HIPPY Kelston

08/12/2021

Kia Ora Kelston HIPPY families,

It is with a heavy heart that I share our sad important news with you.
The HIPPY programme which your family has been part of, has operated in 40 communities throughout New Zealand for 30 years and Kelston for 23 years relies on funding from the NZ government.
The current funding agreement from the Ministry of Education expires in December 2021 and unfortunately will not be renewed in its current form.
Beginning 2022, the Ministry of Education has decided funding will be discontinued for many of the city HIPPY sites and is looking at supporting families in locations that are rural and where there are limited ECE centres.
Without the funding, Kelston HIPPY can longer operate and so will cease in December 2021.Sadly this means that we will no longer be able to continue the HIPPY programme for you and your child next year.
We understand this will be disappointing for your whanau and we are gutted that we can no longer offer HIPPY in our community after 23 successful years.
Thank you for participating in our programme, we have been honoured to be part of your family and to have been welcomed into your home. We are very sorry we can no longer offer tutor support or workbooks for you next year but know the skills and techniques learnt and used everyday with HIPPY can be maintained in your family unit.
I have spent 18 years working in this community helping families thrive on HIPPY and have seen the impact it has made on many children and parents alike. I am still in disbelief that Kelston HIPPY will no longer operate.
I continue to be involved with the Kelston Community Trust and hope that maybe we can access funding through other means going forward or that the government has a change of heart, the pandemic has meant other funding is very limited.

Thank you for the privilege of working with you through HIPPY.

Take care Lynda, Jikisha and Maria

17/08/2021

Kia ora e te whanau

I hope you all are feeling up beat this morning and able to cope with this journey we find ourselves in yet again.
You will know that it's good to keep to a routine and keep your tamariki busy.
HIPPY activities offer plenty of choice in the Extending the Learning Further and you can involve the whole family.
The tutors will be in touch with families to offer support and guidance but cannot deliver any workbooks during the Level 4 Lockdown.

Distance Learning – Alert Level 4
Resources are available online to support parents, whānau and caregivers to enable children’s learning from home (or wherever they’re based). To support this, there are Ministry of Education resources and guidance available on our Learning from Home website.

You can also access:
• Home Learning TV can be accessed on demand here or via the TVNZ App on a device (mobile phone, smart tv or tablet)
• Mauri Reo, Mauri Ora can be accessed on demand from Māori TV.

Hopefully the Lockdown will be effective and short lived.
Take care and be safe.

Lynda and the Kelston Team of Jikisha and Maria.

21/03/2021

This article appeared on Great Potentials page earlier in the month.

A Community Empowered thanks to HIPPY
In 1997, Kelston cluster school principals met to discuss how they might better engage with local families and support parents. The principals believed that in order to make a difference in learning outcomes, they needed to be engaging with families as early as possible. They wanted to create an education system in the Kelston community that helped families from the time children were born until they left school.

“We had the kids at school, so we had a captive audience,” says Darren Smith, Principal of St Leonards Road School. “What we didn't have sometimes were the families at school - we didn't have them engaged.”

Based on community feedback, parenting support was also identified as a real need in the community. Home/school liaison initiatives were put in place, and then, following discussions with Dame Lesley Max and HIPPY national director, Jane Hall, Darren Smith and the Kelston principals helped establish HIPPY in Kelston in 1998.

Darren believes HIPPY has helped parents understand they have an important role to play throughout their children's education and he credits the programme with “empowering” the community.

“We've gone from a community that sent their children to school because that's what they had to do, to one that sends their children to education facilities they're well informed about,” says Darren.

“Since HIPPY has been here, people have higher expectations about what they want. They have a better knowledge of what's required to support their children, they're not prepared to settle for second best and they won't allow their kids to attend a school where it's not meeting their kids' needs.”

While the HIPPY programme was operating well, the area still lacked affordable pre-school education.

Darren remembers visiting Papakura Family Service Centre, based at Kelvin Rd School. He was impressed with what he saw - a centre based on the same site as a school, offering not only HIPPY and other support services for the local community, but also an early learning centre. Darren realised what was operating at Kelvin Road was just what Kelston needed too.

In 2000 the Kelston Community Trust was formed with a vision to establish an early learning centre alongside HIPPY.

With support from the Ministry of Education, a centre was built on land adjacent to St Leonards Road School. The facility has been home to both the Kelston Early Childhood Centre and the Kelston HIPPY programme since 2003, providing complementary services for the children and families in the Kelston area.

Kelston HIPPY Coordinator, Lynda Durbin, finds families through door knocking for the HIPPY programme and often refers them to the centre if the children aren't attending any pre-school. Likewise, families who enrol their children in the Early Learning Centre are often introduced to HIPPY as well.

Lynda says, “HIPPY has now been operating for 21 years in the Kelston community and continues to make a difference for the families who enrol on our programme. The evaluation study done at St Leonards Rd School in 2016 reinforces that children who do HIPPY continue to thrive at school, even five years on.
At our 20-year anniversary celebration, we had 18 previous tutors attend from 2001 and they gave accounts on how HIPPY changed their lives. Many went on to tertiary study and now work in the education field.”

12/02/2021

Kelston HIPPY are currently enrolling new families for 2021 who live in the Kelston, New Lynn, Glendene, Glen Eden and surrounding areas.
HIPPY is a homebased programme that helps you teach your children the skills they need to get the best start for school.
You work one on one with your child at home on fun, stimulating activities which we supply along with all the resources you need.
Children need to be 3yrs to 4 yrs old.
Come and visit me at 9 St Leonards Rd, Kelston (behind the Kelston Community Early Childhood Centre) or email me [email protected] or ring on 09 813 4949 or 0212676467 to find out more!

07/12/2020

Here are all the wonderful photos from our Graduation last week.
Well done to those graduating and receiving certificates.
Have a wonderful safe holiday with your family and lets hope we have a great 2021.

23/11/2020

We are wanting to help you keep your tamariki safe this summer!
Please take the time to come to the Kelston Hub on Thursday for an hour to see our presentation.
10am 26th November, 68 St Leonards Rd Kelston

09/11/2020

Kia Ora Everyone
Our last Group Meeting for the year is at the HIPPY office this Thursday Nov 12 at 9.30am where we will be doing preparations for our up coming graduation. We have lots to do including making ula-lole's and painting decorations.
Our graduation is where we celebrate everyone's achievements and the children who have completed the 2 years get capped.
This year it is at St Leonards Rd School Hall on Wednesday 3rd November at 6pm.
We also have a great presentation happening at the Kelston Community Hub on Thursday 26th November at 10am from Drowning Prevention Auckland.
With the summer arriving its good to get extra knowledge about keeping our Under 5s safe in,on and around water.
We do have far to many drownings and near misses in our country so come along and be reminded of how we can keep our tamariki safe !!
PLEASE COME ALONG AND SHARE WITH YOUR NEIGHBOURS AND FRIENDS. Some light refreshments are provided.
See you soon
Lynda and the Kelston team,Mate, Jyoshna and Jikisha😊

16/08/2020

Good Morning HIPPY families.

I hope you were able to make the most of the fantastic weather at the weekend and get outside with your children.
As we are in Alert Level 3 I have delivered some HIPPY workbooks to your letterboxes so you can continue to work with your child on HIPPY. Your tutor will be in contact with you during the week and web HIPPY is available.
We need to make the most of this time and keep the children occupied to ensure everyone comes through this smiling.
The Ministry of Education have started home learning again on TV so check it out as it has some awesome content.

Television and radio

Home Learning TV | Papa Kāinga TV will be back on Monday 17 August to support learning for children aged 2-to-11 years while Auckland remains in Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country in Alert Level 2.

Home Learning TV | Papa Kāinga TV will take over TVNZ DUKE's daytime schedule 9am to 1pm on week days. Programming for younger children includes the popular Karen’s House at 9am, followed by programmes for children aged 5 to 7, including junior movement with the Di**le Foundation and junior science and maths with Suzy Cato.
DUKE is available on Freeview channel 13, Sky and Vodafone TV channel 23.

It can be live streamed on the TVNZ website, www.tvnz.co.nz. Content will be available for catch up viewing on TVNZ OnDemand.

All earlier episodes of Home Learning TV | Papa Kāinga TV remain available through on TVNZ OnDemand.

Please help us to let parents and whānau know that Home Learning TV | Papa Kāinga TV is back by sharing this information with them in your regular communications and/or on social media.

Maori TV
Mauri Reo Mauri Ora is back to support learning for children aged 0 to 18 years.
Mauri Reo Mauri Ora will be airing once again on Te Reo Māori Channel via SkyTV, Vodafone channel 82 and Freeview Channel 15 from 9am to 3pm on week days.
Korou Whangataua, Juneea Silbery and Ani-Piki Tuari will host these interactive sessions focused on kōhungahunga in the morning through to wharekura in the afternoon.
Check out www.kauwhatareo.govt.nz/mauri-reo-mauri-ora for more information, schedules and previous sessions.
Content will be available for catch up viewing on www.maoritelevision.com where you can also catch all the earlier episodes of Mauri Reo Mauri Ora.

Pacific Learners
For Pacific learners we have developed the Talanoa Ako Pacific Parent programme - Talanoa Ako on Air radio programme and Talanoa Ako Digital App Talanoa Ako app, both of which both are still accessible. We are working closely with our delivery partners to explore options to move face-to-face Talanoa Ako sessions online if required.

Do take care, be safe and get medical advice if you or your family is sick.
Lynda and the Kelston HIPPY Team

28/05/2020

Support your local community and come along to find out what the Trust does.

20/05/2020

Just to let all our HIPPY families now that we are up and running at Alert Level 2 but we will not have Group Meetings until Alert Level 1 .
Our tutors are able to start Home Visits but will have guidelines to follow which I am sure you will understand to help keep everyone safe.
I know some of you are keeping your children home from school and Early Childhood centres and a reminder that there is still online learning available for all ages on TV on demand and have many fun activities.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/home-learning-tv

We are now able to enrol NEW families on to HIPPY and do have plenty of spaces available here in Kelston and surrounding areas.
If you need to know more about our incredible HIPPY programme in Kelston, get in touch via facebook or email or txt me. 0212676467 or [email protected] Thanks Lynda

The Ministry of Education is partnering with TVNZ to deliver entertaining educational programming for our tamariki, including teacher-led lessons and featuring Suzy Cato, Karen O’Leary, Jordan Vandermade and Nathan Wallis.

23/04/2020

Kia Ora
This is available for needy families. We are fortunate to live in a caring community out West. Thank you to those who go the extra mile to help those who need it.