West Rolleston
Monday to Friday.
Our teaching team
Deep within every element of the building and landscape, we’ve woven through Manawhenua values, Kidsfirst values and the principles of Te Whāriki, the national early childhood curriculum. We are grateful to Te Taumutu Rūnanga who have been generous in sharing their cultural history and heritage of this place.
Like the rocky base of the Rakaia riverbed, this knowledge has become the foundation for the design, and helped us form the basis from which we begin our own story at Kidsfirst Kindergartens West Rolleston. It has been inspiring to see it come to life from the ground up, and to see it filled with the joy and fun experienced by our kindergarten tamariki every day!
Our warm and bright inside environment offers a variety of spaces to support and encourage children's learning. Tamariki can access a range of resources that are carefully and intentionally presented to evoke creativity, imagination, inquiry and wonderment. This is an environment supportive of the mana, wairua and mauri our tamariki bring when they come to us. The tamariki love our large windows, with places to sit and look out to our neighbourhood, see what is happening and keep connected.
Our beautiful big backyard is connected to the building by a large, covered all-weather veranda. The playground offers a variety of flexible, adaptable, age-appropriate spaces - a unique play space where children can challenge themselves with the support of our trained teachers with grass, barked areas, gardens (which supply produce for our cooking sessions), areas to experience physical challenges, and equipment specially designed to support children’s physical growth and development.
Our very large sandpit is hugely popular with all out tamariki. Surrounded by Glacial boulders, the sandpit extends down to a rock river, gravel pit and mud pit which creates lots of opportunities for children to use their imagination and test out their working theories.
Children at Kidsfirst Kindergartens West Rolleston learn in an environment and philosophy of free play that values and supports uninterrupted and sustainable play. Tamariki here develop working theories, social skills and communication, with support from our qualified and registered early childhood teaching team and are seen as risk takers and strategic thinkers, confident and capable. A strong sense of Manaakitanga (caring and respect) and Whanaungatanga (family, relationships, history, and traditions) are central to our culture.
Showing manaakitanga (hospitality,respect, generosity and care) in our kindergarten is important to us - and our whānau room brings this to life. It’s a community space where families come together and really make it their own, helping parents connect with each other, and with their child’s learning – supporting the transition between home and kindy.
We’re proud to be part of the Rolleston community. We’re often involved in community events, and you’ll see our kaiako and tamariki out and about regularly in our town, exploring this magical setting in their role as caretakers (kaitiaki) of our environment. We welcome visits from the Library bus, and from the local police and fire service – all helping to connect our children to the wider community. We are a diverse community and celebrate many different cultures within our programme, using the skills and knowledge from our wider community to enhance our program and extend our children's interests and learning.
Links with our local primary school help to support the transition to school for you and your child, as he/she moves on from kindergarten. At Kidsfirst Kindergartens West Rolleston your child will learn to ask questions about their world, helping them to make sense of it.
We would recommend that you enrol initially for at least two full days - building to five days at your child's pace. This gives our teachers time to really get to know your child and gives consistency around supporting their learning.
Nau mai, tauti mai - come in and see us any time, we’ll make you welcome!
