Greetings & Kia Ora 2015 is coming to an end and time flew so fast this year. We have reached the busy time just before the school holidays. Summer is on its way with plenty of sunshine and many of us are planning a nice and relaxing time off work. During the holiday season, some of our parents and whanau have already organised a trip to their home country to visit relatives. We also know that some parents and whanau are planning to spend time in their holiday batch while some will enjoy the tranquility in Auckland.

New Little Pearls

Welcome Aamina, Aydin, Hawa, Lilly, Shuaib We welcome all our new families and whanau into our centre. We, as your children’s educators, look forward to building good relationships with both you and your child. If you have any queries, please feel free to ask Taner (Managing Director), Nazife (Supervisor) or one of your tamariki/children’s teachers.

Parents/Whanau Presentation Evening We shared our year-long Self Review project with our parents and whanau that made our night very informative and successful. Nazife introduced what self review is and why it is important. The kaiako/teachers followed by taking turns to explain what they had done to create a literacy rich environment and how this led to support tamariki/children’s learning.

After that Dr. Marek Tesar from Education Faculty of the University of Auckland talked about the research project “Auckland Urban Childhoods: Children’s relationship with place/space” with his PhD student Rebecca Hopkins who has been working with tamariki/children at Little Pearls.

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newsletter AUGUST, SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2015

“Every child is precious like a pearl”

Parent/Teacher Night We are having a parent/teacher night on Monday the 16th November between 6pm to 8pm for both Under and Over two’s. For Over Two’s, the time has been extended to Wednesday the 18th November due to quantity of children. There are strictly 10 minute slots for you to book in. You will be given a questionnaire to fill prior to that night. This questionnaire can be a tool for your voice to be heard and your expectations for your child. Your input is valuable to us and we are looking forward to sharing information with you. Together in partnership we can set goals for your tamaiti/child.

Whanau Day Let’s get together on Saturday 28th November 2015 between 2pm to 5pm here at Little Pearls. All you need is to bring your family and a delicious dessert to share (please make sure the dessert is suitable for vegetarians). We are going to provide chicken kebab, rice and salad.

This gathering is a great opportunity to meet your tamariki/children’s friends

and their families and whanau which can often lead to life-long friendships. Little Pearls Team would be happy to see you all there. Please RSVP by Thursday the 26th of November for catering purposes. Thank you.

Holidays Holidays are just around the corner. If you are planning to take a holiday over the summer period, please look out for the forms on the entrance locker by the sign-in sheets and advise us by ticking the dates that your tamaiti/child will be on holiday. Thank you.

News from the Under-Two’s room Recently, under two’s had a number of new enrolments. It is great to see the babies settling in so well in to the daily centre routines and the new environment.

Exciting news! Have you seen under two’s beautiful renovated playground? The babies are all set for this lovely summer. Our aim is to provide babies with a wide range o f d i v e r s e a n d e n r i c h i n g experiences in a safe and pleasant environment. Playgrounds are places where tamariki/children’s

play can take off and flourish. This is designed in such a way that their play can come to full expression, where they can run, jump, hide, make a mess and explore the natural world. Kaiako/teachers will provide opportunities for babies such as exploring, risk taking and fine & gross motor development.

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LITTLE PEARLS EDUCATE CENTRE AUGUST, SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2015

News from the Over-Two’s room Over two’s have had a busy couple of months, come and have a look at their planning board for more details. Their focus was on animals for August, which cumulated in a visit from a whole bunch of different ones! It was really exciting for us to meet all of the different kinds of animals and to learn a bit about what it takes to look after them.

W i t h t h e f i n e w e a t h e r appearing, we have been very busy outside getting our plants into shape. The re a re now p lan t s popp ing up everywhere, and gardening has become a frequent part of centre life. We are really looking forward to all of the delicious things like strawberries being ready in our garden. We have also been planting lots of flowers for the butterflies to come and visit.

September has been busy looking a t d i f f e r e n t w a y s o f communicating, and part of this led tamariki/children to going to space and finding out about the solar system. You may have noticed the space displays hanging from the net, as well as the vast array of planets that the tamariki/children made on the wall.  

In October the focus in the Over-Two's room has been on games, both indoor and outdoor. Playing rhyming, singing and dancing games, board and card games (just to name a few) encourages cooperation, improves communication skills, helps enrich children's vocabulary and build up confidence to participate in social situations. Outdoor games, including race riding, climbing, hide-and-seek and many others, help children learn the practical meaning of turn taking, support the development of gross

motor skills, coordination, eye sight and helps all stay healthy and fit. There are several welcome additions to the Over-two's playground, including our new swings, logs on the lawn, the new strawberry garden bed, and a magical TeePee (it will live up to its name as soon as the peas grow!). We have veggies and flowers popping out everywhere and are looking forward to getting some new gaming equipment, including bats, game balls and jumping sacks. The children have been spending a lot of time on the playground over the past few weeks, thanks to all the games we have been playing, the beautiful weather and all the exciting new things to explore.

Self Review on Transition and Parent Questionnaire Recently we have begun a year-long self-review project to ensure that the transition periods (into, within and out of the centre) are as smooth as possible for everyone involved. The parent questionnaire was sent out to you by EDUCA last week and appreciate if you could fill and return it by Friday the 20th November. We would like to hear your comments and feedbacks as your contribution is very important to us. Chocolates or Turkish delights await those who complete the questionnaire. Thank you.

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LITTLE PEARLS EDUCATE CENTRE AUGUST, SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2015

Pet Safari visit from Oracle Animal Care We had a Pet Safari visit from Oracle Animal Care on Monday, 24th August. Sally, the educator brought amazing animals to Little Pearls for fun and interactive learning. It was a great opportunity for tamariki/children to have experience with real live small pets and exotic creatures like lizards, and guinea pigs, mice, dogs, turtles and tortoises.

Firstly, the tamariki/children helped to build a mice habitat by placing all the

equipment given by Sally. Then they had a turn to feed the hungry lizards with peas. It was amazing to watch them swallow the peas with their long tongues. Also they groomed the unruly long fur of the guinea pigs and admired the tricks of the two fluffy dog’s performance at the end. Tamariki/children learnt how to respect and being kind towards animals when participating in activities.

Duffy Books in Home T h a n k s t o L i t t l e Pe a r l s Management for sponsoring and “Wheelers” for providing two free brand new books for tamariki/children to take home. They were very excited to receive their books and could not wait to take them home.

Mt. Albert Library Visit Some tamariki/children had a chance to attend story times at Mt. Albert Library recently. They also had an opportunity to choose some library books to read using centre library card. Library Membership to Auckland Libraries is free, and you can check out books for free in many languages.

Sesame Street Books Thank you to Hasan’s mum for bringing variety of Sesame Street books for the tamariki/children to take home.

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LITTLE PEARLS EDUCATE CENTRE AUGUST, SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2015

Zainab the Librarian Visits Little Pearls

Now that Little Pearls are friends with Mt. Albert library. We are privileged to have Zainab the librarian comes to our centre and spice up our morning and afternoon mat-times with songs and stories of her own which coincides present events. For example, she brought books and songs for children related to Halloween on her first visit and her next visit will be on Tuesday the 8th December.

Digital Learning using Smart Board Our digital library is expanding! The tamariki/children are aware of what it is and listen/engage with digital stories on a regular basis. The kaiako/teachers also have started to use Auckland Libraries digital catalogue. Tamariki/children are encouraged to use digital media in line with inquiry for example, when searching for images on the internet on iPad, laptops and smart board, printing pictures etc.

EDUCA – Online Portfolio Have you accepted invitation to join “EDUCA” (online portfolio programme)? Please do it if you haven’t already. Little Pearls has been using “EDUCA” actively since September. It is a great opportunity and easy way to communicate online, receive updates, news and upcoming events, most importantly for your tamaiti/child’s learning stories. You can access EDUCA anytime you want and even share it with extended families. Thank you to Panash, Dotty, Khadeeja, Thabit and Aleeza Parkar’s whanau/parents for their comments on their children’s learning. Also special thanks to Mackenzie and Georgia’s mum Sjaan, Haalia’s mum Jeena and Sophia’s mum Suyin for sharing some lovely photos and videos via EDUCA. Kaiako/teachers share these special moments on the smart board with tamariki/children and encourage them to talk about it. They also print and laminate the photos to keep the memory longer. Tamariki/children develop the ability to represent their discoveries and experiences using creative and expressive media and technology. We would like to see our parents and whanau using EDUCA actively and constantly. Thank you for your co-operation and support.

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LITTLE PEARLS EDUCATE CENTRE AUGUST, SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2015

“Malo e Lelei" Tongan Language

Week 30th August to 5th September

Thank you to Sinai for providing activities for tamariki/children to celebrate Tongan Language week. They made a special “Otai” drink mixing with grated coconut

and mango, milk and mango juice. She also got Tapa cloth and traditional kava bowl “Kumete” for display and talked to us and children/tamariki about what they used for. Thank you to Sinai’s mum for her generosity to gift us big Tapa cloth to keep at Little Pearls. Malo e lelei.

Sun Protection Policy It is Little Pearls’ policy that all tamariki/children and staff are required to wear a sunhat, sun block and suitable clothing at all times when outside during the summer months, between October and February and at other appropriate times. We have a strong “NO HATS, NO PLAY” policy. We ask all parents and whanau to please provide a named sun hat for your tamaiti/child that will stay at the centre, as the winter ones are now too warm for them. Thank you.

Children’s Clothing With a lot of the children’s clothes looking the same as well as being the same size, you can end up with either the wrong piece of clothing going into your child’s bag, or it could go missing by accident. So please remember to name all your child’s clothes with a permanent marker so there is no mix up. Could you please put two sets of spare clothes in your child’s bag just in case your child needs more than one change of clothes.

Congratulations for the Newborns Congratulations to Tania, Faiez and Adhamh on the arrival of their handsome baby son and brother Zachariah.

Staffing News Akesa joined under two’s team in September. She has been working part time because of her study and is going to graduate in November from University of Auckland. Akesa will be working full time after her graduation. Sinai and Tessa will be going to different centres to complete their practicum for a month. Instead, we will be having two student/teachers Deana (over two’s) and Erim (under two’s). Their profiles are displayed at the entrance and under if you would like to get more information about them.

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LITTLE PEARLS EDUCATE CENTRE AUGUST, SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2015

Teeny Tot Tiles Your tamaiti/child’s original art work or hand and foot print captured forever on a ceramic tile. A beautiful gift idea with memories to cherish forever. The cost is $12 per Tile to be paid (in cash) before the tile can be created. If you would like to order one or more tiles, please see your tamaiti/child’s teachers for an order form. Tiles need to be ordered and paid for by the 11th December. Megan is coming on Tuesday the 15th December to work with the children. Samples are displayed by the signing sheet and in the babies room. Thank you.

Abacus Fundraising Would you like your tamaiti/child’s art work or photo presented on a 2016 calendar, diary, notebook, mouse pad or turned into greeting cards? This is through Abacus Funding; we will be taking orders for these until the Friday, 20th November. They are wonderful to give as a present to someone you love. Please see your tamaiti/child’s teacher to order. Samples are displayed by the signing sheet. Thank you.

Sustainability – Rainwater Tank

We are happy to announce that we have installed rainwater tank to reduce water usage and water bills. Rainwater is a good source for using on our garden and flushing the toilets. We have been using it for a month but have to wait for autumn to get our tank to be full again due to the weather.

Voting for Vector Thank you to our parents and whanau who supported us to vote for “Little Pearls”. We are very proud to announce that our name came second on the list. Our application has been accepted and it means we will receive a Vector Solar system with a Tesla Energy Powerwall battery, free to use for ten years.  Photos for the Whanau / Family

Tree The kaiako/teachers have started to display your lovely photos on our whanau/family tree. It is pleasant to watch tamariki/children proudly showing their photos to each other and talking about their whanau/family. “Thank you” to our whanau/parents who have sent their photos for our whanau/family tree. If you haven’t, please e-mail the photos to contact@littlepearls.org.nz Thank you!

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LITTLE PEARLS EDUCATE CENTRE AUGUST, SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2015

Policies We regularly review policies and at the moment, we are reviewing Policies for Sun Protection, Sleep room Over three years & Sleep Room Under three years. We would like to hear your comments and feedback as your contribution is very important to us. The policies are displayed on the front entrance – by the “sign in” sheets. Please feel free to read over and comment. If you are happy with the policies and do not want to comment, please sign so that we know you have read them. Thank you.

Birthdays Congratulations

August: Aleeza Mohammed 1, Aleeza Parkar 3, Hanaa 3, Maxine 4, Noah 4, Yahya 4.

September: Annisa 4, Easton 3, Humzah 4, Rose 5. October: Lilly Gibbons 1.

Address: 2a Lorraine Ave, Mt Albert, Auckland 1025 Phone: +64 9 815 2277

www.littlepearls.org.nz

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LITTLE PEARLS EDUCATE CENTRE AUGUST, SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2015