Happenings for Week 9: 10-14 September

This week we say farewell to Deacon Kynan-Wilde who heads off to school. We also welcome Charlie Templeton on Thursday - we hope you are feeling much better this week! Rebecca Stevens our student from the University of Otago Southland Campus is with us for her final four week posting before graduating at the end of the year...MTW families will know Rebecca from her Monday visits, she is such an asset to our Kindergarten!

AMAZING ME:

The children have been eager to explore their working theories regarding the human body - check out our self-portraits on the Project Room ceiling! Kylie has been working alongside some amazing sculptors...The clay skeletons are so detailed - tu meke! Building on to this sense of identity, learning our phone numbers and addresses will become the focal point this week.

MONDAY:
Constable Marty from the New Zealand Police will be in at 9:30am to talk to the tamariki about keeping themself safe as part of our Amazing Me Programme. We are currently focused on DVD 2 which looks at what to do when there is an emergency; who to call for help; the importance of knowing our personal details; and "what is family/whanau?" Marty will come out again after the Term break for our TF session.

TUESDAY:
Willie from Winton Library will be visiting us at the Kindergarten at 9:30am...We love the way he captivates us all through his amazing story telling!

WEDNESDAY:
Pam Wilson from Kindergartens South will be out on Wednesday and Thursday for a Formal Visit and Head Teacher Appraisal.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY:
Deacon's Kindergarten Birthday today...Happy Birthday and best wishes for life at school!! Welcome Charlie Templeton and family. We will be watching DVD 2 again to revisit the key messages of this.

Update Week 8

This week we welcome Nicholas Hammond, Ivy Solis, and Mason Maguire to MTW session times, coming from our TF group. We also welcome some new families to Winton Kindergarten. Albie Reed, Charlie Templeton, Jessica Irwin, and Sophie Spedding join our TF group - kia ora whanau!

Please remember to hand your Art Surveys in by Friday. Thanks.

Would you like a copy of our Winton Kindergarten collection of Polyfest photos on DVD? Please write your name on the list at the kitchen. Note: This is separate from the professional Polyfest Performace DVDs previously ordered.

MONDAY:
Today we watched DVD 2 of Amazing Me. This DVD is focused on what to do in an emergency, particularly who to call out for help to - Mum, Dad, the neighbours, 111 Police/Fire/Ambulance etc. We also met the sock puppet family and looked at what makes up a family...Different dynamics...Whanau comes in all shapes and sizes! Crossing the road was a key message from the DVD, and we learnt a new Te Reo song about looking all ways before crossing the road. We will watch this same DVD again on Wednesday with the MTW group. The TF group will watch DVD 2 both days. The DVDs are available for parents/whanau to take home and watch - please let us know if you are interested in watching these, or join us in session.

TUESDAY:
As part of our Amazing Me programme the children have been obsessed with the human skeleton! On Tuesday Kylie will be in the Project room working alongside the children to create our very own cray skeleton.

WEDNESDAY:
Lynley Henderson, General Manager of Kindergartens South is out on Wednesday to complete our Kindergarten Audit.
We will be watching DVD 2 again and revisiting some of the key messages of this.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY:
Our TF group will be watching DVD 2 each day. As above we welcome some new faces and families to Winton Kindergarten...Please introduce yourself to our new whanau.

"What if KINDNESS were the only rule?"

Term 3 Programme and Planning..."What if KINDNESS were the only rule?"

Over the term we have been articulating "What does KINDNESS look like?"
On our KINDNESS display at the Kindergarten the children have drawn images they believe depicts what KINDNESS looks like...Images of family, sharing, comforting others, love, helping parents etc were some of the things to come out of this experience...
PARENTS/WHANAU: Come and check it out next time you are dropping off/picking up your child - You may be surprised by the thought that has gone in to the children's responses!

The tamariki have been sharing their thoughts and feelings regarding KINDNESS...
Kaytie said KINDNESS would be when you "play with them and be their friend...And share with them." Well done Kaytie; KINDNESS is thinking about others isn't it?!
Timata shared what KINDNESS looked like to him: "Kindness means you kiss good night."...How very true Timata - KINDNESS is love and affection.
Jack H suggested KINDNESS included taking care of others when they are sad or hurt, saying that KINDNESS could include acts such as "helping Deacon to get better by holding the icepack." Thanks Jack, great idea!
Other ideas included: making gifts for others, being nice to others, singing songs, doing as someone has asked, and being a good friend...

To support the children to become confident in identifying and acknowledging KINDNESS in their environment, the teachers have been reinforcing RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS where ever and when ever these acts may arise...BIG or small; RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS are never wasted effort! The children's self esteem and mana is reinforced each and every time they are recognised as being a KIND caring citizen within the Winton Kindergarten whanau...This sense of empowerment can be seen through the boost in confidence and self-belief that they are indeed a KIND person who understands and appreciates both the giving and the receiving of RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS!!!

KINDNESS: Team work, sharing ideas, listening, having fun!

KINDNESS...Helping a friend to reach their goal!

KINDNESS...A Mother's love

KINDNESS: Working together to care for our environment...
KINDNESS towards people places and things

Our 'Proud of Me' Box on Wednesday afternoons has transformed to include 'Random Acts of Kindness' recognised by both the teachers and the whanau...The children wait in anticipation to see if their name is called out each week and what special message has been written to acknowledge their KINDNESS.
PARENTS/WHANAU: Has your child received a 'Proud of Me' moment this Term?? If not PLEASE feel free to pop one into the box above the sign-in desk over the remainder of the term...The children really do love the feeling of being reinforced that they are a KIND caring person - especially by their parents/whanau!

Week 7

This week we welcome Lucy Griffin and family to Winton Kindergarten on MTW; and Ashton Gold, Declan Schouten, Reilly Fieten and families to our TF sessions. We say farewell to Keira Stewart and Mikayla Colvin...Ka kite, best wishes for all the wonderful experiences awaiting you at school!

Amazing Me Programme: This week we are talking lots about taking care of our self and all the different body parts. In the project room and in Discovery Time, Sally is focusing on the skeleton and the knowledge and ideas children currently hold regarding the human body...LOTS of amazing facts and thought processes coming out!! It will be interesting to see what new or different theories emerge over the coming weeks as we find out more about the body in Amazing Me.

Monday: A big thank you to Tracey Adenforff for coming in today with baby Vanessa. The children loved seeing a 'real' baby being bathed, and we talked about why it's important to keep our self clean.

Tuesday: Today we headed along to our local library to perform our Polyfest entry for Willie and Weka Preschool...Well done we are so proud of all the tamariki for their passion for performing arts! Willie then read the children some stories...we were all drooling when he opened the chips and chocolate fish in 'Greedy Cat'! Thank you to our parent helpers who came along this morning...Your support makes spontaneous excursions like this possible.

 Wednesday: Tomorrow we have Mikayla Colvin's Kindy Birthday. We are also celebrating Daffodil Day early so our MTW tamariki can support this cause, as well as the TF children. Remember to dress in yellow (or think outside the square!); yellow plate for shared morning tea; and, a gold coin donation for the Cancer Society please.

Thursday/Friday Group: Daffodil Day this Friday...As above dress in yellow, yellow plate for shared morning tea, and a gold coin donation please.

Week 5 / Week 6

Week 5:
On Monday we said farewell to Timata and on Wednesday we said ka kite to Hannah Price, both heading off to school...
On Thursday we welcomed Jessica Hawkes-Fennelly to the Winton Kindergarten whanau.
On Friday we held our Mini Olympic Games and what fun we had!!
Everyone looked amazing dressed as their favourite country or athlete...We had lots of fun activities, including: egg and spoon race; dunking for marshmallows in a jelly concoction; searching for ball bearings in gooey slime; and competing in a challenge course!
The children were amazed by the feast presented by the Olympic Committee and a special mention to Michelle and Jodie Connell for the effort they put in; making flag tooth picks for their savouries...The children thought they were very flash!
It would be fair to say that the tamariki took a lot of pride in representing their country and sporting code, and all were awarded with an Olympic Participation Certificate and a Golden chocolate bar for their efforts!
WATCH THIS SPACE: The Fiordland Advocate have a number of photos from our Mini Olympic Day and we are hoping these will be published in this weeks newspaper!!

Week 6:
Amazing Me Programme starts this week, more information has been placed in parent pockets/on blog.

BEANS!
This week Sally and the children have been busy planting beans in glass jars. The children will grow their bean at home with their family and we look forward to seeing/hearing the progress...If your child wants to grow a bean please bring along a glass jar this week.

Wednesday Kindy Birthdays and Farewells: Danielle, Brooklyn and Luke.

Special thanks to Carol Pikia our relieving teacher who has been a wonderful asset to the centre while teachers have been away. Judy is taking a Head Teacher Day tomorrow (Wednesday) and Christina will be away on Friday. We are fortunate to have Carol covering for these days also.

All About Me programme info...

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