Events

Active Movement Gold Accreditation

The staff at Hurupaki Kindergarten are passionate about Active Movement, reinforced by the fact that they are the first centre in Northland to be awarded with the Active Movement Gold Accreditation.

For an early childhood centre to attain an Active Movement Gold accreditation a centre must meet certain criteria and have a lot of commitment from the staff. A centre must provide inside and outside space for active play and have static and moveable equipment for children to use. The centre must have an Active Movement Policy, Nutrition Policy and a Healthy Heart Award from the New Zealand Heart Foundation. Staff must be positive role models in all these areas creating daily opportunities to promote Active Movement in the centre.

To progress to Gold status Hurupaki Kindergarten needed to ensure that they displayed evidence of Active Movement around the Kindergarten and in regular newsletters, encouraging parents that they can use Active Movement outside kindergarten to enhance children’s’ learning and development. Hurupaki has hosted an Active Movement workshop for parents to increase awareness. Staff have also attended workshops on Active Movement and brought ideas back to use in the centre and run parent workshops.

Hurupaki Kindergarten is currently encouraging and supporting other kindergartens to implement the Perceptual Movement Programme into their centres.

NKA Kauri Scholarship Award winners 2011

Nature Forest Scholarship - Mairtown Kindergarten

Mairtown Team - Jane Craven, Kim Townsend, Christine Alford

The team will bring Forest play initiatives into urban based centres and will utilize existing park areas for the children to explore. A member of the team will also attend Fiordland Kindergarten and see firsthand “Nature Education Programme” run by Claire Maley-Shaw.

Active Movement Scholarship - Onerahi Kindergarten

Onerahi Team - Madhu Graham, Annette Quinn, Sue Guiney

This team have made a commitment to each other to involve the community in which they are part of to become more involved with the active movement and physical development of the children. They will have Gill Connell to advise them and they wish to purchase PMP equipment for their kindergarten.

Individual Choice Scholarship - Ruawai Kindergarten

Ruawai Team - Sara McKinley, Alishya Chircop

This scholarship will focus on a topic of much debate and concern to the ECE sector: the lack of male teachers within ECE. Ruawai Kindergarten want to attend the 2011 Men in Early Childhood Summit, “to develop an insight as to how we can best meet the needs of male role models in our kindergarten environment, including how we might attract and retain qualified male teachers”. They intend to liase with their local Secondary College to develop a “gateway programme” that supports the inclusion of male college students at their kindergarten. This is great initiative and we will be monitoring with interest the progress of this team.

Outward Bound Scholarships

Laura Stevens & Paula Shaw

Special Service Awards

For leadership, dedication, professionalism and integrety the recipient of the NKA Special Service Award is the Head Teacher Riverside Kindergarten, Shelley Shennan.

Shelly Shennan

Special Service Gold Awards

Jane Craven has worked tirelessly for 33 continuous years at Mairtown Kindergarten as Head Teacher, supporting families and children and training numerous teachers throughout her career.

Effie Lints, Jane Craven, Grant Harrison

Helen White has 31 years service within the NKA. Helen has taught in 5 Kindergartens, been a Head Teacher in three of them and worked tirelessly getting the families and community involved in Kindergarten.

Helen White, Grant Harrison

Loud Shirt Day 2010

Friday, 17 September 2010 was Loud Shirt Day, raising funds for The Hearing House and the Southern Cochlear Implant Pediatric Programme. These two independent charities are dedicated to enabling deaf children to be able to hear and speak like other people with the aid of cochlear implants. Neither charity charges deaf children or their families for their services.

Several kindergartens (and the members of the Association team) got right behind this fundraiser, wearing some VERY interesting shirts!