Tena Koutou, Hallo, Namaste, Ni Hao, Talofa and Hello to all
Nau Mai Haere Mai, Welcome
Kia Ora and welcome to Elsa , Yannick , William , Eve and all their families who joined us in Aug/Sept. Welcome also to Twange and family, Zora (younger sister of Lewis) who have recently also joined us, to Wallace and family and Tahaawai and whanau.
Key Dates
Christmas Closure: 19 Dec 08, reopening Tuesday 27th January 2009
Our last day of the year will be Friday, December 19th, we will be closing at 12.30 after the children’s Christmas Party. A parent/whanau member is required to attend the party. This will be held at the Brooklyn Community Centre – there will be information to follow in pockets soon.
Programme
There has been a lot of focus on settling new children, establishing routines and meeting the developmental needs of the younger aged children in Te Roopu Tangaroa time – from 10.30-11.00 Mon/Tues/Thurs.
There have been table top activities for Te Roopu Tawhirimatea with cooking, sand, finger-painting, collage, puzzle/manipulative work – this occurs after 10.30 Weds and Fri. We also had a shared lunch to celebrate Diwali Festival of the Lights.
We have been identifying/extending the needs/interests of the older children in Tane Mahuta group times which run daily. Rachel from SPARC ran a session – see the learning stories board for info/photos. After consultation with a teacher at Ridgeway School we are learning about holding a pencil correctly, using pens, rubbers, rulers in school exercise books as well as extending interests in the world, planets, super heroes and science – sand & water!!
We have also had visits from the Brooklyn Librarians who read to the children once a fortnight, bringing in fresh faces and some awesome books!
Please read the learning stories board and activity book which is now on display for your information. The Values of Play posters around the centre are for your information, Kei Tua O te Pai folders will be made available for you to read and get a feel for the learning story narratives and the programme that we follow. This is a further step on from the whole centre PD in 2006 – the outcome of which was the implementation of profiles/learning stories/parent voice as a form of documentation and information sharing. After you have done this you could fill in a Parent/Whanau Voice form, this is useful to get further insight into your child’s life, your aspirations for them and the learning and experiences they have outside the centre!
We have all been enjoying the warmer weather but of course with that comes a LOT of waterplay. So with that in mind please put at least two changes of clothes in their bag. They will get wet!!!
Health and Safety News
Please remember you are required to SUNBLOCK your child before they arrive and provide a fitted, named sunhat – we block the children after lunch.
We request No PEANUTS or peanut products please. We have children who have allergies to peanuts and eggs – these are a health hazard.
Please also use lunchwrap or paper towels to wrap food as gladwrap can be a major choking hazard.
Management Committee
Once again thank you to our Parent Management Committee who give up their time and share their expertise to help run Brooklyn Early Childhood Centre. The Committee is made up of elected parents (this happens at the AGM) and meetings occur every six weeks or so. They are the governing body of BECC. Meeting dates are set in advance at the beginning of the year, meetings run from 7pm to approximately 9pm. All parents and whanau are welcome/encouraged to attend.
Upcoming meeting
Committee Meeting:
Tuesday 9 December
7.00pm until 9.30pm
All parents/whanau are welcome to attend.
There is a meeting to discuss the centre Strategic Plan and Annual Management Plan draft on Weds 3 December, the documents are currently posted on the notice board in the foyer for you to view, your input is valued so please read the draft and feel free to comment if you cannot attend.
Policies
Policies up for review are displayed for Parent/Whanau input on the noticeboard, this is your chance to contribute to these documents – just read them and comment on paper or to a teacher. The Centre is guided by these documents and your contribution is welcomed. All policies are kept in the folder on-site, just ask if you would like to read them at any time.
Thanks for your support
The team would like to thank all those that took part in the BECC Survey, this provides useful feedback for direction and professional development for the coming year. Some of the issues raised were identified by the teachers earlier in the year – i.e. more individual learning stories in profiles; we are currently listed on a PD calendar with Victoria Uni for whole centre professional development in 2009. Please fill in the Workshop Idea sheet on the notice board to give us an idea of what workshops you would be interested in attending.
There will be more time for workshops in the coming year now that the majority of the planning and consultation with regard to the premises upgrade in 2009 has occurred.
The building committee has worked tirelessly in consulting with early childhood professionals, ministry representatives, council officials in drawing up the plans for renovation and at the same time identified temporary premises for us to shift into when the renovations occur, consulting the Licensing division of the Ministry of Education for feedback on temporary licensing criteria. Not to mention endless grant applications and fundraising efforts.
Thanks so much to Nigel , Catherine , Alistair , Sophie, Annette and Anna and Stacey who attended the many building committee meetings. Without their drive and commitment this wouldn’t have happened. And it needs to happen if we are to continue to operate in the future. Thanks also to Kathryn who took the time to organise and collate the surveys and the feedback contained in them!
Thanks also to Diana for taking over from Virginia in managing the wait list phone calls and welcoming new families onto the waiting list. This saves the team such a lot of work!
Premises 2009
Here is an update about the relocation of the Centre while the renovations take place in 2009. St Bernards school has been on the agenda for a while as a temporary location. The school has kindly volunteered their school hall, as a temporary premises for the staff/children/parents. Karen, Nigel and Pam, visited with the Ministry of Education to discuss compliance issues and temporary Licensing at St Bernard’s school. They have agreed that the school would be an ideal location, however there are a few compliance issues to address. These are not major, but will be required for Licensing. Karen, Nigel and Pam will get together again to discuss strategies and timelines in preparation for term four 2009. Great news.
Summary of Parent Survey 2008
Full results will be displayed on the notice board in the entrance. There were 19 responses out of approx. 40 families
Overall the majority of parents were happy with the centre and found environment stimulating for their children and almost all parents felt their children seem happy and settled at the centre.
Child’s Profile: the majority of parents only read the profile sometimes ,comments and suggestions regarding the profiles included: not a huge insight into what happen at the centre; stories are so irregular; would like to see more individual (not group) stories; parents could provide updates on child’s interest.
Almost all parents felt welcome when they arrived at the centre and the majority of parents felt they had an opportunity to talk to teachers about their child. Comments and suggestions included: having a board of activities child was engaged in on that day; suggestion for teacher/parent meeting 1 or 2 a year.
The majority of parents thought the Management Committee was doing a good job, a number of parents thought the committee needed to be more transparent and work with parents more.
A number of parents thought they could be a few more social events held and over half of parents were potentially interested in attending workshops or course held at the centre. Suggestions included:workshops on child behaviour; extending child;s learning and understanding how to support centres teaching in the home; child safety; the curriculum.
Other comments included: having option of e-mailed invoices; are there guidelines to assist teachers extending children moving into older bracket; potential questions to ask parents is do they feel they contribute enough to this parent/teacher lead organisation?
Great Fundraiser for the Festive Season: Wild Chef
15% of any Sale to WILD CHEF will go to Brooklyn Early Childhood Centre!!
Buy any WILD CHEF Handmade Gourmet Finger Food or Gourmet Selection for your next social gathering and 15% of that sale will go directly to Brooklyn Early Childhood Centre until 19 December 2008.
- Perfect for the busy Mum & Dad or those spontaneous parties – Straight from the freezer to the oven – approximately 15 minutes later everyone is having a Gourmet Experience!
- WILD CHEF products are made with local fresh ingredients
- Handmade & snap-frozen to perfection by our Chefs
- Designed not only to be Easy but will save you Time and Money
- Just HEAT…SERVE…&…IMPRESS!!
- Stock up for Christmas now!!
For further information check out the website on www.wildchef.co.nz; phone Jennifer on 387 7307 or visit us at 49 Coutts Street, Kilbirnie!
Wind Walk
Thanks to everyone for getting behind the Wellington Wind Walk and making the day such a success. We raised $5500!
Special thanks to our generous sponsors:
Tim and Kaye Whitehead, No. 1 RE/MAX,
Nick Hazlewood and Electrical Concepts,
Wellington City Council, Go Wellington Buses,
The Interislander, Whittakers, Turners and Growers, Ricoh, Moore Wilson, Thorndon New World, Wing on Chang, Aro St Video, The Bach, Brooklyn Pharmacy, Karori Sanctuary, Penthouse Cinema, Empire Cinema, Te Papa, Capital E, Wild Chef Gourmet Food, Ros Dibley, Anna Macey, Brendon Foot Motors, Jenny Lang at Wild Chef, Caffe L’affare and The Children’s Bookshop.
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