FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020

FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 576 2891 – 021 191 9933
PO Box 6056 Tauranga info@shalomkindergarten.co.nz

Dear Parents/whānau/caregivers,

Kia ora koutou – Hello to you all, and welcome to 2020. This is a new decade and we pray that it will be filled with many exciting times and opportunities for you all. Welcome to all our new tamariki/children and their whanau/family, and may you feel welcomed by all those you are in contact with within our centre. Life events can be challenging – whether they are personal, local, national or global. Yet it is great to know that we have a God who cares and walks with us on the journey. We look forward to journeying with you all through this term and the year ahead.

IDEAS FOR PARENT EVENTS/EVENINGS

We would love to do an evening or event that is suitable for what our whanau need. We are wondering about doing a panel discussion. If you have not already, you will get an opportunity soon to give us some feedback on this via a survey. Also, we would love to know of any topics that you think would be suitable for you all.

Raising our Tamariki/Children – LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

How can we best support our tamariki with the acquisition of their language? TALK! TALK! TALK! – Talk with our tamariki about what you are doing, and for older tamariki tell them why to help them develop understanding. Acknowledge and talk about their feelings, and yours, as they need to learn about their own emotions, but also need to learn about yours too. This will help them develop understanding and empathy towards others.

USE CLEAR SPEECH – Enunciate your words well, and let them see your face and expressions when you are talking.

SLOW DOWN – Sometimes when we talk too fast, the words become jumbled and those who are listening do not hear all the words and all the sounds clearly. They may even miss hearing the beginning and ending of our words, and then mispronounce them when they say them.

WAIT TIME – give them up to 10 seconds to respond. This will give them time to process what you have said, and think about what they want to say in response.

HAND RULE – 5 COMMENTS TO 1 QUESTION – asking questions is good, but remember not to ask too many, and give them time to answer the first question before asking them another one.

READ BOOKS – this is valuable time to talk with them. Some may want to talk about the pictures, so follow their lead, as they will still be learning. Also, for those that are ready, ask them what they think may happen next, as it is good for them to learn to predict what could occur.

LISTEN – listen to what they are saying, and be responsive to their interests. Also if they say a word wrong, repeat it in a similar sentence to what they said, but do not always expect them to repeat the word after you. If you are modelling it, they should eventually remember the correct way to say it.

USE RICH DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE – tamariki/children love to learn big words, they enjoy it if we are using this type of language, and their language will be so much richer too.

REMEMBER – HAVE FUN – explore sounds and words, making up your own words. Relax and enjoy the hilarity you might have.

A NOTE FROM SHARON

Welcome back to 2020. it has been good to see our new and old families back after a summer break. We hope we can be of service to you and your whanau as we have fun together this year.

CORONAVIRUS

Shalom is keeping updated by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health about best practice.

SUMMER TIME

The heat of the sun is very strong so please send your tamaiti/child:

– with sunblock already applied. (We do reapply sunscreen during lunch time).

– a summer pōtae/hat – named – nga hu/shoes – as the matting gets very hot, and they need them on if the are doing carpentry

– and also with named: kākahu/clothes

SHALOM FAMILY PICNIC

Thanks to those who were able to make it to this evening. You all made it a wonderful and relaxing night, and we look forward to the next one at the end of this year.

MATUA PRIMARY SCHOOL

To keep you updated, Matua School have changed the days of their new entrant visits. If you are intending for your tamaiti/child to attend Matua, their new entrants visit dates will now be every.

Friday morning from 9am until approximately 11am.

DON’T FORGET:

If you recommend a tamaiti/child and their family to Shalom, and the tamaiti has been attending for over a month, then you are eligible to your choice of a voucher, (grocery, or Atrium), or a credit to your account.

Word of mouth is the best form of advertising, and we appreciate that you take your time to tell others about Shalom – thank you.

A PRAYER FOR YOU ALL:

Dear God, may all the tamariki/children and their whanau/family who are in our care know that you are looking after them, that you will protect them and give them peace. Let them know what to do during any time of need, and allow us all to find a way help each other when we can.

We trust God that you will continue to assist us (the kaiako/teachers) to support parents and whanau to do their parenting well. Also help us to be the best kaiako that we can be to support the tamariki through their time of learning at Shalom.

We pray too God, that you will raise the tamariki in our care into great adults who are able to make positive changes in our local community, nation, and the world. But most of all God, we pray that everyone will know that they are loved by You. Amen

November 2019

576 2891 – 021 191 9933
info@shalomkindergarten.co.nz
PO Box 6056 Tauranga

Dear Parents/whānau/caregivers,

The summer sun is trying to shine through and we can look forward to lots of warm summer days over the upcoming Christmas holiday period. Now is a good time to think about getting contact details from some of the friends of your tamariki/children, so that you can organise play dates over the holidays and therefore continue the friendships they have already started to form or have made.

Remember that as the holidays get closer, take time to relax and remember not to get caught up in all the craziness that can happen. Think about making things as easy as possible for you and those around you, so that you can focus on what is important – your family and friends.

He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata! What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people!

Additional Staff for this term -Term 4 2019

To keep you informed, we wanted to let you know that Sandra Fox is helping us out and working with us for this term on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She has been involved with teaching for a number of years, and is  keen to assist us with your tamariki.

2019/2020 TERM DATES

TERM 4 2019 – Last day: Friday 20th December

2020 Term Dates

TERM 1 – Tuesday 21st January – Friday 17th April (Please note that we start earlier than the primary schools, and there is a Teacher’s Only Day on Monday 20th)

TERM 2 – Tuesday 28th April – Friday 3rd July

TERM 3 – Monday 20th July – Friday 2nd October

TERM 4 – Monday 12th October – Tuesday 22nd December

5 KEY DISPOSITIONS AT SHALOM

As you already know, the five key dispositions that we have decided to focus on for our centre are:

Kindness (Kind kiwi) 

Resilience (Resilient rāpeti/rabbit)

Respect (Respectful ruru/owl)

Curiosity (Curious cat)

Team Player (Team player tui)

What do these look like?

We are currently considering what we might see at Shalom that shows the different dispositions in action, but we would love to also hear what you think, so let us know what things you would associate with the tamariki and these different dispositions. That is, what might the tamariki/children be saying and or doing at Shalom that would fit in each disposition.

Also – you might like to use the same phrases we are with your tamariki at home too.

SETTING YOUR TAMAITI/CHILD UP FOR SUCCESS

Have we ever stopped and thought about how you can help your tamaiti/child be prepared for the future?

Have you wondered how you might be able to do this?

Maybe the question should be – what am I doing that my tamaiti/child might be able to do themselves, or even help me with?

We want our tamariki/children to be as prepared for many aspects of life as they can be. So maybe now is a good time to think about what they could be learning now, that will help them in the process of becoming the responsible adults we want them to be later.

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence” quote by Denis Waitley

HELPING US ALL LEARN A LITTLE TE REO MAORI

The following are some phrases that we can learn and use

Mōrena – good morning

Tēnā koe – hello to one person

Tēnā kōrua – hello to two people

Tēnā koutou – hello to three or more people

Haere mai – come here; welcome

Haere mai ki te kai – come to the food

Me inoi tātou – let us pray

You can utilise the Maori dictionary to assist you with pronunciation. http://maoridictionary.co.nz

THANKS FOR COMING

SHALOM’S GOT TALENT – we had a great turnout and enjoyed the involvement of our tamariki and whanau with the items done. Some parents loved it so much they are keen to see another one happen next year. So start planning what you would like to add to our evening and performances, and we will let you know the date next year of when the next fun night of Shalom’s Got Talent will occur

FATHER’S NIGHT – how nice to see a large number of dads come along and enjoy the night with their tamaiti/child or tamariki/children. A great opportunity to meet teachers and other dads, as well as simply have fun at kindy. We look forward to seeing you all again about February 2020!

A NOTE FROM SHARON:

We would love you to let us know now, if you are intending to make changes to your child’s hours for Term 1 next year. We are establishing our numbers now, and do have spaces available for all hours and all days, and letting us know now helps us to hopefully fulfil your requests. Thanks to all those who have let us know already.

UPCOMING EVENTS 2019

SHALOM CHRISTMAS IN THE PARK

This is a night to relax, enjoy each others company, as well as see the tamariki/children perform a few items for you all

Date: FRIDAY 29TH NOBVEMBER

BER Time: 5:30 – 7:00pm

Place: KULIM PARK, TAURANGA

A More information is coming!

UPCOMING EVENTS 2020

SHALOM FAMILY PICNIC – Monday 17th February

FATHER’S NIGHT – Friday 27th March

SOME OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN LEARNING AT SHALOM

Some of the interests have included

BUILDING – lots of construction with the blocks have been happening, as well as creative thinking in the sandpit with the water pipes.

FOOD – we have enjoyed the various kai/food that has been made at Shalom, and the tamariki/children have made lots of regular and interesting kai with the toys, and the sand equipment.

TREASURE – with interest in treasure, Nora and Felicity’s grandma has brought in some rocks for the tamariki/children to look at. The tamariki have dug for treasure, hunted for it too, and have been learning that they too are a treasure.

Remember if you have anything that you would like to share or do with our tamariki, come and have a korero/talk with us so we can find a date and include you in our happenings.

Things to Remember:

Sunblock – please put sunblock on your tamaiti/child before they arrive at Shalom. We will put more on them ready for the afternoon session.

Hats – a sunhat is important to further protect your tamaiti form the summer sun.

Shoes – shoes are needed throughout the warmer months, as the matting gets very hot. And they also need them if they participate in carpentry.

PLEASE NAME ALL ITEMS THAT BELONG TO YOUR TAMAITI/CHILD – THANK YOU