Kylie & I are working on @ the moment is the revamp of the outdoor area. We have some money allocated to us from Kindergartens South (our Parent Organisation) & Claire Light has kindly offered to put together a Grant. Pukerau Nurseries have been approached to consult with us (they designed the outdoor area @ the new Longford Kindergarten in Gore). So this term it will be gathering lots of ideas.

The Winton Flower Show (16-18 Feb 2011) committee have dropped an entry form in for us. We plan to have a Winton Kindy display (could be a small Project for our Kindy Parent Group) & to enter some children's photography. There are LOTS of categories ... so if you wanted to enter something from home, please do.

A BIG thanks to everyone who signed our 'ECE cuts don't heal' Petition - 1 Feb 2011. We feel very strongly about the HUGE cuts to Early Childhood Education ... also if you have any opportunity to talk to Members of Parliament please do so.

Just a reminder to everyone ... PLEASE make sure the front gate is firmly closed behind you & also the front door. They both have swinging hinges but DON'T automatically close. It's good to check ... just to be on the safe side.

And also a BIG thanks to all our Parents who have put their name down for Parent Help ... the roster is on the sign-in table, grab a day that suits !!!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Well our year has drawn to close and what a busy year it has been!! We wanted to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has helped out in some way during 2010.

A big THANKS to our fabulous Parent Group, who without them, our Christmas Party wouldn't have happened (check out the pics). They have also co-ordinated the Kindergarten photos this year and have been involved in various mini projects throughout the year. The names of the parent group members is on the entrance door...Feel free to approach any one of them if you are interested in joining :)

To all our awesome parent helpers who came on excursions, prepared our morning and afternoon teas or lent a helping hand in order to keep the Kindergarten presentable at working bees and end of term tidy ups....THANKS!!

With every body doing their bit, our Kindergarten is able to provide some wonderful learning opportunities for our children. We CANNOT do it without your help and it has been greatly appreciated.

And yes, we were lucky enough to host Christina Vaughan as she completed her Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education this year...We wish her all the best in her future career as an Early Childhood teacher. I'm sure everyone will agree - She will be awesome...

Congratulations Christina!!

Wishing all our families a very Merry Christmas, an even happier new year...AND a much deserved break from routine...See you all in 2011 - Kindergarten will re-open on the 24th of January
Cheers,

Kylie and Judy!

2010 is drawing to a close....

The year is drawing to a close at a rate of knots!!
It has certainly been a busy year and I just wanted to share a few updates that are happening during the last two weeks of the term,

First and most importantly a big THANKS to everyone who took the time, at this very busy time of year, to come along and share in your child's learning that has happened over the last term. What a great way to see what the children have been up to!! We hope you enjoyed it, I know I enjoyed compiling the video...it sure has been a busy term and it's a great way to celebrate!! A special mention to the Dad's that came along, it's great to see you!!
Thanks to everyone who filled out the questionnaire...It will give us lots to ponder on for next year...

Next week,

Anna Dakila - Randall's Mum, is coming in on Tuesday morning to make traditional Mexican biscuits - Polvoron - with the children. It would be great if we could have some extra hands on deck to assist Anna, so if you're free come on in and lend a hand.

Louise Robson, Sam's mum has arranged for Donna, a cheese-maker to come in a make Mozzarella cheese with the children on Wednesday morning. She will be here from 10:30am onwards. Check your parent pockets for more details. This is a follow-up from Liberty's question about Milk.

Thanks for all your ideas and help over the term, it is such a neat way to expose the children to different skills and experiences. If you have a skill that you think would interest the children, please feel free to organise a day with us (next year) to come in and share. We - and the children - just LOVE visitors sharing their skills!!

The Kindergarten Christmas Party is being held next Friday the 10th of December. A big thanks has to go out to the Parent Group for organising this night for our families. Check your parent pockets for more information

Our ERO report has been all confirmed. The hard copy of the report is on the sign-in desk if anyone is interested in having a read - We had 8 areas of interest which is pretty exceptional!! Yep, Winton Kindergarten sure does ROCK!! You can also read the report online at www.ero.govt.nz

The Kindergarten has two weeks left of term and the last day will be Friday the 17th of December. We return on Monday the 24th of January. The end of term tidy-up roster will be out on Monday, please pick a job...Many hands make light work!!

Phew...A busy couple of weeks ahead!!

Thanks again!!
Kylie and Judy