Pongo pānui/ September Term 3 newsletter 2025
Kia ora koutou,
Just like that, we’ve finished Term 3 and are heading into our final term of the year!
We’ve had a few new families join us since the last newsletter was sent out, so a big welcome to all our new whānau. Everyone is settling in really well at Moa.
Lots of things have been happening behind the scenes at Moa, making it a very busy few months for our management and wonderful governance committee. I want to thank everyone for all their hard work, a community-based centre cannot survive without an active governance team, and we are so lucky to have the best whānau at Moa.
On that note, I want to say a huge thank you as we say goodbye to Steve Liew (Sophie’s dad), who has been on the governance committee for nearly five years. During this time, Steve has worn many hats, committee member, assistant chair, stepping in as chairperson multiple times, and most significantly, the amazing mahi he’s done in the treasurer role. I personally cannot thank Steve enough for the support he has given me and the management team along the way. While he’ll still be supporting us from afar over the next few months as we transition to a new treasurer, he officially steps down this month.
A big thank you to everyone who came along to support the annual Moa Kids Disco! It’s always a favourite on the Moa calendar for our tamariki, and this year certainly didn’t disappoint. We raised nearly $850, so another big thank you goes to the fundraising committee for putting on another fabulous event.
We’re currently in the middle of school holidays; can families please make sure they have emailed us if you’re going to be away? Even if it’s a last-minute day off, it’s very helpful if you can email us in the morning. This really helps us with staffing and knowing if we need relievers.
It’s that time of year when we begin planning for end-of-year dates and Christmas parties. The Children’s Christmas Party will be on Thursday 4th December, 4pm–5:30/6pm. We’ll be holding our annual Christmas picnic in the park. More details will follow closer to the time, but it will follow a similar format to last year. Melanie Poppins will also be providing the children’s entertainment!
Our end-of-year dates are:
Last day for Moa in 2024: Friday 19th December at 3pm
Reopening for 2025: Monday 5th January at 8am
If you know you’ll be away during this period, please let us know, so we can plan our staffing accordingly.
The spring bugs have been making their rounds this month, it feels like they’re never-ending! We often find that in spring, when the weather fluctuates between warm and cold, there’s a spike in colds and other winter bugs. Thank you so much for keeping your children home when they’re not 100%. Fingers crossed we see these bugs ease off as summer approaches.
Before the end of October/early November, I’ll be taking some annual leave, I’ll let you know the exact dates closer to the time. Shay and Edel will of course be here if you need anything while I’m away.
Thank you also for the positive replies to the email about pay information and ECE funding earlier this week. It’s a great example of the wonderful, supportive parent community we’re so lucky to have.
Lastly from me, thank you for all the lovely messages after my recent leave. And remember, my door is always open. If you’d prefer to get in touch directly, my email is:
hayley.flanagan@moakids.org.nz
Ngā mihi maioha,
Hayley
Reminders:
· Lunch boxes: You have most probably noticed the very full lunchbox shelf in the preschool. We would really appreciate it if all children’s lunch boxes, drink bottles and food containers could be named, as well as food that needs to go in the fridge. There is a permanent marker attached to the basket for the food that needs to be kept in the fridge.
· Nut Free Zone: Moa Kids is a “nut free” zone. Lately we have been noticing a lot of nut products coming in-cashews, almonds, peanut butter sandwiches etc. Please can you remember that we are a nut free zone when you are making your child’s lunch. We have had children start this year with high allergies to nuts.
· Lost Property: We have a large amount of lost property. Please come and have a look to see if the treasures and clothing belong to your family. The lost property is in the foyer. Please name all clothing that comes to preschool as this really helps us to return clothing and hats back to the correct person.
· Away sick: It is that time of the year where spring bugs are upon us. Moa families are always so good and keeping their children off when they are not 100%. This is a good reminder to please email or call in the morning if your child is off sick.
· New person picking up: As part of our policy at Moa if anyone new is picking up your child and they have not been in before, even though they are on the pickup list and your children know them, we will ask them for ID on that first pick up, and match it to the name you have given. This is of course for safety. Please email through and keep us informed if there is going to be someone new coming in.
· Show and tell: Each child who attends the preschool room has a show and tell day. This is the day where they can bring in something special to show their peers. We know lots of our friends like to bring in toys and often it is the same toy from the week before. We are not saying no toys, but if parents could get the children to have a think of something different each time, this will help their child when they get up to talk about their “show and tell”. Remember that you are most welcome to email in any photos of what they have been getting up to over the weekend. This goes down really well and the children normally have lots to say about it. Can you please remember to take home your child’s show and tell item. The basket seems very full.
· Nappies: Some parents choose to bring a bag of nappies in for their child and we let the families know when they are running low by writing on the daily role sheet. Please make sure when you see “please bring nappies” that you bring them in as soon as you can. We have emergency nappies if children run out, but these need to be replaced if used. We unfortunately are not in the position to be supplying nappies to children.
· Bread bags: Please bring in any used bread bags for the preschool. These are used for toileting and come in very handy.
· Going away on holiday: Please make sure you have emailed through these days. Moa gives each child three weeks a year Holiday fees, which is 50% off the normal rate. We need to be emailed and informed to put this discount on.
Governance Committee
The next Governance Committee meeting will be Monday 20th October, this will be held here at Moa.
Preschool room
What a rich and exciting term it has been here at preschool! Our tamariki have been busy exploring, learning, and growing in so many different ways, both inside the centre and out in the wider community.
Trips and Adventures. We’ve had the privilege of going on a number of trips this term. These outings have given tamariki the chance to extend their learning beyond the centre walls, to experience new environments, and to make connections with the world around them. The tamariki returned brimming with stories, excitement, and questions, which we have built on in our everyday learning. Our trips have also given tamariki opportunities to show manaakitanga and kotahitanga, caring for one another and working together while we are out in the community.
Living Our Centre Values through our project. A big focus this term has been on our centre values—manaakitanga (showing kindness and care), kaitiakitanga (guardianship of the land and environment), kotahitanga (working together), and whanaungatanga (building relationships and connection). Through group projects, daily routines, and spontaneous play, tamariki are learning what these values look like in action. We have seen wonderful examples of Tamariki including others in their games, helping tidy and care for our preschool environment, and showing thoughtfulness in their words and actions.
The project has given tamariki a sense of purpose, belonging, and contribution, as their ideas and voices help shape where our learning is heading. Together, we have been exploring questions, sharing our knowledge, and creating opportunities to work side by side. Whether it has been through storytelling, art, building, or discussions, the tamariki have been finding ways to express their thinking and build on each other’s ideas.
We’ve noticed leadership shining through as older tamariki have supported younger ones (te wā tuakana), and friendships strengthening as tamariki collaborate to solve problems and create together.
Kaitiakitanga has come to life as tamariki care for natural resources and think about their impact on the environment, while whanaungatanga has been visible in the way they share stories, memories, and experiences with each other. The project is supporting tamariki in their learning across the curriculum, communication, problem-solving, imagination, and creativity—it has also helped them see themselves as capable learners with important contributions to make. We are proud of the rich thinking and joy this project is bringing to life and we look forward to seeing where it leads us. Please come and see us if there is anything more you would like to know about the project!
There have been many opportunities for messy and water play which is fantastic, please remember to pack plenty of named spare clothes as the weather gets warmer!
We have been changing up our learning spaces to provide more usable areas and more opportunities for learning.
We are exploring and working through a review in the preschool around “Show in tell” And how we can make this more meaningful and purposeful, we will be working on this over the next term and keep you updated about what this will look like going forward.
We have also been exploring different risk play set ups outside to challenge the tamariki and grow their fine and gross motor skills.
We have had a wonderful te wiki o te reo Māori (Māori language week) through this we have strengthened our use of te reo in the classroom and are beginning to make a language plan with the kaiako.
Looking forward to summer, feel free to come and communicate to the kaiako anytime we are here to help and listen.
Nga mihi
Shay and the preschool team
Nursery News
Kia ora nursery whānau,
I can’t believe I’m writing our newsletter for term 3, where has the year gone! It has been a very exciting few months in the nursery as we got our first ever bus trip out. It was such a wonderful experience and the tamariki had the best time ever going to Sumner library on the bus. We are hoping to try get more trips out before the year ends, however to make this possible we would like to encourage parents if they have a spare few hours spare one day to volunteer as parent help from outings. It would be great to get more involved within the community with our younger tamariki. If this is something you would be interested in, please come speak to myself or any of the nursery kaiako. It would be very much appreciated and bring so much joy to our little ones.
We have just welcomed our newest member Max and his whānau to the nursery, who has settled in so well. They are loving the new environment and we are building some great and trusting relationships with both Max and his whānau. On the other hand, we will be saying our farewells to our eldest tamaiti Owen as he starts his transition process next week before turning two in October. We know that Owen will really enjoy this transition as he loves spending some of the quieter evenings over in the preschool with his older sister, Eleanor.
With the sun shining, and the warmer weather fast approaching, we would like to remind parents to please pack some extra clothes now as we will start to use water play a lot more now as the children always have the best time splashing away in it. It’s also the perfect way to cool down on these hot summer days! Thank you in advance!
I would also like to thank all our families for their help and support for the disco fundraiser a few weeks ago. It is always a big favourite here at Moa and it’s always amazing to see everyone from both rooms come together as a centre. There’s no better way to have fun than having a little boogie or yummy sausage sizzles in the sunshine.
Before I finish up, Kat and myself would like to show our excitement and proudness for our fellow colleague Olivia, as she heads off next month on her RIE course. We are so thrilled that she applied for the scholarship and even more delighted that she won it for all her hard mahi and dedication. The RIE philosophy is very important to us in the nursery and we’re currently unpacking this as a team to extend our knowledge in this area. It’s so cool that Olivia will be able to bring back all this new information and help guide and grow us as a team. This will allow us to continue providing a high quality and respectful environment for our tamariki, which is always our aim. Only one more term left after this one for the year and then it’s Christmas time. Yaaay! Let’s see what this term will bring, as always, thanks for reading.
Edel and the nursery team
Te Wa Tuakana
Learning Term 3:
Kaitiakitanga – Guardianship and Sustainability
Learning about sustainability
Understanding how to use our bins correctly (recycling, compost, landfill)
Caring for the environment
Exploring ways we can reduce our carbon footprint
Manaakitanga – Respect and Kindness
· Showing respect to others
· Making sure everyone feels heard, included, and valued
· Participating in group games that build teamwork
Practising leadership and supporting one another
Easy Blueberry Muffins
Makes 12, Prep: 20 mins Cook: 20 mins
softened, plus 1 tbsp, melted, for greasing
140g/5oz golden caster sugar
140g/5oz natural yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp/30ml milk
250g/9oz plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
125g pack blueberries
Step 1: Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases. Beat the butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy.
Step 2: Add the eggs and beat in for 1 min, then mix in the yogurt, vanilla extract and milk.
Step 3: Combine the flour, baking powder and bicarb in a bowl with ¼ tsp fine salt, then tip this into the wet ingredients and stir in.
Step 4: Finally, fold in the blueberries and divide the mixture between the muffin cases
Step 5: Bake for 5 mins, then reduce oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and bake for 15-18 mins more until risen and golden, and a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Step 6: Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then carefully lift out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container – after a day or two, pop them in the microwave for 10-15 secs on high to freshen up.
Contact Us
Centre Manager: Hayley Flanagan
Centre Administrator: Hanna Laredo
Address: Main Road, Redcliffs, Christchurch 8081
Email: admin@moakids.org.nz
Phone: 03 384 1910 Web: www.moakids.org.nz