St Peter Chanel Samoan Bilingual Preschool

Talofa Lava,

Malo lava le soifua maua ma le lagi e mama. Talitonu o loo manuia uma I tatou ile alofa mai o lo tatou Matai.

Ae ua laga se leo ole auauna e faaleoina atu se faamatalaga e lenei Aoga Amata ma le Fa'aaloalo lava..

This Page has been established for Present, Future and Past Parents, Staff and Individuals of the Preschool to communicate:
- the History
- School Notices
- Acknowledge Achievements
- Upcoming Events
- Important News

The Page will be managed by the Parent Representatives on the Management Committee. This is currently Ms Keisha Manukitau and Mr Fiu Anae Wesley Tala'imanu.

Any enrollment requests for information please contact the school office.
Parents can send a message/s to this page for the Parental Representatives to respond to queries, worries or acknowledgements they would like to pass onto staff or the committee.

This initiative was approved by the Management Committee in the July 2014 Meeting.


HISTORY OF ST PETER CHANEL AOGA AMATA

42 Boundary Road, Clover Park, Manukau

The St Peter Chanel Aoga Amata began as a children’s crèche in the 1990s by the mothers of the St Peter Chanel Catholic Parish. Its concept in the early stage was to offer assistance for young working mothers and was staffed by the Parish Community of the Church. It offered services for a small number of under two and over two year old children in the parish hall.A Survey in local area showed a scarcity of good preschools and it was noted that Pacific Island children were consistently entering Primary School Education some two years behind other students.

This provided the motivation to Management to approach the Parish for a request for land to build a dedicated Preschool and Playground. This development also coincided with Ministry if Education's Plan to provide a seamless connection between Early Childhood Education, Primary, Middle and Secondary Edcation.

The request for permission for land was approved in 1999 and an application for funding was duly made to the Ministry of Education and the Preschool was completed on its present site in 2001. With a dedicated building, Management approached Ministry of Education to charter and license the St Peter Chanel Aoga Amata. This was approved for 35 children under the umbrella of the local Parish Community and the Catholic Diocese of Auckland.

From 2001 the Centre grew in size from a few numbers to 35 children. With Licensing came regulations for qualified managers and teachers. Funding incentives encouraged the Management to strive for qualified staff and quality preschool education. This laid down the foundation of its philosophy to provide Quality Education for the Early Childhood in the Otara Community.

So successful was the venture and with large waiting lists, the Management decided to extend. In 2007 funding was approved by the Ministry of Education to redevelop the Preschool site and increase the limit of children the Centre serve from 35 to 50 children. During the construction period the Preschool shifted temporarily to 44 Boundary Road the old premises of the Parish Priest. The new Centre opened in September 2008 with a New Playground, separate Administration office, Staff room and separate Over Twos and Under Twos year old areas.

Over the years, successive Education Review Office reports have favorably endorsed St Peter Chanel Aoga Amata, the Management Committee and Staff as a place of quality Early Childhood Education. Heavy emphasis on assisting staff to become qualified and registered teachers has continually raised the bar. Professional staff development has also ensured continuity of service. The Centre is proud that it has also contributed to the quality of other local Centres as staff have qualified and moved to positions of leadership in other Centres in Manukau and Auckland wide.