"The children all love it; they have more space to play and even when it is raining they can go outside and enjoy the fresh air without getting wet."
Senior teacher at Stratford Community Childcare, Vicky Hintz, says their new deck is worth every cent of the $22,000 they spent on it. Situated at the back of the popular childcare centre, the covered deck area was officially opened on Saturday with a deck party. "Thanks to sponsorship from McDonald Real Estate, especially Danny Bates and Maree Linley, we had a bouncy castle, a sausage sizzle, a sandpit dig. It was a fun event and well supported by the community."
Vicky says they have a lot of people to thank for helping turn their vision of a covered outside area into a reality. "We were fortunate to get grants from Taranaki Electricity Trust and Southern Trust, as well as a very generous donation from Ralph Vosseler. The team at Stratford ITM kindly donated us the materials needed to build a safety gate, which was then built by parent Brendan Kaye. The deck itself was built by Quintin Oakes Builders and they did a fantastic job. We are so pleased with the quality of the build. This deck will be here for future generations of children."
The children are all very happy with their new play space. "It is good for dancing on," says four-year-old Milla Dent, "and I like to bring dolls out here too".
