Kia ora, whaanua and friends of Cathedral Grammar Pre-School

This week we welcome Parieenz Bains to Pre-School and know that you will all make her and her family welcome. We are looking forward to welcoming Joy Hoa back later this month and to hearing about her adventures after being away for three months.

Tomorrow is our Term III Morning Tea at 9.00am. Please come and join the children, teachers and other parents for coffee and chocolate muffins.

The last few weeks weather-wise have been up and down to say the least. We have started teaching the tamariki Crowded House's song Four Seasons in One Day as it seems to describe the weather quite nicely!

Whenever the sun has been shining, the tamariki have been outside enjoying the spring air. We have been learning about what happens to the garden environment during spring and also what happens to the animals. Iver generously presented Pre-School with some daffodils from his garden at home. This provocation produced some wonderful daffodil pictures and also a wonderful collaborative 3D-art display: the Spring Meadow.

Creatively and imagination are a large focus within our curriculum, be it during art, PE, construction, sand play, literacy or numeracy. The children are able to work collaboratively in large and small groups, or independently, to achieve success in their chosen areas of inquiry. As teachers in Pre School, we get so much joy watching children set their individual goals and challenge themselves to meet these.

Over the last few terms Donna Cox, our child yoga specialist, has visited every Friday. It is wonderful to now watch the children use the yoga mats at different times during the week and practise the breathing tools Donna has taught them. As a teaching team, we have noticed a huge change in how the children deal with difficult situations: their manner is calmer. We use the breathing techniques to support the children as they transition in the morning or move to unfamiliar places.

Our three-week holiday programme has been loaded onto Storypark, and we are looking forward to the experiences on offer in the forthcoming term break.