Parent and Whanau Newsletter March 09

Thanks to those who braved the weather to come to our Family Dinner, a great time was had by all. In fact the weather didn't hinder us at all. It is great to see families connecting and new friendships being made. Don't forget the Parents Dinner at The Landing on the 20th March.

What's going on at the Corner???

Weddings, marriage and dramatic play seem to be the big interest and have been for a while. It all began at the beginning of the year when we put out some new white dress up clothes and Rowan saw some wedding photos at home. Since then many ceremonies have been held, and veils, invitations and bouquets created. From there we have looked at different dresses in magazines, made our own wedding books and now we have moved on to planning and creating our own outfits.

Thanks to all those parents who have been involved by bringing in their wedding photos and to Dianna for the wedding party outfits. It has been a great experience for us all, trying to create a space where children's learning is visible and having parents input. If your child is re-creating wedding situations or sharing ideas with you at home, please let us know so we can add to our wall. For those who have not seen our "Learning Journey" wall please take the time to have a read.

The sewing machine has been very popular, with all manner of creations designed and made by the children. We thought a fashion show of the children's incredible creations would be great, so watch out for your invitation.

The children have thoroughly enjoyed caring for and gently cuddling our new guinea pigs and the 3 babies. Soon Fluffy and Jemima will be available to take home in the weekends.

Professional Development

The teachers have begun attending workshops run by the University of Waikato to enhance our assessment and communication of your amazing children's learning. Gina as our leader came back buzzing from the first workshop and the introductory workshow was valuable. We can see that there will be many benefits and we look forward tosharing what we are learning. One of the initial readings on praising children really stood our to all of us teachers, so we have summarised this for our over the page. We would love to hear what you think about it.

We say goodbye to our friend Katka (student from Bethlehem Institute) and say hello to Jill (student from University of Canterbury). Jill is in her second year and will be with us for two weeks.

We welcome Andrea Brydon as one of our relievers. We are sure your children will value her experience as with Janet Horn our other reliever.

UP COMING EVENTS

* Bus trip to the country, 24 March please fill out the permission slip and pay $3 if not already done so.

* Parents Social Dinner. Come join us at The Landing on Friday 20th March 7.30pm. We will have some reliable babysitters if your require.

* A Fashion Show, Tuesday 31st and Friday 3rd April at 9am. Please bring a plate to share for morning tea. All Mum's, Dad's, Caregivers, Grandparents and Aunties and Uncles welcome.

Thanks for all your support.

God Bless,

Cathy, Gina, Corina, Gary, Jody and Dianne