NEWSLETTER December 2011 Kia ora koutou, As this is the last newsletter of the year, I wanted to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a fantastic 2012. It has been another great year at Preschool and it is incredibly rewarding to see such confident, wonderful little people making the most of our awesome resources, exciting outdoor areas to explore and our amazing, hard working, dedicated teaching staff who offer so many creative ideas to enhance our children's minds. Thank you to you all. This year we have completed more landscaping to further enhance the children’s experiences in the outdoors, we have had some exciting trips like the Swannanoa Airfield, Mitre 10 Rangiora, Market Day at Swannanoa School and the four year olds are heading to Wee Dram Farm next week. Our Hangi last week was a great success again and an enjoyable time was had by all. These are fabulous experiences that the children enjoy so thank you to the staff and parent helpers who make these possible. Our committee has had a productive year keeping up with maintenance and repairs, new resources, policy reviews, working bees, fundraising, outdoor development, library and book fundraising, coffee mornings, and much more but if you have any suggestions or ideas we would love to hear from you. We wish Marie all the best with the arrival of her first child early next year and look forward to meeting him/her! We also wish Viv all the best with her new role at Nursery School in Rangiora. They are very lucky to get you and you will be greatly missed! Finally, thank you to Deanna and your lovely team of ladies, my awesome and funny committee members and all the wonderful families that make our Preschool the very best there is! Merry Christmas and I look forward to seeing you at our Christmas party. Arohanui Bex Tidball, Chairperson Haere Mai, A very big THANK YOU to a wonderful Committee, who have been a great support to the staff, family and community of Swannanoa. Your enthusiasm and dedication is appreciated. We look forward to another great year working with you. Sadly, Viv is leaving us due to a position of advancement. Her final date is Friday 16th December. Viv has been a great asset to our centre and a wonderful teacher, we wish her all the best. We are actively seeking another qualified teacher to fill Viv’s position, we will keep you up-to-date with our progress. Congratulations to Chontelle Thompson who has been appointed as the new nursery teacher while Marie is on maternity leave. Chontelle will complete her training next year and has been a student at the centre. Chontelle’s daughter Peyton also attends the Nursery. Unfortunately, we have had to close the Over Two Waiting List and are not take any more enrolments until further notice. Deanna Hart, Centre Manager Christmas Holidays CENTRE CLOSED; 12pm Friday 23rd December, 2011 CENTRE OPENED; 9am Tuesday 17th January, 2011 DATES TO REMEMBER REMEMBER Thursday 1st December - Pet Day Thursday 1st December - First day of Summer Friday 9th December - Christmas Party Saturday 25th December - Christmas Day Sunday 26th December - Boxing Day NEWS FROM THE NURSERY A VERY BIG Thank You to Jaz for her organisation of the working bee and thank you to everyone involved……well, the end of the year is coming and so is that exciting time, Christmas. Jan, Marie, Chontelle and Ange would like to take this opportunity to thank all our family/whanau for their ongoing support during the year — it has been a very challenging year for everyone. We wish Marie and Shane all the best with their new exciting adventure, sleepless nights and all….. There are lots more exciting things going to be happening in our outdoor environment, so keep an eye on that. We have been busy practicing for the Christmas concert with the Over Two’s and the children look forward to being able to show you their amazing singing and dancing talents on the day. Don’t forget that the learning journals are available for you to view or add things to, you may even want to take them home at Christmas time and add those amazing Christmas holiday snaps that you will all be having. We love to see these and share with the children when they come back. Just remember to let a teacher know if you do decide to take it home so that we are able to keep track of them, they are very precious. The Nursery Staff wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and safe New Year and we look forward to seeing you all back in the new year whether it be in the nursery or in the Over Two’s. Happy Holidays to Everyone!! PRESCHOOL NEWS Thank you to ….. New World, Rangiora, for the $50 voucher towards our Hangi. J.R.’s Barr & Grill for four $50 vouchers to be included in our raffle. To those people who gave of their time to help out at our working bee: Chris Squire, Jared Hazeldine, Andy McKinlay-Clark, Keith Eleftheriou, Scott Downs, Mark Palmer, Charlie Lister, Richard Ryan, Gordi Meyer, Kevin Gracey Hazeldine Construction for the use of their digger and Jared’s time and resources to remove the concrete. Christchurch Demolition & Salvage Ltd for cutting up the concrete for removal. Staff and committee for donations for the Hamper. Christmas is nearly here. The children are practising for the party — prepare to be amazed at how talented they all are. Please name your child’s belongings, hats, clothes, lunchboxes, drink bottles. Many children have the same items making it difficult for teachers to ensure children have the correct items. Please return preschool clothing - we are getting low on spare clothing especially underwear. Also, we are missing some clothing belonging to some of the children - can you please return any clothing which does not belong to your child. All items in the Lost Property section are being donated to charity at the end of the year — please check to see if any item belongs to you. Please remember we are a peanut free preschool. Finally, the Over Twos team would like to extend their thanks to everyone for helping to make 2011 a great year for the children. We wish you all a safe and happy holiday season, and we look forward to 2012. Hangi We would like to extend a huge thank you to all of those who assisted /organised/ attended the Hangi on 16th November — it was a great success — for the preparation special thanks must go to: Jasmine Hazeldine, John Te Amo, Austin Tidball, Bex Tidball, Starla Tidball, Megan Bryant, Nepia Rewati, Ann Te Amo, Andy Dennis, Nicola McKinlay Clark, Jared Hazeldine, Karen Dennis, Richie Moyle, Craig Brown. Also, to those who made donations, which made the day possible: - Hazeldine Construction for the digger - Henry Family who donated the sheep and Robin Brown of Rangiora New World who donated the meat - Squire family for donating the pumpkins. CHRISTMAS Last year the children enjoyed baking a Christmas cake and making decorations. If you can help out by coming in to bake or make decorations please talk to a teacher. OTHER NEWS REMINDER; The teatowels hand printed by the children are in the office if you would like to order some….these will make wonderful Christmas presents. A wonderful link which would be a real treat for all of you who would like to hear from Santa this year - http://www.portablenorthpole.tv 23 November 2011 To the Community of Swannanoa Preschool Kia Ora, my name is Tracey Biss and I am currently doing a Master’s Thesis in Education at the University of Waikato through the Centre for Scientific and Technology Educational Research. It had been recommended to me by colleagues at the University of Canterbury that Swannanoa Preschool, due to their commitment to ‘education for sustainability’, would be a site of interest for my research project. My research question is entitled, ‘Exploring the influence of education for sustainability in early childhood education, how does it impact on children’s actions in later years? It is hoped that the findings of this project will inform national curriculum review and guide environmental and sustainability programmes in early childhood and primary schools within New Zealand. The children chosen for the focus group are those who have attended the preschool and demonstrated a keen interest in the environmental programme and have now moved to school. I would like to thank the team and committee for allowing me the opportunity to work alongside the teachers and families. A big thanks to Kerry and Ashleigh for their role as liaison teachers. All Early Childhood Education Service Managers 4 November 2011 So far this year, New Zealand has had 387 measles cases, which is the highest total since 1997. Most of these have been from the Auckland region (307 cases), and most of the Auckland cases have occurred since the start of the current outbreak on 30 May (278 cases). Most cases have occurred in unimmunised people, and immunisation remains the best way to prevent infection and spread within the community. Measles affects both children and adults, and is highly contagious. Measles symptoms Measles is a highly infectious disease and is more serious than many people realise. Symptoms include fever, rash, cough, red eyes and a runny nose, and then a rash which develops around 3 days after the other symptoms start. Complications include middle ear infections, pneumonia, and, more rarely, encephalitis or brain inflammation. So far this year more than 70 people with measles have needed hospital treatment (around 1 in 5 cases this year). The best measles prevention is the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine which is free for all New Zealand children. It is also free for adults who need it (this is if you are born from 1 January 1969 and have not been fully immunised). Prior to 1969, New Zealand did not have a national measles immunisation programme and as measles is so infectious, it is very likely that most people born before 1969 were exposed to the virus and developed immunity. Prevent measles at your early childhood service Prevent measles from spreading by: 1. Inform staff, parents and caregivers of the measles outbreak and the possibility that measles may continue to spread to other parts of the country. 2. Updating your Immunisation Register. These must be maintained by all Early Childhood Education Centres under the Health (Immunisation) Regulations 1995. This allows unimmunised children who have been in contact with someone with measles to be quickly identified to help reduce the risk of further spread. 3. Asking staff, parents and caregivers to make sure that their immunisations and their children’s immunisations are up-to-date. Anyone born from 1 January 1969 should ensure they are fully immunised against measles. If they are unsure, they can check with their family doctor. Note that young children in some areas, especially Auckland, may be offered early immunisation at the moment, with the first dose at 12 months of age, followed by a second dose one month later (the usual schedule is MMR immunisation at 15 months and 4 years). Measles at your early childhood service: 1. If a child becomes unwell with possible measles while at your service, ensure that they are kept separate from other children while waiting to be taken home. This helps minimise the risk of measles spreading. 2. Medical Practitioners are required to notify the local medical officer of health of any suspected cases of measles. Public health or primary health care staff will be able to give you information and advice (this may include directing you to the local public health service webpage).. 3. A child or teacher with measles should stay away from ECE services for five to seven days from the appearance of the rash or until recovery, depending on the advice of the local medical officer of health. Also, on advice from the medical officer of health your unimmunised children*, or those with no immunity to measles, who have been in close contact with a measles case during the infectious stages may be asked to stay away from the service for 14 days from their last contact * being fully immunised means having the appropriate number of immunisations (1 or 2) depending on age. Adults and children aged 4 and older should have received two MMR doses. If you have questions about the Ministry of Education requirements please contact your local Ministry of Education office. You can find contact details at http://www.minedu.govt.nz/Contact. More information For further health information on measles and measles immunisation please visit the Ministry of Health website http://www.moh.govt.nz/measles or the Immunisation Advisory Centre website http://www.immune.org.nz<http://www.immune.org.nz/> . You can also call the Immunisation Advisory Centre toll-free on 0800 IMMUNE (0800 466 863) for advice. If you think you or someone in your family might have measles, please phone your doctor. You can also call Healthline 0800 611 116 for advice (Healthline is a free service that operates 24 hours every day). If you would like to discuss any of the issues in this letter, please contact your local public health service. You can find more information at http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/contact-us-public-health-services We understand that this is a busy time of year for early childhood education services. We appreciate your support in helping to inform your staff and your community about measles, and the steps they can take to protect themselves, their children and their community from this preventable disease. Yours sincerely Dr Mark Jacobs, Director of Public Health, Ministry of Health Be River Safe SWIMMING IN RIVERS Sarah Lodge, Injury Prevention Coordinator, Waimakariri District Council Swimming in a river is not like swimming in a pool or in the sea: Drowning takes less than one minute and is very quiet. Even children who are competent swimmers should be supervised. The supervisor should be out of the river. Rivers change every day - Before getting in CHECK: 1. The depth of the water. The water may be deeper or shallower than you think. 2. What is beneath the water? There may be obstacles you can’t see washed into the swimming hole. 3. Strong current? 4. Don’t get into muddy water• 5. Don’t get in near bridges either upstream or downstream of it as they change the flow of the river. Currents Many people do not understand the force of water in a river. If you swim out of a swimming hole into the river current you can be swept down the river by the force of the water. You could be pulled underwater by the force of the current or pushed against an obstacle like a rock and be trapped and drown. The current can be strong even if the river looks calm and the water is slow moving. You don’t float as well in river water as you do in sea water If you are in a river current and try to put your feet down your foot could become trapped under rocks If you get into River Trouble  A land-based rescue is the best option.  Follow the person in trouble down the river bank.  Find a safe place where the person may be able to swim towards the bank and you can reach out over the river.  Use an object like a kayak paddle or a tree branch to reach out over the river.  Encourage the person in trouble to grab the branch or paddle and hang on.  Pull them to the river bank and help them out.  If you can’t help… encourage the person to turn on their back and float feet first down the river - you may be able to throw the person a buoyant object like a bucket, chilly bin or ball that they can hang onto and use to keep themselves afloat. COMMUNITY PAGE (Please feel free to contribute to this page) TREES FOR SALE Swannanoa School Fundraiser. Many amazing trees donated by a local grower, includes Flowering Cherries, Maples, Elms, Magnolias, Cornus, Robina Mop Tops Most $20 - $50 – the cheapest around We will be potting up on Friday 12th August, and you are welcome to come and shop or pick up your orders. email: rhysjodobson@xtra.co.nz CHATHAM ISLAND BLUE COD FILLETS (FROZEN) 5kg - $135. Contact Jasmine Hazeldine on 027-3344737 LIVE/LOVE/DANCE JAZZ SCHOOL Will be commencing classes in Swannanoa for Term 3 Will be holding creative movement programme incorporating jazz and ballet suitable for three and four year olds. Develops motor skills, musicality and confidence Props used to add interest and excitement Contact Sarah Johnsone at Phone: 312-0585 Clarkville Play Centre Spaces available for all ages from Monday to Thursday 9:15am to 12:00 midday. All welcome to visit. Funding available – Enquiries to Trish (03) 312-0593. C4 COFFEE Fund Raiser for Swannanoa School (All proceeds to the school) Paula Griffith-Jones is making her wonderful coffee/hot chocolate available to all at Swannanoa School Hallin the mornings from 8.30am til 9.00am Mon – Fri