Preschool Office: 269 1048

Office: Marie Macpherson / Corina Eldershaw

Licensee: Manukau Christian Charitable Trust

e-mail: covenantkids@mcctrust.nz website: www.covenantkids.co.nz

Contact Details: 61 Beaumonts Way PO Box 75-452 Manurewa Auckland

Absences

Please let us know (by phone/email) if your child is absent for any reason. There are a number of Ministry of Education rules around frequent absences. If your child is often absent then we lose funding for your child. In this case, we may need to adjust your timetable or place your child on casual attend-ance. Please endeavour to stick to the timetable booked for your child.

Healthy Eating

Please remember that we have a No Sweets policy so lollies and chocolate do not belong at preschool. This includes fruit strings, nuggets etc. - they are lollies and should be saved for treats at home. We also encourage healthy eating at preschool. Here are some lunchbox ideas:

PRESCHOOL

NEWS

May 2016

Dear Families / Whanau

- A note from the Head Teacher’s Desk

Welcome to another winter: a time for comfort, good food and warmth.

Thank you for making me feel comfortable and have a great start at Covenant Kids Preschool. I look forward to being God’s servant in this place, leading and being led by God alone to fulfill His plans for all of our lives.

I am thankful to all the parents who were able to make it to our Easter and Mother’s day programs. I am thankful for your honest feedback.

This term our team are working on the Curriculum planning which is very important for the smooth running of the Centre. For this to happen we need you on board as you play a very significant role in your child’s life.

At the beginning of every school holidays from now on you will be able to take your child’s portfolio home for two weeks and bring it back the first week back. We are very eager for you to contribute to your child’s portfolio. When parents share what their child is capable of and confident in, what knowledge is displayed at home and within other contexts, we are better able to plan for your child’s learning within the Covenant Kids setting.

Please feel free to write: - comments about what you know about your child in relation to the stories we add - achievements that you have noticed - Interests that they have/your family has (e.g. ballet, rugby etc) - Any photos/stories of family events/celebrations/holidays This process allows collaboration between parents and the teaching team. This collaborative approach means that all teachers are more aware of where all children’s current learning is, and are therefore better able to support it. The teachers will, in collaboration with you as parents, review each child’s assessment throughout the year. When your child’s time comes for individual assessment a teacher will speak with you regarding the aspirations/dreams you have for your child over the next few months here at Covenant kids.

All children’s learning is being planned for; this happens through our weekly planning meetings. Please feel free to contribute to the children’s current interests. You can see what these are through the planning sheets, wall displays, whiteboard messages or just chatting with the teaching team and your child! Your contribution is a valuable resource to us and will strengthen your child’s learning.

Parent/Teacher Meetings I am working with the team to organize parent teacher meetings in July. Please look out for information in the pockets in the cloakroom. This will be an opportunity for parents to talk to the teacher about their child’s development and any areas they would like to discuss. Well that is all for now and I look forward to catching up with you all again over the

next few weeks sharing another topic which will contribute to the learning environment of Covenant Kids Preschool.

May this year be a blessed one for you and your family.

You are welcome to contact me at any time on shirleym@mcctrust.nz

Thank you for being part of our wonderful Covenant Kids Preschool.

Shirley

Notices Term Dates Term 2: Tuesday 26 April - Friday 8 July Term 3: Monday 18 July - Friday 23 September Term 4: Monday 3 October - Friday 23 December Term 1, 2017 commences on Monday 16 January

Dates to Remember: Monday 6 June - Queens Birthday holiday

Staff News We are thrilled to have Victoria Verissimo working as our Teacher Aid. Welcome Miss Victoria! And we are so sad to say goodbye to Michelle, one of our office ladies, who is leaving our Centre at the end of May. Marie Macpherson will be taking her place working alongside Corina in the office. Marie has worked as an administrator in an Early Childhood Centre in Gisborne and is familiar with our Centre (having had one of her sons at Covenant Kids).

Session Times A reminder that we are open from 8.00am to 5.30pm Monday through Friday. We have changed our daily programme to include small groups in both our morning and afternoon sessions. In order not to disrupt these focused teaching times we have adjusted our sessions as follows:

• Morning sessions: from 8:00am - 12:00pm

• Afternoon sessions: 1:00pm - 5:00pm

• All day sessions: from 8:00am onwards (pick up no earlier than 3pm) For any new enrolments or timetable changes we ask that you fit in with these new session times:

Please note that some of our sessions / days are now full. Please let us know in advance if you plan to make any changes to days / times so we can accommodate you as best we can.

Naming Items Please name your child’s lunchbox and drink bottle. Feel free to use our permanent markers at preschool if you need to :-)