Raglan Kindergarten’s new building was officially blessed recently in a dawn ceremony marking the end of a project that began as an idea over a decade ago.
The event was officiated by kaumātua Russel Riki, who led staff and community members through the building with a waerea (incantation) and karakia (blessing).
In a moving speech, head teacher Isabel Crawforth acknowledged the wairua (spirit) of the place and people.
“The new building has been talked about since 2010 and now it’s finally here and has been energised by the blessing ceremony with matua Russell. Being able to use this space means we can provide a natural integration with our kindy values of respect, manaakitanga and relationships,” Isabel says.
The ceremony was also an opportunity to welcome new staff members Sam Kimber-Bell and Jackie Gillett, and farewell former teacher Marcus Hodgkinson.
“It’s nice to have new kaiako to add their talents to our awesome team and we look forward to welcoming some more over the next month or so,” Isabel says.
“Marcus has been associated with our kindy whānau for 10 years and he leaves us to join Te Mata School.”
Waikato Kindergarten Association kaiarataki (CEO) Edna Frame also attended the blessing and spoke of the groundbreaking new building, which has two separate learning environments led by different teams, as a first for the association.
Built to meet the growing demands in Raglan and a waitlist of over 100, the extension enables the kindergarten to cater for more students.
“The new room creates more options for children, providing a balance of busy, physical, quiet, alone, group, social and independent spaces for our tamariki to enjoy,” Isabel says.
