POOH STICKS 2016 - A special community event

This last Saturday we have just had our Annual Pooh Sticks fundraiser. The raising of extra funds for our kindergarten community is vital to its success. This event is always a massive community effort and there was months of planning involved to make it come together. There have been many parents out in our community asking for sponsorship for this event, which created a very exciting prize pool. We have also had parents spending many hours in kindergarten organising signage, sorting ticket sales and making sure everything is in place to make this a great event for all. Also having all our families get on board with selling tickets and being a part of the event at Mair Park was of great support. It was fantastic to have such wonderful helpers on our stalls, selling raffles and goods, as well as having helpers painting faces and nails. We are so fortunate and grateful for everyone at Mairtown as you are the most supportive and hard working group of families who come together, take charge and make Pooh Sticks what it is.

“Unity is strength… when there is team work and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” (Stepanek)

The strong and meaningful relationships that we have with our kindergarten whānau is something that we value immensely. It is what makes Mairtown Kindergarten so special and such a lovely community to be a part of. Without these meaningful connections we have with our families our annual fundraising event would not be as successful. So it is from the bottom of our hearts when we say thank you so much to everyone who was involved in making it an amazing success.

“A community is made up of intimate relationships among diversified types of individuals – a kinship group, a neighbourhood, a village, a large family.” (Quigley)

This was such a wonderful, fun filled, affordable day out for everyone. It was so lovely to see everyone catching up or making new connections, while listening to the lovely music. This has a flow on effect to the way Mairtown Kindergarten runs and how we love to celebrate connectedness within our community.

A huge thank you goes out to all the business who kindly donated prizes and sponsored this event.

 Also we are very grateful for the girls from Whangarei intermediate (WIS Recovered) and the girls from Kamo intermediate for performing for us.

With all the generous support from our local community and wonderful kindergarten whānau we were able to raise a grand total of $6090.

This money is going towards upgrading our outdoor dry space and kindergarten, in particular getting roll down blinds to shelter us from the wind and rain. We really appreciate everyone’s effort to make this become a reality for our community based, not for profit service.

Next year we would like to change our Pooh Sticks from November to a ‘beginning of the year’ event. So mark March 2018 in your diaries for our next Pooh Sticks race.

“Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving.” (Rosso)

Once again, thank you so much for all your support.

Kindest regards

Zair

Mairtown's 60th Birthday Celebration

There was much excitement when the start of term four began on the 10^th of October, and so there should be as the tamariki were on the countdown to something worth celebrating. Something exceptional was happening on the 26^th October and every day at whanau time the tamariki and kaiako would count the days until that very special Wednesday.

It was Mairtown Kindergarten’s 60^th Birthday!!! Mairtown was the first kindergarten to be established in Whangarei in October 1956 and over the past 60 years has played an integral role in many children’s lives. We now have 3^rd generation family members returning to be a part of our kindergarten community. Te Whaariki recognises that ‘The wider world of family and community is an integral part of the early childhood curriculum. Children’s learning and development are fostered if the well-being of their community is supported; if their family, culture, knowledge and community are respected; and if there is a strong connection and consistency among all the aspects of the child’s world’. The lead up to the big day was so much fun as the tamariki planned the event from what to wear, what to play and even worked together to make the incredible party decorations.

It was decided that on the day you could dress up as anything your heart desired. We had spidermen, Elsa princesses, pirates, construction workers and even ballerinas. We also decided to play party games such as the much loved favourite pass the parcel, musical statues and 'Simon Said' and of course there had to be prizes. A shared kai was planned to bring all our kindergarten whanau together.

 The day started much like every other birthday party would, the tamariki arrived and everyone was so excited to see what everyone was dressed up as, and of course the kindergarten was decorated beautifully with balloons and a long party paper chain (that the children had made leading up to the day). The place and everyone looked fantastic.

It was a busy morning as we had Zair, Kate and the help of Kate (Arlo’s Mum) on the face painting table inside and outside Christine had a table on the go making and decorating party hats. 

"I liked getting my face painted and eating cake" Milla.

Whanau time came around and we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Mairtown and Mia (as our youngest child here at kindergarten) got to put a birthday sticker on the wall wherever she pleased. The tamariki got into four little groups and we played pass the parcel, which was a real treat as the tamariki all ended up with a prize. We also had a special visitor come and say hello, his name was Greg. He shared with us that he went to Mairtown Kindergarten in 1958 and to this very day he is still friends with some of his kindergarten friends, which we all thought was super cool. 

 As the day progressed the excitement never ended with lots of other party games played along the way, musical statues, Simon says and musical bumps. The tamariki and kaiako were having a marvellous day. With party mode in full force there was something we needed to do next, to sit down together with our whanau and visitors to share in the delicious array of kai that the kaiako and whanau brought in to celebrate Mairtown’s 60^th Birthday. Before we did that we needed to have cake because what’s a party if there’s no cake?

We all came together for a quick whanau time before lunch and we got to sing Happy Birthday to Mairtown again.  We thought it was fitting that Donna, Jane (Milla’s Mum) and Rafe (Lily’s Dad) who had attended Mairtown Kindergarten were asked to do the honours and blow out the candles on the cake. 

"I liked when my Dad got to blow out the candles and when we got to eat cake" Lily.

With the cake being done and the games all complete, there was only one thing to do, our mihi mo to kai so we could all go and enjoy the delicious food together. It was such a generous and delicious kai too. Thank you so much to all the whanau for bringing a plate of kai to share and taking time out of their day to be a part of this special celebration. We are so thankful to have such a wonderfully supportive community who come together for these types of events. The people of Mairtown are what make it and what continues to make it a beautiful place. 

“People coming together as a community can make things happen” (Jacob Rees-Mogg).

Can you spot Milla's Mum, Jane? 

A huge thank you once again to everyone that came along and joined us in this momentous occasion.

 He waka eke noa, We're all in this together.

From Kate

Hundertwasser inspired art, a beautiful tradition.

Each year at Mairtown, beginning in term 3, something exciting happens; the children begin creating their own individual art pieces ready to make into calendars, cards and diaries. This is a time of year that I love as a teacher at Mairtown; I love sitting down with each child, supporting them as they create, watching as their pieces unfold and noticing the pride and sense of accomplishment on each child’s face when they finally finish (after many days of effort).

At Mairtown, art and creativity is a very important aspect of our programme. We don’t see art as a rainy day activity or set our children up to create art pieces that all look the same and follow the same process, instead we cherish the arts. We offer children creative art experiences every single day, we provide good quality resources and support children as they begin their learning in the arts so they are successful, competent and proud of their effort and creations.

As we began our calendar work again this year, we called upon one of our favourite artists, one that our Mairtown children are true experts on, that of Friedensreich Hundertwasser. We have many lovely books at Kindergarten illustrating many of Hundertwasser's work, so the children were able to begin their work by choosing a piece of his that really captured their imagination and curiosity. When I sit and talk to the children about Hundertwasser's art pieces one thing I notice is how the children are naturally drawn to his use of bright, vibrant colours and how they interpret his pieces each in a very individual way, many seeing stories (they like to share with friends) in his work. I always encourage the children to dream and imagine, to tell and share their stories, to think about what a picture could be rather than what it is, as I firmly believe this strengthens their imaginative and critical thinking skills.

The creative arts are often thought of as unimportant, and are frequently the first programs to be cut when funds are low. However, the creative arts not only cultivate children’s imaginations, so that they become more flexible and inventive thinkers, but also help to develop their physical, emotional, and mental capabilities. As such, it is imperative that we work to integrate greater chances for young children to engage in the creative arts, for such measures will provide the foundation for later success (Chen, 2016)

What is so lovely about this kind of art is that as teachers we are able to work with just one or two children at a time. This allows us to thoroughly discuss and examine in depth the art that has provoked each child and we are part of witnessing, listening and observing each child’s creative wonderings. Over the months we engage with children on this work we can also see how children develop skills of sharing ideas, of using their imaginations and of building up a collection of ideas that ultimately enable them to see and appreciate perspectives which are different to their own.

‘Children’s interest in making art is increased if adults encourage them to talk about art and artists – who artists are and how they make things’ (Douglas, Schwartz and Taylor, 1981).

Despite inviting all our children to create a piece of art, a busy time for us, we are very mindful as teachers to support the children in an unhurried manner, never to rush or push their creativeness at a pace the children are not happy or comfortable with. Art pieces such as these take a great deal of time. We begin work with black vivid, later adding coloured dye and finishing with highlights of gold and silver pens. Although only seemingly a three step process, for children, who are still developing strength in the small muscles of their fingers, each step may be broken down into several more steps. Whilst some children love to try and finish so they can see their finished product, others take longer, enjoying the process of contemplation, of re-visiting, of adding on a little here and there, of watching their art pieces slowly develop.

‘Play and the creative arts in early childhood programmes are essential ways children communicate, think, feel and express themselves…Children succeed when they have access to a wide variety of art-making materials…and when they are surrounded by adults who see and believe in the creative competence of all children and are committed to their success in expressing themselves…Given these optimum circumstances, children surprise and delight us – they create structures and thoughts no one has seen or heard before’ (Drew and Rankin, 2004).

For many children creating an artistic piece is a risk and a challenge, and again working one-on-one or in small groups allows us as teachers to support these children in their endeavours to take that risk, to try and to experiment, after all this is how we gain the confidence in life that anything is possible.

Although we may have used Hundertwasser’s art as a provocation for the children’s work, I feel it is still vital for the children to make their own choices. In this year’s work, some of our children decided not to use Hundertwasser but created work inspired by the things that interest them personally. Each child has approached his/her creation differently; there was no right or wrong way to begin or to finish and as such the pieces once again this year are totally stunning.

Here are a few of this year’s collection I’d like to share with you:

At Mairtown we see all children as creative – full of imagination and wonder. We provide children with the tools to fuel their imaginations and to explore the language of art, I hope you have enjoyed looking at this year’s art, and know many of you will have some of these wonderful pieces hanging on your walls come the new year.

Until next time,

Christine