Spring 2022 Newsletter
Kia ora koutou,
Who would believe we are in our last month of spring 2022, this year is certainly going fast and I have certainly aged over the last few months.
I really appreciate all the support and helping out when we are really low on staff. How we have managed to get through again without closing is beyond me, but I do really appreciate all the support.
With Moa Kids being a community-based preschool that is not-for-profit, fundraising is a big part of what we do. Recently COVID has made this a lot harder.
A big thank you to everyone that came along and helped at the Disco. What an event this was. It was so nice to see everyone back in the centre at this event. The children just loved it and we even managed to raise just over $600.
We will also make money from the calendar sales. This amount has not been finalised yet, but we have decided to spend the last of the fundraising money on bicultural resources for the centre. We have been working through a plan review over the last 18 months and felt we were lacking in this area. So, we have just purchased some new resources to support this.
Governance committee: With being a not-for-profit community preschool, it is so important that we have an active governance committee. We normally start looking for new members of our governance committee at the start of each year to come on at the May AGM. We have a few senior members coming off at Christmas, with their children leaving for school. So, if any families are interested in knowing what the governance committee is all about, I am happy to have a chat with you. We also have an information pack in the office explain it all.
Children’s Christmas party - This will be Thursday 1st December 4.pm - 5.30pm, in the park by the preschool playground. We are so excited to have this back.
Details: 4.pm arrive in the park and find a space with your picnic blanket.
4.15 pm preschool concert starts
4.30 pm Melanie Poppins entertainment (family’s picnic)
5.00 pm Picnic continues in the park (BYO own picnic)
5.10 pm Santa
5.30 pm All over for another year. Families are most welcome to stay in the park.
We have moved this time 30 mins. As we had really good feedback from the timing of the disco this year, it means our nursery children can join in as well and it’s not getting too late. Remember, the more the merrier, Nursery and preschool families are all welcome. The nursery room will have a Christmas afternoon tea on the 9th December 2- 3pm.
Waitlist: Moa is the fullest it has ever been, which is fabulous, but hard to extend days and also fit siblings in. I have had a few parents enquire for extra days for the start of next year. Unfortunately, we are super full from next year already. If parents know they will be wanting extra days, please make sure you do let us know, so if things change you will be the first to be contacted. The days of picking up an extra day with a few weeks’ notice, have unfortunately gone. Casual days, of course, are completely different. Thanks for your understanding.
Carparking space by entrance: We understand sometimes this carpark can to be used. However, it is best to park in the other carparks. We are so lucky to have plenty of parking, especially around the busy pick up and drop off times. There are a lot of Children walking in the carpark around these times, so parking right up at the door isn’t the safest when backing out around this time. Thank you for your understanding.
Closing dates for Christmas: We will close at 3pm on Friday 23rd December and reopen on Monday 9th January 2023 at 8am. Please make sure you have emailed through other days you may be away.
Remember my door is always open, so please feel free to come and see me if you have any questions or concerns.
Nga mihi maioha
Hayley
Welcome to our new families
A big welcome to Evie, Fergus and Isla to Moa Kids. They are settling in well and making the most of their time here.
Goodbyes: Kukku and Gruff turned the big 5 and have headed off to school. We wish them all the best for her next adventures.
Governance Committee
The next Governance Committee meeting is Monday 21st November 2022 @ 7.15pm. This is an earlier time and will be an online meeting, as we have Liz Depree from Interlead education joining us.
Reminders
· Lunch boxes: You have most probably noticed the very full lunchbox shelf in the preschool. We would really appreciate it if all children’s lunch boxes, drink bottles and food containers could be named, as well as food that needs to go in the fridge. There is a permanent marker attached to the basket for the food that needs to be kept in the fridge. We are trying our best to reduce the amount of wate that is going into the red bin. Can families please try reduce the amount of gladwrap coming into the centre.
· Nut Free Zone: Moa Kids is a “nut free” zone. Lately we have been noticing a lot of nut products coming in cashews, almonds, peanut butter sandwiches etc. Please can you remember that we are a nut free zone when you are making your child’s lunch.
· Show and tell: Each child who attends the preschool room has a show and tell day. This is the day where they can bring in something special to show their peers. We know lots of our friends like to bring in toys and often it is the same toy from the week before. We are not saying no toys, but if parents could get the children to have a think of something different each time, this will help their child when they get up to talk about their “show and tell”. Remember that you are most welcome to email in any photos of what they have been getting up to over the weekend. This goes down really well and the children normally have lots to say about it. Can you please remember to take home your child’s show and tell item? The basket seems very full.
· Moved House? We know many of you have recently moved house. Can you please ensure you have updated Dawn or myself in the office so we can make sure our system is up to date?
· Nappies: Some parents choose to bring a bag of nappies in for their child and we let the families know when they are running low by writing on the daily role sheet. Please make sure when you see “please bring nappies” that you bring them in as soon as you can. We have emergency nappies if children run out, but these need to be replaced if used. We unfortunately are not in the position to be supplying nappies to children.
· Preschool Door: Please can all families make sure you are shutting the preschool door behind you. 9am and 3pm are a busy time with children and families coming in and out. If all families can please make sure there is a parent with each child it would be much appreciated.
· Bread bags: Please bring in any used bread bags for the preschool. These are used for toileting.
· Lost Property: We have a large amount of lost property. Please come and have a look to see if the treasures and clothing belong to your family. The lost property is in the foyer. Please name all clothing that comes to preschool as this really helps us to return clothing and hats back to the correct person. Thanks.
Preschool News
Wow what a busy few months we have had in the preschool room! We have been busy baking almost every day. To support this Hayley brought a new kid cooking book with pictures, where the children are really enjoying choosing recipes and able to easily follow the steps.
As it is getting warmer, we have been enjoying having lunch outside and the many different water play activities we have had.
We have wrapped up our project “The Living world” and have decided to have a project on Connecting links with the community, as due to COVID there has been a number of places we have been unable to go.
We have a schedule of different places we will be going to in the community over the next few months and we will keep you posted about this.
The children are really enjoying waiata time and we can hear the te reo through the classroom. To support this, we have purchased some amazing bicultural resources which are fantastic.
We had a fun filled holiday programme and the pizza went down a treat! It was so great to see the crazy hair styles!
We have been really enjoying going to the field, especially all the way to the end and exploring the tunnels where milo pointed out a pungawerewere.
We have been busy making all our ocean creatures ready for the bio- diversity video. The children have loved being involved in this. More details to follow.
We have been supporting the children in the classroom to be social and include friends and we have done this through playing some favourite games such as ‘’doggy doggy where’s your bone’’ and ‘’whose hiding’’.
We are looking forward to what the next couple of months bring as we wind down for Christmas.
Nursery News
Theo, Cooper, Freddie and Sophie have now completed their transition into the preschool room and have celebrated their 2nd birthdays.
They are getting use to the preschool routine and enjoying joining up with their pals that have recently moved through.
Tilly -May has now started her transition into the preschool room. Again, she has loved reconnecting with her friends that have recently transitioned. She is also loving the art and craft in the preschool.
Now that the weather is slowly warming up, we have been able to provide more water play activities and more interesting messy play (shaving foam, moon sand, cornflour and water). Through these experiences the tamariki are able to build working theories abouth their wider world, make connections to home (washing their toys in warm bubbly water) and also further develop their awareness of how their senses work.
Our focus in the nursery room is making connections to home. The photos that have been provided by families have been amazing and the tamarki love to look at these and find their own picture.
We have celebrated several 1st birthdays in the past Month, Mack, Prue and Winnie, a big happy birthday to them all .
The nursery children have enjoyed the preschool team supporting the nursery teachers this month, due to lots of leave. The children have enjoyed this and have brought lots of fun actvities in with them
Dolphin Club
Term 3
Sharleen
This term we have been focusing on
· Finishing off the dinosaur project
· Stations set up in the group
· School trips are back to Redcliffs and Sumner
· Extending our learning with the project on Dinosaurs
· Learning our Mihi
Children we have welcomed this term: Cara, Ida and Heidi and farewelled Kukku, Archie and Gruff.
Cheese & bacon turnovers
Ingredients
· 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
· 3 tbsp soft cheese
· 1 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
· 6 rashers dry-cured smoked bacon
· 100g mature cheddar, gruyère or Swiss cheese, grated
· 1 egg, beaten
Method
· STEP 1
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Unravel the pastry on the sheet of baking parchment it comes with, and cut into six squares. Mix the soft cheese with the mustard, if using, and a good grinding of black pepper. Divide between the middles of the pastry squares, and smooth over in a diagonal line from one corner to the opposite side.
· STEP 2
Lay a bacon rasher over the soft cheese, then scatter over the cheese. Brush the two exposed corners of pastry with beaten egg, and fold over the top of the filling to join together. Brush the tops with more egg, then slide the baking parchment on to a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 mins until the cheese has melted and the pastry is golden.
· STEP 3
Transfer to a cooling rack for 5-10 mins before serving warm. Will keep chilled in an airtight container for two-three days.
Contact us
Centre Manager: Hayley Flanagan
Centre Administrator: Dawn Critchley
Address: Main Road, Redcliffs, Christchurch 8081
Email: admin@moakids.org.nz
Phone: 03 384 1910 Web: www.moakids.org.nz
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