Welcome back Term 4

Welcome back to all our families to our final term of 2012...where has the year gone?! It sounds like everyone enjoyed the two weeks away...We have heard lots of stories about what everyone got up to away from Kindergarten!

The teachers brought in some shells they collected during the term break as provocations for the children. This week we have been exploring with our senses...What do the different shells feel like to touch?? Dylan Pope explained that you could hear the ocean if you put the shell up to your ear and listen carefully! Sally's 'magical' oyster shells drew a lot of attention as we experimented with dry and wet...watching the shells change colours as they were dropped in to the bowl of water. Along with shells Christina also brought in a crab to invite the children into the Project room for further investigation...What did it feel like? Were we brave enough to pick it up? What features did we notice?? On the underside of the crab the children noticed something a bit odd...Was it a tail? Alex Hart was convinced it was a tail, while Riley Chapman thought they did not...A few children gathered to watch the great debate and were a little unsure about which side of the fence they were on...Luckily Jack Keith, our 'Problem Solver' for the week was in the room and was able to offer his assistance...Perhaps we could found out on the computer!! The group concluded that yes crabs DO have a tail - excellent inquiry guys!

Inside the children have been having lots of discussions about families, especially the roles of mums and dads - we even overheard a complex conversation about the purpose of wedding rings!! Charlie Robson shared his holiday experience with us...Charlie and whanau made their own "Ghostbusters" movie! Watching this amazing effort has inspired the children to think about making our very own kindergarten movie...Watch this space! PARENTS: If you would like to offer your time and knowledge for our movie project please let us know - especially those of you who are a bit ICT savvy - much appreciated!

The Polyfest DVD arrived at Winton Kindergarten on Wednesday and we enjoyed coming together to view our achievement. The children looked so proud spotting themselves and their peers on the big screen, and they could be hear singing along to some of the waiata. I can't wait to see what next year will bring after such a huge success this year!

The beans that were planted in the jars have just shot up over the term break - How are the beans at home looking?? Sally and a group of children helped to re-pot them in the garden as they were running out of room in the relatively small jars!

This term we continue with our planning focus "What if KINDNESS were the only rule?" PARENTS: Keep an eye out for "Random Acts of Kindness" around home and add to our Proud of Me box for Wednesday afternoons! Reinforcing Random Acts of Kindness instills a sense of self-esteem and motivates the children to seek out positive praise and remarks from their parents, peers, and teachers...It's great to overhear the children commenting on the kindness of others, the smile on their face and 'buzz' they feel is immeasurable!

Kaytie and Savanna are eager to lend a helping hand for preparing lunch...Very thoughtful and KIND girls. Well done!

Wow check out Robot Jack Keith that the Discovery Time group created on Wednesday...Thanks for your help Marissa, Alex, Emma, Alyssa and Sam!

Max shows our new Kindy friend Aidan the awesome sandpit!

Millie takes time to slow down and gain a closer examination of the fish...have they grown over the holidays?

Kenny's big day is finally here...And how special is it to have your big sister Alex and good friend Twizel by your side!

Tristin is welcomed by good friend Albie and little brother Freddie...What a KIND gesture looking after Tristen on his first day!

We welcome back our TF group today and look forward to seeing some new faces joining the Kindergarten whanau. We intend to incorporate both the MTW and the TF group in our movie project, and so are eager to hear their suggests and ideas about what we could do for this!!

Tue 9 Oct

We hope the Term break is all going well ... albeit the weather.  We just wanted to share this with you especailly when there is LOTS of puddles, at the mo.  

Just a reminder we have Helen Campbell (Transition to School) speaking next Wednesday night (17 Oct) & Kindy Photos on Fri (19 Oct) & Tue (23 Oct).

See you all on Mon 15 Oct !!!

Final Week of Term 3!

Wow, what a busy term we have had and a full-on final week of the term!!

Amazing Me:
This week we have been reviewing DVD3 and looking at families in particular. It has been interesting to see the children's perspectives of what families look like...extended whanau, pets, and family in lots of households are some common themes...

Flower Show:
Our Winton Spring Flower Show entry is now on display at Winton Library along with our Polyfest Arts entry...Take some time over the Term break to head along for a look!

Zumba Parties!!:
Wow! MTW Group had a fabulous last day yesterday...The Kindergarten was filled with bright bold colours and lots of excitment!! The children spent the earlier part of the week creating and decorating Pinatas for our celebrations. The inspiration was born last week when Riley Chapman made a pinata for his friend Hannah Eade - tu meke/awesome!! Everyone had a turn at giving the pinata a good whack with the plastic bat in the hopes that the treasures inside would burst out!! Alex Hart made the final blow and the room was filled with confetti and lollipops!! Most of the group - mainly our boys - had their nails painted in bright shades, and Kylie got out the face paint and make up to complete the 'Zumba' look!! It was such a fun way to end the term and we hope all the children now have a good rest over the holidays ready for the final term!!
FT Group are getting very excited as anticipation builds for their Zumba party tomorrow (Friday). We have just completed the pinata for tomorrow...Special thanks to Max McConnachie for sorting the lollipops - a VERY big responsibility!
With Rebecca's last day tomorrow we are having a shared morning tea to celebrate her time here. We wish Rebecca all the best for her final assessments before graduation at the end of the year! And thanks to all our families who have supported our fund raiser for the new water play area for your children...Last night was lots of fun...Special thanks to Amber Mitchell for all her time and effort organising this event!!

Enjoy the term break...We hope everyone has a relaxing break and a lovely time with family and friends...See you next term!

Week 10 Overview...

WINTON SPRING FLOWER SHOW
Wow! Well done to all our fabulous tamariki for their efforts in this year's Winton Spring Flower Show! Today we headed along to the Memorial Hall to view all the entries and to see our work on display. Thank you to all our wonderful parent/grandparent helpers that volunteered their time to come along on our walk. It's great to be able to get out in the community and to share our creativity with the whole of Winton! If you haven't been along, the Show is on all weekend - well worth a visit! Everyone contributed in one way or another...Ripping paper, mixing the gooey gluey concoction, paper mache, painting or bringing in little treasures to stick on to the finished product....Our GIGANTIC daffodil looked amazing and we came away with 2nd Place....We are very proud of our children for a job well done! The dye covered flowers popped with colour against the black backing paper and stood out on the wall of the Memorial Hall...

Amazing Me: Thank you to all those who returned their house/address/ph number sheets for our BIG Kindy address book. DVD3 this week saw some new concepts introduced. It's great to hear the children revisiting the key messages of the DVDs in their play, such as "STOP, THINK AND ACT". Talking about keeping ourself safe popped up a number of times this week with our planned and unplanned (burning the toasties!) fire drills and earthquake drills. The children were alert and confident about procedure and where to head to for our 'safe place'...Have you talked as a family about where your 'safe place' is at home??

                   
Our Resident Artist this week Lily Cameron created this beautiful masterpiece of her teachers. This ties in so nicely with our Amazing Me programme and learning about our bodies and identity...Thank you Lily!




WEEK 11
This week we will revisit DVD3 of Amazing Me.
We have the big New Zealand Shake Out on Wednesday @ 9:26am - national earthquake drill.

What's Up Week 10: Sept 17-21

From this week the wonderful Kylie will be emailing home a family newsletter including all "housekeeping" information to ensure this important information is being communicated to all families...Please ensure you read this carefully...The blog will continue to provide an update of the curriculum programme.

Many hands make light work...Construction of the igloo in progress

"Igloos are made from blocks of ice" AKA paua shells!...Wonderful sharing of ideas and knowledge

Elyssa King with her sock puppet...

Welcome Charlie Templeton...I wonder what kind of sock puppet you will choose!

Week 9:
Amazing Me Programme: This week we had Constable Marty visit on Monday morning to talk to the children about safety - knowing your personal information, wearing your seat belt, and "STOP LOOK AND LISTEN" before crossing the road. We have been looking at drawing our homes, learning our addresses and our phone numbers...PARENTS: Is your child confident saying their address and phone number?? Rebecca our student has been working alongside children to create sock puppets, after watching the sock puppet family on DVD 2...Watch this space as Rebecca works on creating our very own Puppet Theatre for the children!!

Winter revisited the Kindergarten this week with hail and snow enticing the children outdoors eager to explore with their senses. As you may have seen we now have two 'igloos' in the sandpit - these provided great shelter at 2pm on Tuesday when the BIG hail storm hit! From this experience the children have been interested in construction, shelter, problem solving and collaboration with peers.

Winton Flower Show: You may have noticed our collage daffodil taking shape this week....

Thank you to all our families who came along on Wednesday night for the Parent Group Meeting...NEXT PARENT GROUP MEETING WEDNESDAY 17TH OCTOBER (WEEK 1 TERM 4) - MARK THIS DATE ON YOUR CALENDAR

Today we had a Fire Drill practice. PARENTS: DOES YOUR CHILD KNOW WHAT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE/EARTHQUAKE?...DO YOU HAVE A 'SAFE MEETING PLACE'?

Week 10:
Amazing Me Programme: This week we will be watching DVD 3: learning through discussion about different families and living environments/helping children express how they are feeling/developing children's self confidence and awareness of themselves as individuals. Over the week we will be having  fire and earthquake drills and a visit from 'Amby' as part of this programme.

Monday: We will be working on our Winton Flower Show entry over the week...MTW FAMILIES: Head along to the Show on Friday with your child to see our display!

Tuesday: Practice fire drill for MTW children.

Wednesday: St Johns 'Amby' visit.

Thursday: Earthquake drill TF children

Friday: Winton Flower Show...TF group will head along to the show to see our display alongside the other entries!

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.