New childcare centre welcomed to Mangawhai

JULIA WADE
13 June, 2022

Mangawhai’s youngest residents now have another fun place to have adventures and socialise as well build confidence, with the recent official opening of a brand-new early childcare centre in the Village.

Launched with a blessing by local kaumatua Ben Hita on May 21 and attended by staff and families, Fame Preschool Mangawhai is now up and running, the specially-designed, spacious building a colourful and lively environment for all children from babies to six-year-olds, to enjoy.

Managed by 10 qualified staff members including teachers and admin, up to 50 children attend the centre every day, although the enrolment number is a lot higher and the wait list is climbing.

Due to family connections in Mangawhai, owner Lana Van der Harst, who also has owned Stanmore Bay Fame Preschool for 25 years and has a background in dance, became aware of the area’s rapid growth around five years ago and saw the potential need for another early childhood centre. After three years of planning and building with the inevitable Covid delays, Lana says she is ‘so happy to finally be here’.

“We’ve received a beautiful welcome from the other three centres, Before Six, Miniwhais and the Mangawhai Kindy,” she says. “It’s nice for parents to have a choice of preschool care and to also relieve some of the pressure from the other centres.”

Staff are all based in Mangawhai with a number already living in the community and some even relocating to take the job. Fame operations manager, Cathy Betty, says ‘they all gel just so beautifully’, helping to create the family environment which is pivotal to the centre’s philosophy. Also important is boosting children’s confidence through both visual and performing arts she says.

“Every term we have an arts plan which everyone takes part in on a daily basis, from five-month-olds to the older children in costume performing regularly on stage. At the end of each term we do a celebration of some kind, either art exhibitions or a production,” Cathy says. “It’s not about turning out performers though, our arts plan is about building children’s confidence and sense of worth in themselves, to have a voice and speak up, which is something we have seen huge value in, the ability to stand up and present themselves.”

Some of the Fame Preschool Mangawhai team, with owner Lana Van der Harst (third from right) and operations manager Cathy Betty (standing second from left) at the brand new centre’s official opening. PHOTO/JULIA WADE