General Information
Settling Children
We have an open door policy at Whangaparaoa Kindergarten. You are welcome to stay with your child until you feel he/she can be comfortably left at Kindergarten. When you leave your child we ask that you return early for the first week or two, so that your child develops a sense of security. The length of time it takes your child to settle at Kindergarten will depend on:
· the individual child,
· if they know other children attending the session,
· if they are familiar with Kindergarten (e.g. through older siblings),
· if they are used to being separated from you.
Sun Safe Policy
Our sun safe policy states that children must wear hats outside in the summer months. Please bring their own named hats from home. Sunscreen will be put on children who are staying for the 6 hour sessions after lunch during the summer months.
Dropping Off and Collecting Children
Please bring your child into the Kindergarten building. Each day you will need to sign your child in and out on the “Sign In” sheet.
Clothing
Please name all clothing and shoes. Always send your child in suitable clothing (plus a change of clothes) as many Kindergarten activities are messy and during hot weather we enjoy water play. Please check the lost property box regularly for any missing clothing.
Healthy Food Policy
All children have morning tea and lunch at kindergarten. Please send along food and a drink in a named lunchbox. Suitable foods include fruit, vegetables, crackers, yoghurt, sandwiches (i.e. basically healthy food). Please avoid sweets, chocolates, chips and sweet drinks. Water is available for children to help themselves.
Teachers will seek information regarding a child’s known or probable allergy prior to admission.
Notices
Please read the whiteboard each day. Also check your child’s pocket regularly for newsletters, etc as this keeps you in touch and up to date with what’s happening at Kindergarten. Books from our parent library are available on loan, please sign them out.
Sickness/Absence
Please keep your child home if unwell, especially if he/she has a heavy cold or infectious illness. Please let the teachers know - if we do not hear from you, your child may be taken off the roll and the place given to another child. The same applies if your child is away regularly on the same day in consecutive weeks. The policy for attending Public Kindergarten is that the child must attend at least 50% of the session and have no noticeable patterns of absence.
Change of Address or Circumstance
You must let us know if your address or contact phone number/s change. This is important should we need to contact you in an emergency. If there are any changes in family circumstances that may affect your child it is helpful if you let us know. This will be kept confidential to teachers.
20 Free ECE Hours
The Government provides funding for all 3-4 year olds for the first 20 hours they attend an Early Childhood Education provider. A basic level of ECE is free to the parent. Our kindergarten offers ECE services, facilities and resources well beyond the “regulated standard” allowed for by the Government’s “20 Hours Free” scheme. To allow us to continue to offer this current level of ECE, we ask for a donation of 0.50 cents per child/per hour if you choose Whangaparaoa Kindergarten as your provider.
If you have all or part of your 20 hours allocated elsewhere, then we charge a fee of $4.00 per child/per hour. As the Government has already funded ECE care for these children, it does not fully subsidise the cost of their attendance at Whangaparaoa Kindergarten. This fee is a compulsory fee.
Invoices are issued at the beginning of each term. Your contributions are tax deductible and receipts are issued at the end of each financial year (31st March) or when your child leaves Kindergarten.
Programme
Our programme is a resource-based programme that centres on children’s individual strengths and interests, and is based on our New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum - Te Whāriki.
Table tops and working places are clear and the resources are at the child’s level. They are encouraged to work with all different art forms - collage materials, paint, glue, sellotape, etc are available for the child’s choice. The art area is a very busy area where the teachers help to build on your child’s creativity. We don’t make their wonderful creations for them; it is their own effort that comes home. The process of choosing, making and cleaning up are all encouraged by adults. The same applies in the outside environment, where the children are free to choose the equipment they require from the shed.
Children’s Progress
Each child will have their own individual profile. This is a collection of observations, artwork and photos, etc recording your child’s progress at Kindergarten, the content of which is also the basis of our programme planning. Teachers will regularly feed back to you on your child’s progress and you are welcome and encouraged to view this profile at any time. We charge $10 per child for a technology fee - this includes the cost of printing photographs.
Toys
Please discourage children from bringing toys to Kindergarten as they are easily lost or broken. It is not unusual for children of this age to take equipment home. We would appreciate it being returned.
Parent Involvement
Parents are welcome to spend time at Kindergarten at any time, and to be fully involved in their child’s education.
· Why get involved? It creates the opportunity for parents to see their child in differing situations and share and support the experiences which have become part of their child’s life at Whangaparaoa; it is an opportunity for parents to learn about and understand the procedure and the programme; it is an opportunity for teachers and parents to share information about their child.
· How can parents be involved in their child’s education? By putting their names on the parent help roster on the sign in desk to help out for one or two sessions a term; by contributing talents, interests and skills; by helping with supervision on trips and outings.
Committee
The committee is a group of parents who work together to fundraise, administer finances, maintain equipment, etc. Meetings are held once a month at Kindergarten where we plan fun family events and fundraisers. Please feel welcome to join the committee or come to a meeting - it’s a great chance to meet other parents, make new friends and get to know your children’s teachers.
Collage/Creative Materials
Please send along interesting items such as buttons, eggshells, bottle tops, corks, material scraps and natural resources such as flower petals, seed pods, shells, etc. Please, no toilet rolls for hygiene reasons. We always require a source of good quality paper. If anyone has access to printer’s off-cuts they are well used! Other “industrial waste” such as gaskets, plastic piping etc is also very welcome. Please check with staff if you have a resource of interest.
Artwork
Please check your child’s artwork file regularly for your child’s creations.
If you have any questions, please feel free to talk to us.
Ka Kite.
Wendy, Lisa, Marie, Wendy and Dianne