Local preschool opens up

Over the last year people in the Heathcote Valley area of Christchurch have all watched with keen interest as the old house, that had been at 108 Port Hills Road for as long as local memories go back, disappeared leaving a hole in the ground.

Gradually the hole has been filled in with gravel, topped with dirt and, over the last few months, a structure has risen to fill the void. The structure is the new Heathcote Valley Preschool which will open for business in April. Hopefully a hole in the local provision of education will be filled up too!

The preschool is the project of Kathryn and Andy Palliser who are presently living in Rolleston where they had their previous preschool. As the parents of 2 children, aged 2½ and 4 months, they felt that the site and the location offered a wonderful opportunity to start their new venture.

They love the valley and see the potential for a good preschool on the east side of the city, drawing on the hill suburbs from Lyttelton to Cashmere as well as Opawa, Woolston and Linwood.

The school will be divided into three age groups for better learning, education and socialising of the children; there will be a nursery area, toddler area and lastly a pre-school area which will have up-to-the-minute facilities for preparing young minds for the step up to school proper.

There will be a staff of 13 when the maximum (85 children) capacity is reached. Kathryn has been involved with the preschool education for 17 years and brings a wealth of experience and training to the school.

In recent years, besides running her own business, she has been working as consultant to other preschools around Canterbury and will bring to Heathcote many of the newest teaching innovations being used in the pre-school sector.

The school has just opened and is located at 108 Port Hills Road and the operating hours will be 7.30 am - 6pm.