Our Membership comes from Business Operators, Residents, and Community Groups within the Kaiapoi-Tuahiwi, The Pines and Kairaki Beach, Woodend, Pegasus, Ohoka, and Ravenswood areas.
The KPA sees its role as promoting Kaiapoi as a township that is a vibrant and prosperous place, which attracts people to visit, engage with the community and enjoy the many amazing attributes and attractions that are unique to a river town.
Welcome to Portobelo Kaiapoi Preschool & Nursery, where children love to play and learn. We have been part of the Kaiapoi community since 2004 and are small, friendly, locally owned and operated, and have a stable long serving team of dedicated teachers.We are located in a quiet residential area in Kaiapoi, well away from the industrial zone, petrol stations and motorway. Our preschool and nursery are connected by a covered walkway, and have separate street addresses. The preschool for 3 to 5 year olds has a large natural outdoor space, with fruit trees, decking, edible gardens, and plenty of room for exploration and activities. Every day the children use this space for swinging, digging, running, climbing, playing ball games, riding their bikes and tending our gardens. They learn about challenge and risk, problem-solving, working with others, perseverance, and responsibility for the environment, while making discoveries in this rich environment. . Indoors we have a number of cosy inviting areas thoughtfully set up by teachers each day, that encourage children to engage in sustained creative play. We also have a separate café area where the children eat together and take part in larger group activities. We have a wide range of ever-changing resources that invite cooperation and joint work on projects of various natures and sizes. Children learn about respect, responsibility and community, while developing friendship skills, creativity, problem solving, along with literacy and numeracy. For our older children, we have a specially designed ‘Ready for School’ programme, which ensures each child is well set up for success when they enter formal schooling. Our Kaiapoi Nursery specialises in individualised and responsive care for infants and children from 0 to 3 years old. We are down a long drive, tucked away on a quiet residential street, with our outdoor play areas at the back and well away from the street. Here there are trees, grass, swings, a sandpit and 'mud kitchen', gardens and decking, with spaces designed to encourage children's curiosity and exploration of their natural environment at their own pace. We connect with the preschool so siblings can interact as a natural part of their day. Our indoor areas all have underfloor heating (especially nice for the babies over winter time), lots of play nooks within a larger space, and separate café, art room, and toddler sleep room .We also have a separate playroom and sleep room dedicated to our youngest children, who are not so mobile yet. Both indoor and outdoor environments are freshly set up several times each day to have lots of interesting and inviting play spaces with resources that encourage children to explore deeply, all with a natural feel. We understand how special your child is and we will work hard to ensure the settling in process takes account of what is important to you and your whanau. We offer free orientation visits for you and your child so that relationships can be built between us all. To ensure we get to know each child and family well, and can meet each child’s individual preferences and needs, we work to ratios of 1 adult to 3 babies (under 12 months) and 1 adult to 4 toddlers (12 months and over). Our preschool has a ratio of 1 adult for up to 8 children.