LOVE IS WHAT COUNTS IN A KINDERGARTEN

Te Ao Hou, December 1961, Page 26

One of the things the children love about kindergarten is the wonderful play equipment. Left to right: John Zeira, Kay McKinnon, Hinerangi Te Maipi, Valerie Taylor. LOVE IS WHAT COUNTS IN A KINDERGARTEN by E. M. LANGFORD At the age of 22 Missie Pukepuke, of Opotiki, is the only Maori director of a Free Kindergarten in New Zealand. In this Bay of Plenty district where almost fifty per cent of all school children are Maori, she has been instrumental in creating a real interest in the kindergarten among the Maori families and now, five months after it was opened, 20 of the 80 children on the roll are from these homes. It was largely because of the concern of Mrs A. Hollard, president of the Opotiki kindergarten for the seven years of fund raising before the building could be commenced, that Miss Pukepuke was appointed. Mrs Hollard felt that such an organisation should cater for both races, and, in an endeavour to rouse the interest of the Maori population in the project she called and addressed a meeting last year which was attended by only eight Maori mothers. Their lack of numbers, however, was far outweighed by their enthusiasm. It was through them that she heard of Miss Pukepuke, a local girl then in her final term at the kindergarten training college in Auckland, whom she contacted and suggested that she apply for the position of director. It is unusual for a girl to go straight from training college to a directorate but Miss Pukepuke had an excellent recommendation from Miss F. Carkwell, principal of the college, who gave additional help in her last few weeks when she knew of the responsibility she was to assume.