BBQ Fundraiser-Working Together

What an awesome turnout we had for our first fundraiser for our end of year excursion! 

With the helpful hands of our parents & whanau, and the organisation of our apii staff, our efforts are looking promising. 

Meitaki maata to all our parents/whanau, staff & friends who assisted with the preparation, cooking, selling, buying & cleaning up on the day.

An extra special 'Thank You' to the families who kindly gave koha/donations.

Apii Potiki is grateful for the time & kindness that was shared today.

Way to go TEAM!

Crazy Hair Day

Tamariki & teachers demonstrated their creative flare today when they arrived at apii looking rather different than normal...

Meitaki maata to all our tamariki & whanau who participated in our crazy hair day. In doing this, we are showing our tamariki that their interests are being listened to, and that their teachers do plan for ways in which children's interests can be explored further (Empowerment, Belonging, Contribution).

Before home time, we gathered to vote for who we thought had the best hair of the day. After the nominations were tallied up, the results showed to be a very close!

Overall, a great fun day was had by all. Meitaki whanau & teachers for supporting the interests of our tamariki!

The Last 4 Weeks...

We have been busy little explorers and learners over the last few weeks...

Our cultural dress up day followed on from our Cook Island Language Week Celebrations. Acknowledging the backgrounds of our tamariki encourages a sense of inclusion and belonging, and enables all of our children to know that they have a place at Apii Potiki.

On this particular day, our tamariki helped to create a mural that involved sharing thoughts and ideas about their cultures.

Our teacher Faith worked alongside our teacher Apii who showed us how to make 'Otai', a traditional Tongan drink using island fruits (yum).

'The feeling of belonging, in the widest sense, contributes to inner well-being, security, and identity' (Te Whariki).

Current Planning- 'Managing Self'

With different age groups learning together, there will be challenges from time to time. Challenges which teachers have noticed include tamariki demonstrating difficulties with- sharing, empathising, and solving disagreements.

Some strategies teachers have been using so far to promote positive behaviour include: visual wall displays, spontaneous group discussions/sharing times, encouraging tamariki to solve conflict with positive language (both verbal & non-verbal) & teachers role modelling positive behaviour etc.

'Children experience an environment where they are kept safe from harm when they develop a sense of responsibility for their own well-being and that of others...' (Te Whariki).

Tongan Language Week

A small group of us walked to Te Oro to experience some Tongan talent. A few local Tongan preschools put on a wonderful show of song and dance. 

Thanks to our own talented multi-lingual teacher Apii, for being our interpreter, and keeping us informed of what was happening.

Gym Time

Monday gym time continues to be a happy time for our tamariki. 

Active movement is a great way for our tamariki to develop and strengthen not only physically, but also emotionally. Continuous displays of growing self-confidence, and self-empowerment for our tamariki during gym sessions are being demonstrated every time we hear them say words like - "I can do it!"

and "I did it!"

Birthdays & Transitions

Happy Birthday to so many of our August & September tamariki!!!

Our recent ones being Pita who turned 2 & moved to the Over 2's, and Finau who turned 5 & will be starting at Glen Innes Primary School on Monday 19th September. All the best Finau! 

Poppy Shaped Biscuits & ANZAC Medals

Following on from the last few days where we created our window poppy garden, we decided we would try baking some poppy shaped cookies.

Many of our tamariki chose to participate, especially when they saw that there was chocolate involved:)

During this experience tamariki demonstrated curiosities toward colour, texture, taste, and smell.

'Tamariki develop strategies for actively exploring and making sense of the world by using all the senses' - Exploration Te Whariki - Goal 2.

ANZAC Medals 

Our teachers May and Terri implemented the idea of ANZAC into children's outdoor play today when they discussed how soilders were presented medals as a sign of recognition and bravery. From here, tamariki were presented with an opportunity to create their own medals using glue and collage pieces.

'Children develop awareness of connections between events and experiences within and beyond their Apii'

Belonging-Goal 2.

Parent Contribution Fosters a Sense of Belonging

Building relationships with our local community is always an important part of developing a sense of belonging for our families/whanau & tamariki & staff within our apii.

One of the ways we encourage this is by displaying pictures of buildings that surround our centre.

When Hemi & Jasmine's mum (Esther) saw a photo of their church on our apii wall, she kindly offered to set up a visit for our tamariki. Esther even offered her time to walk with our small group down to the church for the visit.

During our time at the church, tamariki and teachers were invited in by Dez, who kindly gave us a tour, and explained the church's purpose in our community. 

Jasmine and Hemi were also keen to share their experiences with their church, with their apii friends.

Meitaki Esther! Thank you so much for making this trip possible. We truly appreciate your support.

Meet & Greet Parent Evening

We would like to thank all our parents, whanau, and staff for taking part in our very first Meet & Greet Evening for 2016.

This evening was about everyone coming together to meet in a relaxed environment.

Fun activities were on tonight's agenda, and our families did not disappoint with their willingness to have a go.

Well done everyone!!! Your support means so much not only to our staff, but also to your children. You should all be proud!

Apii Potiki staff hope that all our families enjoyed themselves, just as much as we enjoyed having you. 

Our on going aim is to foster a sense of 'Belonging' for our families, this is also reflected within our early childhood curriculum as it suggests...

"Parents and whanau should be welcomed and be comfortable and involved in the programme in ways that are meaningful to them and their child, with opportunities provided for parents to meet each other " (Te Whariki p55).

MEITAKI MAATA

Niuean Language Week

This week we provided our tamariki with opportunities to get involved in celebrating Niuean Language Week...

There was lots of cooking; coconut bread, banana and coconut cake, and a spinach and corned beef dish with green bananas. We also got busy with the arts; paper weaving and making kahoa (flower lei).

Our teacher Mary taught us an action song, while Deidre helped us make our Niuean flags.

Jane and Luisi (friends from our local community) came to read us some Niuean stories, and to end our week celebration, Mama Tere and Rangi cooked up an island feast-delicious!

Fakaaue Lahi (thank you) to our tamariki for wanting to get involved and participate, and also to all our staff for supporting our Niuean culture!