Tamariki and whanau quickly develop a sense of belonging with each other as they identify similarities between themselves and their peers, while whanau discover shared experiences.

Many times a year we celebrate tamariki as they move on to school. Over the last 12 months, our Korowai was worn by Connor Burcher, Logan Tilson, Arlo Thian, Jackson Ormsby, Kayla Caesar, Otto Stokell, Blake Williams, Aaliyah Wates, Holly Berry, Stella Robinson, Mikaere Jerry-Mihaka and finally Jax and Iris Agnew.

We have also farewelled tamariki and whanau Ronan Skinner, Winter Buzzard-Boote, Vincent Rawlings, Imogen Smith, Libby Berry.

Each of our tamariki and whanau bring something unique to our service and we value the time they share with us.

2021 has allowed us the opportunity for some new experiences, the first was at Tumbles Times, where we experimented with how we can use our bodies in different spaces and with different equipment.

We also took advantage of having the Sumner Fire Service move down the road from us and made two visits with our Wednesday and Thursday groups. The firefighters were wonderful, talking to us about what we could expect if there was a fire in our homes. We had a tour of the station and a play with the powerful water hoses.

Each term also sees us opening our doors to Preschool Course families, visiting from all over the region, many fast friendships are developed through these weeks. Families bring their own knowledge and values to us and leave with some of ours.

Our main goal and reason for being here is to support our tamariki and their whanau to develop their communication skills in their chosen language/s. This is woven in throughout the morning from music, to our inside and outside play, our shared storytimes, and when we are busy creating arts and crafts. We celebrate as many languages and their focus weeks as often as we can and are always supported by our whanau, tamariki, and our wonderful supporters; Olivia Townshend, Jenna Holland, Sarasha Naicker, and Maria Best.