Somerset Bear’s Picnic in the Park – Prize Draw Winner

Congratulations to Levin Playcentre who won the prize draw for Somerset Bear to join them at their Picnic in the Park event on 19 February.  Chief Executive David Moger will travel to Haruātai Park in Ōtaki to bring Somerset Bear to meet tamariki and whānau from the wider hapori at the event.

These events are a fantastic opportunity for all Playcentre whānau and their tamariki to come together, have fun, and connect with each other.  This is set to become an annual event and is the first of many initiatives to help grow our wider Playcentre community through hapori, which are informal groups of Playcentres.

Please remember to take lots of photos and videos and email them to [email protected] so we can share them on our social media pages to show the public what Playcentre is all about – whānau and community connection!

See event information on our website.

 

Messy Play Week – Five $100 Playcentre Shop vouchers to be won!

Messy play is essential for early childhood development.  This year our Messy Play Week event is scheduled for 3-7 March 2025. 

The decision to change the date from August to March was made based on feedback received from centres who wished to make the most of the warmer weather for this event and was communicated in previous Bulletin messages.

This exciting event aims to not only inspire centre whānau to explore the limitless opportunities for learning through messy play, but also to attract new whānau to visit and enrol at your centre.

For the success of this campaign, we kindly request that you keep a close eye on your phone and email messages during February and March, ensuring prompt responses to requests for visits. Let’s make sure everyone feels welcome and excited to be a part of our Playcentre village!

Promotional material for your centre

To help you promote your centre and Messy Play Week, we have prepared a range of fantastic promotional materials and social media images available to download from our website.  You will need your member login to access these.  These promotional materials can be edited to include your centre’s specific contact details, or you can use the promotional materials that direct people to the Playcentre website to find their local centre.  This year we have added an image and instructions, so you can add an event listing to eventfinda.co.nz for your local centre.  This is a great way to target parents looking for activities for infants/tamariki in your local area.

Social media 

Additionally, we’re gearing up for a national social media campaign throughout February and March. We encourage all centres to share our posts from our public Facebook and Instagram pages on your own centre pages. Don’t forget to like and follow our pages now, so you don’t miss any of the posts.

Please also share your own Messy Play fun to your social media pages and encourage your whānau to share them in their communities and invite their friends to visit. 

It’s helpful to create Facebook events for each session during the week, with times and registration details, this will help notify local people about your plans and they can get reminders about attending. You can find instructions on how to do this here: https://www.facebook.com/help/116346471784004 

Competition: Five $100 Playcentre Shop vouchers to be won!

We invite you to enter our Messy Play Week competition and go in the draw to win one of five $100 Playcentre Shop vouchers!  Send us your videos or photos showing us your tamariki enjoying messy play to go in the draw.

Submissions should be sent to [email protected] by Monday, 10 March 2025.  Be sure to include your name, your centre’s name and what you and/or your tamariki love about messy play and let your creativity shine!  

The earlier you send in your entries, the better! This allows us to showcase your centre on our social media channels and build anticipation for Messy Play Week well before the event starts.

Here are some essential details to keep in mind when entering the competition:

  • Entries close on Monday, 10 March 2025.
  • All submitted entries will be eligible for the prize draw.
  • By sending us your entry, you grant Playcentre Aotearoa permission to share the video or photos on our social media platforms to promote Playcentre.
  • Please ensure you have proper consent to use any images of people and comply with copyright regulations for images and music used.

For any questions or clarifications regarding Playcentre Messy Play Week, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]. We’re here to support you every step of the way!

Let’s work together and make this Messy Play Week unforgettable!