Haere mai and welcome to Colwill kindergarten

Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Hello, Talofa, Bula vinaka, Mālō e lelei, Fakalofa Atu, 你好, Namaste, 안녕하세요, こんにちは, Apa khabar, Kamusta, Sawadee ka, Bonjour, Ciao, Salam

Strong values and beliefs – Our lovely team of teachers and support staff come from a multicultural background and we place strong value on community involvement, mutual respect, cultural identity, and language. We acknowledge the richness that reciprocal partnerships bring to the kindergarten.

Whānau connections – Our local curriculum is created through strong partnership with families which means understanding what they value most for their child at kindergarten. Through this open relationship, we have created a special place for our tamariki to learn and grow, and become competent and capable learners. Manaakitanga is at the core of everything we do and is a part of our wairua at kindergarten.

Our local curriculum – Our team is passionate about providing a learning environment that sparks interests and ignites our children’s sense of curiosity and imagination. We provide open ended resources where tamariki are encouraged to become leaders of their own learning. They are involved in opportunities for working collaboratively, negotiating, sharing and problem solving. We are strong advocates for learning through play. Mathematics, science, literacy, etc. are all around us and can be integrated in all learning opportunities through fun and innovative ways. This in turn supports our children to think outside the box, nurturing their creativity and imagination.

Enviroschool – We are part of the Enviroschool programme where tamariki develop strategies for innovative and inspiring ways to care for Papatūānuku, our Mother Earth. Tamariki learn creatively and live healthily through growing our own kai, sharing our harvest, gardening, recycling, upcycling, and caring for our natural environment and all the creatures that live in it. Our tamariki are curious explorers of the natural world and we enjoy being a part of the magic, awe and wonder as they share their ways of seeing the world.

Beautiful outdoor environment – We have a beautiful landscaped garden that changes with the season and children learn about nature, in nature, with nature for nature. Come and have a look at our bug hospital and skink house along with our bee hotel. We are privileged to have an artistic member in our team who has created a fairy village. All the natural resources have been collected from the community and put together by our incredibly talented and creative Fairy Queen, Megan. Our fairy village is still growing so please come in and have a play.

Garden to table – Garden to table is a food education programme that teaches children how to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, seasonal kai. In 2023 we were incredibly lucky to be offered this wonderful opportunity at our kindergarten and we are very excited about the prospect of future participation in the Garden to Table kaupapa.

We have 5 garden beds outside by the fence where our local community can access fresh homegrown fruit and vegetables. Our team are so excited to have our kindergarten whānau and community join us on this wonderful learning journey.

Contact us today to book a time that suits and we can show you around our amazing learning environment. We would love for you to join us and become a part of our wonderful Colwill Kindergarten whānau!