PARENT INFORMATION

Everything you need to know about your journey with Te Akonga

Absence

If your child is sick or not able to attend his/her day for some other reason, please phone the centre on 238 8366 by 9.30am or email us at admin@teakonga.org.nz. Full payment is still required if your child is absent.



20 hours FREE ECE

The 20hrs ECE Scheme is available to children from 3 to 5 years of age for up to 6 hours per day. Click here for more info.



Late pick ups

Please ensure your child is collected by 5.30pm. If you are going to be late, please phone the Centre asap so we can notify two teachers involved as they may have other personal commitments to get to after their day. A late fee of $25.00 per 15 minutes will be charged.



Communication

A noticeboard is located in reception where you will be able to read important daily information. We will also communicate via your child’s notice pocket, email and our Facebook page. A newsletter is produced every term with a copy placed in your notice pocket and on our website. Click here to like us on Facebook.



Your child's documented journey

We create individual portfolios to reflect and record your child’s time at Te Akonga. These document your child’s learning & development and contain observations, learning & play stories, photos & art. E-portfolios are also available via our Educa system. Your focus teacher will inform how to access your child’s e-portfolio. Log into Educa here.



Trips & excursions

Due to our location, we are very fortunate to have nature right at our back doorstep. Surrounding Te Akonga are trees, parks, grass areas, walking tracks, rugby fields, views of Pukekohe, hills, duck ponds and a river! ​ We regularly go on trips outside of the Centre, which is always an exciting day! We either go for short walks within our local community or nearby to visit nature. We also run our Envirokidz programme for 4 year olds. For further afield trips a permission slip will be placed in notice pockets beforehand, there may be a small cost involved.



Children's birthdays

We love to acknowledge each child’s birthday! You are welcome to send a birthday cake for your child to celebrate and share with the other children at morning tea or lunch. You are also welcome to bring any item that you think the children would enjoy - some other great ideas are muffins, ice blocks and fruit platters.



Illness & medication

Children who have an illness that is contagious must not attend the centre until symptoms are absent for 24 hours. If your child becomes ill while at preschool, we will inform you and they will need to be collected. Children with diarrhoea and/or vomiting can return to the centre 24 hours after their last bout. Conjunctivitis is highly contagious and your child can return to preschool when the eye discharge has stopped. Written permission for medication must be given by a parent/caregiver. Please notify a staff member if medication is required. Please do not leave the medication in your child’s bag. Check out this useful document for further advice.



Signing your child in & out

You are required to sign your child in and out of the centre each time he/she attends. This is essential for health and safety reasons and is also a Ministry of Education requirement. Please personally hand your child over to a member of staff before leaving and ensure that the outside gates are shut. If another adult is collecting your child you must inform the centre. We will not let your child leave the centre without this permission. ​ Each week you are required to check and sign that the hours of booking and attendance are correct for your child.



Car parking

We have plenty of off street carparks for your convenience. We share our carpark with Waters Funeral Services and ask that you park on the half of the carpark closest to our centre.



Fees, pricing and hours

For our fees, please click here.



What to supply at Te Akonga

At Te Akonga you will need to supply nappies and wipes if your child is in nappies, baby formula, bottles, dummy/pacifier and of course you are welcome to send your child's cuddly. Our tamariki enjoy a shared fruit platter every day for morning tea, we ask everyone to place one piece of fruit or a vegetable into the fruit bowl each morning please. We wish to reassure our parents that all hard fruits and veg are grated or par boiled, prior to sharing with our infants. We supply sunblock, water for drinking in sippy cups and cups, bibs, spoons, plates, bowls, highchairs, buggies, bedding.



Nut & egg free

We have several tamariki who are allergic to nuts and two of them have now been prescribed with epipens, to help them if they have an anaphylactic reaction to nuts. Because nuts could put precious lives at risk, we are asking everyone not to bring any nuts or nut products to preschool. This includes raw nuts, peanut butter and nutella. If these items are sent to pre-school, they will be removed from lunchboxes and returned with a reminder notice at the end of the day. We are sorry for any inconvenience and thank you in advance for helping us to keep everyone safe at our place. We remain an egg free centre also.



Wet bags

Every day it is possible that your child will get their clothes wet and/or dirty. When this happens, we would like to change their clothes and return them to you. For this purpose, can you please send a named wetbag to preschool each day. This ensures that we are not putting wet or dirty clothes straight into your child’s bag.



Summer months - sunblock, hats & spare clothes

As we head into the warmer months we would like to remind our parents to please apply sunblock to your children, prior to their arrival. On sunny days, staff apply sunblock at 12.30pm. If your child can only use a particular brand of sunscreen, please leave a bottle of your preferred sunblock at our centre, with your child’s name on it. We would also really appreciate a named sun hat and 3 changes of clothes every day, to cater for the sunny weather and waterplay that often accompanies sunny days.



Working bee

As a community based, not for profit centre, our working bees are one of the ways we keep our fees low and appreciation levels high. It's also a great way to meet other parents and get to know our board members and staff a little better. Working bees occur at least two times per year and some of the things that we do are painting, sandpit topping up, bark spreading and spring cleaning. Many hands will make light work! If you are unable to attend, we ask that you provide a plate for the people that attend the working bee. The working bee always includes a yummy lunch and a few cold beverages.