After some very settled weather during March and April, May has begun to bring us some more winter like weather. With things being a bit wetter and cooler we need to change our planning a little for the days when we were stuck inside. It is very easy to get used to being able to go outside during the warmer weather that when we can’t, we often feel a little lost.

Transition

During March, April and May Jackson has been joined in his transition by Jacob, Eleanor, Ashleigh, Harrington and Audrey. It is a big change within our room when we lose a large number of children at once, but for the children it is supportive to know that they are doing it alongside their peers.

During March, April and May Jackson has been joined in his transition by Jacob, Eleanor, Ashleigh, Harrington and Audrey. It is a big change within our room when we lose a large number of children at once, but for the children it is supportive to know that they are doing it alongside their peers.
We fare welled Noah and his family once again as they move to Germany to live for the next three years.

Welcomes

During these past three months we have welcomed Eva, Neave, Liam K, Patrick, Jack, Monte, Ivana, Pippa, Archer and Myles into our area.

Our Garden

Vicky planted some parsley seeds at the end of February with Harrington, Eleanor and Ada and Vicky is very proud to see them sprouting away in the garden.We have continued to enjoy eating the pears and apples from our trees and have had so many that we have frozen a few so we can continue to enjoy them through winter and we have also had them out on our sharing table for families to help themselves to.

We have continued to enjoy eating the pears and apples from our trees and have had so many that we have frozen a few so we can continue to enjoy them through winter and we have also had them out on our sharing table for families to help themselves to.We have now planted some winter vegetables so will be able to incorporate them into our baking during the colder months of the year.

We have now planted some winter vegetables so will be able to incorporate them into our baking during the colder months of the year.

Our Focus

Our room focus has now moved onto a communication focus, which we have titled ‘How do I express myself?’ We have a wide ranging age of children and within this focus will be able to look at verbal language, developing positive non-verbal language along with communication through music, dance, stories and embracing different cultures. Please feel free to share with us ways in which you and your child communicate at home. Special words your child may have for items or actions as well as any new words in foreign languages that we could be incorporating into our daily program. The teachers are always willing to try even if our pronunciation may not be perfect.

As part of this we had a dress up on Friday 20th May, in which we saw many of our children dressed up as a favourite book character and brought along their book to share with everyone.Thank you to the parents who helped their child to dress up for our book character day, it was great to see people thinking outside the square and to see the children so involved in all the fun.

Thank you to the parents who helped their child to dress up for our book character day, it was great to see people thinking outside the square and to see the children so involved in all the fun.

Your Child’s Profile Book

While your child is at Cherry’s we are the authors of your child’s profile book, but they remain your child’s. Please feel free to take it home to look at the progress and adventures that your child has been up to as well as share these special moments with family and whanau and perhaps add some photos or stories of your own. If you do chose to take your child’s please remember to return it quickly so that we can continue to add your child’s stories to it.

If once you have read the stories in your childs book and you find you have a skill or knowledge that could extend or enhance our focus, please share this with your childs primary caregiver. It is wonderful to know of people who we can call on for something new to happen in our room.

Students

As a centre we support a variety of training providers by welcoming students and supporting their learning alongside our daily routines and children.

Kirsty and Julie have both been associates for the students who come into our area.

Over February and the beginning of March we welcomed Hannah into our room. Hannah was a third year student and was with us for five weeks. During her time with us Hannah developed some lovely relationships with our children, especially Alex, who knew that Hannah would always read him a story.
Then during May we had an extra Tash in our room. Tash was a second year student and was with us for four weeks. Tash brought a great confidence with te reo Maori to our room and was able to share phrases with our team.

Staff Profile

Gillian – Centre Manager

Kia ora I have been working in Early Childhood for 15 years and have been the Manager at Maryhill since we opened in 2009. I enjoy my job, the mix of administration, interacting with families and time on the floor working with the children really suits me. I am married to Paul (32 years) and have been blessed with 4 incredible sons, 2 amazing daughters-in-law and an adorable 18-month-old grandson and another on the way. I love the café culture in Christchurch and frequently make good use of them catching up with friends on my Tuesday off or the weekend. Paul and I have recently finished renovating and restoring our bungalow house and are now turning our attention to a bit of travelling. I also enjoy watching cricket and am a big fan of the Black Caps and just love the Hagley Oval. Something you may not know about me is in the late 1980’s we owned and operated a dairy.

Enviroschools

We hope you have all been able to have a look at our Seaweek artwork, which has been displayed in the foyer. All though we made it through as one of the finalist, in the end we didn’t win. But on the other hand the older children’s areas artwork did win and we congratulate them on their wonderful art.
During March we celebrated Earth hour. This is an initiative which helps us to learn more about climate change and what we can do to support our world. On Thursday 17 March, lights were turned off (where it was safe to do so) in line with the actual Earth Hour which was on Saturday 19 March, where cities around the world turn their lights off for an hour at 8.30pm.Matariki happens in June, this is the celebration of Maori New Year. We have been working at learning our matariki song, which names all the stars in the Pleiades star cluster as well as learning twinkle twinkle in Germany to go with our English and Maori versions.

Matariki happens in June, this is the celebration of Maori New Year. We have been working at learning our matariki song, which names all the stars in the Pleiades star cluster as well as learning twinkle twinkle in Germany to go with our English and Maori versions.

More about Enviroschools was discussed at our Hot topics parent evening.

Our Hot Topics Parent Evening

Thanks to all those who came along to our parent evening at the end of May. Together the whole centre team put together a very informative evening, sharing our Early Childhood curriculum, what enviro schools is and how we facilitate it at Cherrys. Then the evening ended with three primary teachers sharing about what to expect as your child moves onto primary school. If you weren’t able to make this even and would like to know about any of our subjects, please don’t hesitate to ask any of our staff.

Thanks to all those who came along to our parent evening at the end of May. Together the whole centre team put together a very informative evening, sharing our Early Childhood curriculum, what enviro schools is and how we facilitate it at Cherry’s. Then the evening ended with three primary teachers sharing about what to expect as your child moves onto primary school. If you weren’t able to make this event and would like to know about any of our subjects, please don’t hesitate to ask any of our staff.

Common Maori Phrases We Use

We thought that we would share with you some of the Maori phrases that the teachers use throughout the day at Cherry’s.

  • Harae mai tamariki ma, ko te wa waiata ~ come here children it’s time for music
  • Horoi to kanohi ~ wash your face (often said after meal times, where we also encourage our children to get their own face cloth and try to wash their face, before we support them)
  • Kia pai to moe ~ have a nice sleep

Reminders

  • Now that the weather is getting cold, please remember to bring a warm coat and hat for your child. We do try to get outside every day and tend not to let a little cold weather stop us.
  • Over the winter we are happy for your child to wear gumboots for when it is wet, but we request that you also bring a pair of shoes or slippers for your child to wear while they are inside.
  • Please don’t forget to keep an eye on the jacket basket for any lost property.
  • A date to mark in your diary is the 1st of July, which is a family night to celebrate Matariki. We have a shared dinner and the children present to the parents a small number of songs.