Smart Start Montessori Preschools

22 Ellerton Road and 99 Grange Road, Mt Eden, Ph 623-0097

Website: www.smartstart.school.nz

Email: info@smartstart.school.nz

Newsletter

Term 4 October 2015

Hi to our lovely Montessori community!

I hope you were able to take advantage of some of the beautiful weather on Labour weekend!

Thank you to all of you for attending our annual concert last term! You were a fantastic audience, and our little ones really enjoyed practicing and performing on the day for you all!

Thank you for attending our Concert! We had so much fun!!!

All children are settling well into the new term, where “Dinosaurs” is a topic of interest growing with the children. They have been busy working on some beautiful artwork for Abacus fundraising calanders, diaries, note pads and Mouse mats, available for you to choose from next week. They make great Christmas presents for family and friends!

The final day of this term before our Christmas holiday program (21st, 22nd and 23rd December 2015) is the 18th December 2015. Term 1, 2016 opens on the 2nd February. However thank you to all those

wonderful parents who took time to give me valuable feedback, we will now open from 18 th January 2016, right through to when we begin Term 1, 2016. Please look for holiday program via email and at the sign in/out desk, available from 23rd November.

Important Dates:

Diwali Festival of Lights– 11th November 2015

Fish and Chip Night – 13th November 2015 at Centennial Park-Marsden Rd

Parent/Teacher Interviews – 26th November 2015

Grandparents Week – 30th November through to 4th November 2015

Santa’s visit and Christmas Singalong – 11th December 2015

Holiday Programs – 21st, 22nd and 23rd December 2015

- 18th January until 29th January 2016

New Students

A big welcome to our new students who have started or will be starting this term: Isaac Zhou and Tom’s little brother, Max Gaskell! We hope you enjoy your time and learning with us at Smart Start.

NZ Shakeout

We participated in NZ Shakeout, in order to bring awareness of what to do if there is an earthquake.

Supporting Smart Start’s clever family businesses

Sports First your local specialist in Cricket Hockey Tennis Lacrosse & Soccer

$5 off any purchase over $30, 415 Dominion Road Mt Eden www.sports-first.co.nz”

Enrollment for Siblings

Please help me give priority to Smart Start children’s brothers and sisters, by filling out an enrollment form, with ALL sections signed, and returning it as soon as possible. Please note there is no enrollment fee for siblings. This way, where I can, I will hold sessions/days for your little poppets, so they can be with their older brothers and sisters, and drop off will be so much easier!

Newsletter – Email

If any families, are not receiving emails from Smart Start Montessori, and wish to receive the newsletter by email please forward your email address to: info@smartstart.school.nz or contact Rebecca Ph 623-0097

Sign in/sign out sheets

Please ensure you sign your child in and out of Smart Start. The Ministry has very strict rules. If there is no signature, we receive no funding.

Allergies

Just a reminder about the danger of allergies for our little ones. We have children at both schools with severe allergies. We ask that the following be excluded from lunch boxes; Peanuts and any food containing peanuts. Please note the other nuts are now permitted. Some packaging states that the food within may contain traces of nuts. As long as the nuts aren’t part of the ingredients, this is alright to include this in your child’s lunchbox. Seeds are fine as well. We kindly thank all parents for their consideration in this matter. For birthdays and graduations, if you want to provide something for the children to share, fruit platters or fruit kebabs are an excellent healthy option, and this means that no child is left out.

Birthday Celebrations-Montessori Way

In Montessori we celebrate birthdays by showing the child’s timeline (from birth to their current age) in the form of photos (one photo for each year). You are welcome to bring photos of each year for your child to celebrate their milestones. If you wish to bring some food to share with the children, it would be helpful to bring fruit platters and/or popcorn in keeping with promoting healthy eating habits. There is no need to bring any goodie bags for this occasion.

Graduations

In celebrating graduations, if you wish to give children gifts individually, please consider something educational for the school instead so that all our children can benefit. For example, a book, a puzzle or a board game.

Leaving Policy

Please note 6 weeks notice is required to withdraw your child from preschool. This notice must be received in writing. Please note that this notice needs to be given during term time i.e. not during the holidays. We understand that circumstances can change over the summer holidays, however due to many of our families and those on the waiting list being away, we are unable to contact them and organize spaces to be filled.

Portfolios

Please take some time to catch up on your child’s portfolio, and add your voice, but remember to bring it back please.

Turning 5 years old

If your child is turning 5 years old in Term 1 2015, please contact Rebecca in the office to confirm leaving date. If your child’s birthday falls over half way through the term, we recommend they stay with us to the end of term so as to allow for an easier transition into school.

Term Dates 2015/2016

Term 4 ends- Friday 18th December 2015

Xmas Holiday Program- 21st, 22nd, and 23rd December 2015

Summer Holiday Program-18th January-29th January 2016

Term 1 - 2nd February 2016- 15th April 2016

Term 2 - 2nd May – 8th July 2016