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Two organisations are working together to bring the Coast its first full immersion Playcentre. From left, North Shore Playcentre Association’s Leisbeth Watson and Kavita Budhia with Amanda Glashan and Kereama Nathan from Te Herenga Waka o Orewa community marae. The children are Ahren Budhia, left and Genesis Notton-Skinner
The latest plan to rebuild Silverdale Playcentre is for a full Maori immersion Playcentre – something that is a first for Auckland.
Despite the best efforts of the remaining parents, the Silverdale Playcentre went into recess at the end of October last year as insufficient numbers were attending to keep it afloat.
In its place, the North Shore Playcentre Association is working with Te Herenga Waka o Orewa community marae to establish a Maori immersion Playcentre. It is hoped that this will open its doors next term, initially for one morning per week. Similar schemes operate in Wellington and Waikato but this will be the first such Playcentre in Auckland.
Te Herenga Waka o Orewa’s kaiwhakahaere, Kereama Nathan, says although it is a full immersion scheme, there will be ‘language leaders’ who will speak only Maori while parents learn alongside their children. “Playcentre is open to everyone, so it’s important that we start by normalising, but not forcing, the language,” he says. “Our babies will learn faster than our adults, through play.”
He says the initiative offers something unique to our community. “We were saddened to see the Playcentre close and wanted to be part of its rejuvenation,” Kereama says. “We believe that the language underpins the future of our marae. So by helping our tamariki to learn, we are building our future.”
North Shore Playcentre Association president Kavita Budhia says biculturalism is part of Playcentre culture and she’s excited about the plan.
The full immersion programme will follow the Playcentre philosophy of parents as first educators, which Kavita says sits well with the Maori way of learning. “That’s what makes it so exciting, to see that flowing,” she says.
It’s a pilot scheme, so if the initial one session per week is successful, more may be offered.
Other options are also being considered to keep the facility, which is on the corner of Wainui Road and Silverdale Street, in use throughout the week. These include introducing Playcentre’s Space sessions for parents with babies, and making the centre available to Red Beach and Whangaparaoa Playcentres.
Info: email teherengawaka@xtra.co.nz
