Stones Corner Community Kindergarten COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER : NOVEMBER 2011

THE GREEN EDITION

Dear Parents,
This is our last Newsletter for the year and we are focusing on the green and environmental news from our Kindy!

HAND TOWELS
Both the Office for Early Childhood Education & Care and C&K have allowed our Kindy to go back to using cloth hand towels instead of paper towels for the children in the bathroom next year. Under the current policy, we use around one roll of paper towel per day a term's worth of paper towel stacked in the store room is a very confronting image, and a year's worth would just about fill up our store room. It's great environmental and financial news to be able to save all that paper!

Nude Food Day was a HUGE success Group A achieved 100% nudity, and Group B achieved partial nudity! The challenge is now on for the children attending Kindy next year its a great way to get children and their families thinking about environmentally friendly meals.

SOLAR PANELS
As announced earlier this year, our Kindy was 1 of 160 Kindys who were successful with the Solar Kindergarten Grant. We've been patiently waiting for our turn, and we've finally had a site inspection from SolarLife and installation of our solar panels looks set to go ahead within the next month or two. Thanks again to Terry Gallagher (Group A) and the 2010 Committee for securing this grant for our Kindy. This is great news, as it will help our Kindy become more sustainable over time, both financially and environmentally. By reducing our electricity bills, we will be able to use the savings to obtain more resources for the children.

ELECTRICITY COST SAVINGS

The Kindy has been participating in a local business sustainability initiative through the Stones Corner Community and Economic Development Association (SCCEDA). SCCEDA was successful in gaining a grant of $10,000 which will be shared by around 15 participating businesses to spend on projects to save energy, water and waste. Our Kindy will have over $600 worth of projects funded. Funding has been provided by the Department of Environment and Resource Management through the ClimateSmart Business Clusters program.

An action plan has been prepared for our Kindy, which estimates over $400 per year in energy costs will be saved with some simple actions and some small investments. In total, the 15 Stones Corner businesses will save $14,000 per year in electricity costs. Some work has already been done by an electrician, putting some extra light switches in (so only the lights needed are used), and a motion sensor at the front door which means the front light will switch off for most of the night. These projects will also mean that the solar panels will be able to generate a higher percentage of our Kindys power. Some of the actions are ones that you can try at home, such as switching off lights and setting the right temperature for your air conditioner. For each degree warmer you set your air conditioner this summer, you could save up to 10% of the running costs 24 degrees is an ideal temperature. Also, monthly dusting of the inside and outside units will improve air flow, making your air conditioner work less, saving up to 30% in running costs!

FUNDRAISING EVENTS
Here is a brief outline of current fundraising events this term: o Collect A Cap runs all term o Everyday Heroes begins 3 October o Thirsty Geckoes begins 7 November o Phoenix Organisers and Charts begins 21 November o Labels ongoing and any time anyone orders labels from You Name It! Labels and uses our fundraising code they will give back to our Kindy

JULIE-ANN EDWARDS LONG SERVICE LEAVE

Please keep in mind that Mrs Edwards last day at Kindy this year will be Friday 11 November she will be heading off on a well-deserved extended holiday! Please give a very warm welcome to the following teachers who will be filling in:: o Group A Mrs Hansford o Group B Mrs Sherwood Enjoy the last few weeks at Kindy!

Regards, Julie
Julie Isoardi Committee President