Kohanga step nearer dream

Te Heti Te Kohanga Reo on Hinau St in Castlecliff is looking for tradesmen who can offer them a competitive price to build their new nursery.

The new nursery will sleep eight tamariki (children) and they plan to have the building finished for a June opening.

The kohanga reo has just been granted $100,000 from the Ministry of Education's "increased participation" fund, in line with getting more children into early childhood in the Castlecliff area.

Kohanga administrator Lisa Reweti said the new building had been in progress for five years and, over the past three years, the kohanga had saved $100,000 towards the project through "tightening the purse strings and fundraising".

The whanau and staff have worked on the open-plan design, built for the sun and the indoor/outdoor flow of the outdoor play area, that will be protected from prevailing westerly winds. They have also chosen the colours.

This will be the first time the kohanga has had a purpose-built sleeping room, and included in the design is a changing room attached to the wharepaku (toilet) area.

The open plan means staff and parents can see from one end of the building to the other, exclusive of the wharepaku/changing area.

The new building will take 25 under-2s, and 25 over-2s, and will link to the existing kohanga building on the eastern boundary that was built 25 years ago.

Currently, the kohanga can take up to 70 children a day, and has 60 attending from all over Wanganui.

When the new building is open, the kohanga will be able to take 100 tamariki.