Lady May

11 Haynes Ave, Upper Riccarton, Christchurch
Mobile: 027 550 8401
8:30am to 2:30pm,
Monday to Friday.
2 years to school age

You’ll find Kidsfirst Kindergartens Lady May in Upper Riccarton – located in a vibrant and diverse neighbourhood avenue across the road from Hansons Park and the local playground. You’ll be drawn in by our large, peaceful, natural environment, our multicultural programme, and our focus on community, Te Ao Māori and bicultural practice.  Playfulness, adventure, creativity and exploration are valued ways of being at Lady May – learning is fun! 

Our teaching team

Miranda Hartley
Head Teacher
Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (ECE)
Angela Dixon
Teacher
Bachelor of Education
Diploma of Teaching (ECE)
Nicky Agnew
Teacher
Bachelor of Teaching and Learning
Diploma of Teaching (ECE)

Outside at Kidsfirst Lady May we have a large, leafy big backyard with fruit trees and vegetable gardens - ideal for curious learners and creative imaginations. There’s a variety of challenging climbing and physical play equipment inviting active exploration, with grass, barked areas and equipment specially designed to support children’s physical growth and development.  There’s space for running, jumping, climbing, swinging and exploring as well as peaceful places to connect with nature, and make sense of our natural world.

 

Tamariki choose from and learn to use a range of real resources such as saws, hammers, nails, gardening equipment, spades and shovels, learning about managing risk and making safe choices.  

Our  teaching team is proud to provide a programme for children aged 2 – 5 years where we foster a strong sense of belonging. We do this by encouraging children to show Manaakitanga - caring for each other, and Kaitiakitanga - caring for our environment. Kaiako/teachers work together with each other, children and whānau to design a rich and responsive learning environment, thoughtfully laid out and providing areas for group interactions or individual play and learning.  We encourage our tamariki to be self-directing, creating their own challenges and being supported to achieve these.

 

Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Te Whāriki, our New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, form the foundation of teaching and learning in our kindergarten, strengthening early learning and laying a strong foundation for lifelong learning.  We embrace the concepts of kotahitanga - unity, tuakana/teina – the reciprocal roles of teacher and learner, and ako - that the educator is also learning from the child, and that the learner and whānau cannot be separated.  Our qualified and experienced teaching team is committed to inclusion, equity and fairness.

 

“He waka eke noa”

A vehicle in which everyone may embark without exception

 

You're always welcome here! Building trusting, caring and respectful relationships with whānau/families over time is key to our success in supporting and facilitating children’s learning. Parents and whānau contribute in many ways, including discussions about their aspirations for children, spending time with us in session, sharing their knowledge and strengths, language and culture with kaiako/teachers and children. 

 

Community and connectedness are at the heart of what we do. We have strong links with our local primary schools, which supports the transition to school for you and your child, as he/she moves on from Kindergarten. We have many community events and celebrations - knowing and caring for people in our community is important to us and they in return care for us and our kindergarten.  Kaiako and tamariki have established a community garden at the front of our kindergarten which is a place for sharing ideas, plants, seeds and produce.  We visit the local library, school, and park and shops regularly, you’ll often see us out and about exploring our community and helping the children to make sense of their place in it.

 

We would recommend that you enrol initially for at least two full days – building up to five days at your child's pace.  This gives our teachers time to get to know your child and gives consistency around supporting their learning.  

 

Nau mai, tauti mai -come in any time, we’ll show you around and make you welcome!

From time to time we have special offers, to enable more children to come to our not-for-profit, community kindergarten. But hurry, spaces are limited and these offers only apply for a limited time. Conditions apply.

 

 

 

 

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