INL May 1 2019 Digital Edition

06
MAY 1, 2019
Educationlink
New Childcare Centre a masterpiece in West Auckland
‘Blooming Buds’ a tribute to early Croatian settlers in Waitakere
Venkat Raman
Anew Childcare Centre aiming
to make a difference in
Early Childhood Education
has just been opened in
West Auckland.
Located at 371-373 West Coast Road
in Glen Eden, ‘Blooming Buds’ is the
brainchild of Nomita and J P Singh,
who have developed the property as
‘A Castle with a Café’ to pay homage
to the memory of early Croatian
settlers in Waitakere.
According to available information,
European settlers began to arrive in
the region in the 1830s and the first
families from Dalmatia date back to
the early 1900s.
Growing ethnicity
‘Blooming Buds’ compliments the
growing ethnicity of the Glen Eden
and West Auckland region, while the
adjacent ‘Café Oro’ has a Mediterranean
theme.
Speaking at the official inaugural
of ‘Blooming Buds’ on Saturday, April
13, 2019, Mr Singh described it as a
‘dream project,’ with challenges and
anxieties.
“As well as incorporating a
Childcare Centre and Café, this
Croatian-themed Castle seeks to
immortalise the memories of early
settlers in the Waitakeres,” he said.
Mr Singh said that the new,
purpose-built facility will provide
An exterior view of the ‘Blooming Buds Castle’ (Picture Supplied)
Nomita (extreme left) and JPSingh with Smeet Girish and Croatian community members
(Picture Supplied
day-care services in a secure
environment with love and
understanding.
Raising tomorrow’s citizens
“This is a place where infants,
toddlers and pre-schoolers will
be nurtured to flourish and
grow towards becoming forward
thinking and educated citizens
of tomorrow. We place great
emphasis on encouraging children
in developing their social skills and
aptitudes, thus, helping them to
grow in confidence for the next big
step in their lives,” he said.
National MPs Kanwaljit Singh
Reetu and Manoj Kumar Passi (INL Picture)
Bakshi, Melissa Lee and Dr Parmjit
Parmar were among the more 150
guests, including parents, teachers
and businesspersons attended the
opening ceremony.
Pleasant environment
Reetu Passi, the Centre’s Director
and Manager, said that safety,
respect and progress are the hallmarks
of ‘Blooming Buds,’ designed
to enhance the learning experience
of children.
“Our teachers are friendly and
approachable and go out of their
way to maintain strong relationships
with the children, their families
and whānau. Every child at
our Centre will be an integral part
of our personalised and customised
care system and a well-knit, stable
and passionate team. All of us are
excited to be a part of the ‘Blooming
Buds’ family in our amazing castle!”
she said.
The Age Groups
Children at ‘Blooming Buds’ are
categorised into three age groups,
namely, ‘Under 2 years,’ ‘Toddlers’ (2
to 3 years) and ‘Pre-Schoolers’ (3 to
5 years).
“Preschool is an age where a
child progresses through their final
preparation before Primary School.
At this stage, we focus on providing
them with all the tools that they will
need to be confident and curious
learners and be ready to engage
with larger numbers of children in a
more formal setting,” Ms Passi said.
Manoj Kumar Passi and Smeet
Girish, who are also Directors of
the Centre, said that the objectives
of ‘Blooming Buds’ are to promote
the independence and active
participation of children, develop
their creativity, critical thinking and
problem-solving skills and facilitate
an easy and stress free transition to
school.
“We foster strong partnership
with families to create high quality
outcomes for our children and our
core values include honesty, integrity,
accountability and transparency,”
they said.
Three Indian students get visa reprieve
Supplied Content
Three Indian students
who were caught up in
immigration fraud and
subsequently faced deportation
have been granted a reprieve
on compassionate grounds by
the Government.
Associate Immigration Minister
Kris Faafoi has determined
the students can stay in New
Zealand with open work visas
for a year.
The three students had
engaged the services of an
education agent in India who
had, unbeknownst to them,
been falsifying supporting visa
documents.
In early 2017, these students
sought refuge in an Auckland
church, along with a number
of other students, but eventually
they had to leave New
Zealand when the National
Party Immigration Minister
at the time refused to reverse an Immigration
decision to cancel their visas or to overturn their
deportation notice.
Labour MPs’ gesture
Labour MPs Dr Deborah Russell and Priyanca
Radhakrishnan have been advocates for the
students and helped with the four cases where
the Ombudsman found there were processing
problems at Immigration New Zealand.
Both MPs are delighted by the outcome.
“It was a complicated case and on a strict
interpretation of immigration rules, it would not
be possible for the students to come back. But it’s
s p a c e
good to see that compassion
can prevail. I met them in
2017 and really felt for them,”
Ms Russell said.
Ms Radhakrishnan said,
“The process has taken a while
as we have had to wait for the
Ombudsman’s report on the
matter but I am pleased that
three students have the option
of returning to New Zealand,
should they wish to.”
She said that she will continue
to advocate for the rights
of international students and
support the Government
in its work to create fairer
immigration policies.
“Being involved with a case
like this shows how important
it is to get our policies right in
the first place,” Ms Radhakrishnan
said.
The fourth student was not
granted a work visa because
he has been able to travel
to another OECD country
for study since leaving New
Zealand.
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Free Workshop for students, jobseekers
Venkat Raman
International students and
those seeking employment
can expect to derive the
benefit of sound advise and
perhaps even practical support at
a free Workshop being organised
by the officials and members of
the Tamil Association of New
Zealand Inc (TANZI).
Sponsored by ICL Immigration
Services Limited and supported
by this newspaper, the Workshop
will be held at the ‘Senior Citizens
Room’ at Fickling Convention
Centre located at 546 Mount
Robert Road, Three Kings on
Saturday, May 11, 2019 from 930
pm to 330 pm.
Experienced Coach
TANZI President Sowndra
Rajan said that Adon Kumar, an
Auckland based Language Coach
and Lecturer will conduct the
Workshop.
“Mr Kumar is known for his
sound knowledge of the job
market in New Zealand and experience
in counselling the student
community. He has conducted
many such Workshops at which
he outlines how to seek jobs and
write CVs.
“He also gives examples of
migrant CVs where the language,
content, format and presentation
of one’s credentials did not meet
the employers’ requirements or
expectations. He demystifies the
assumption of many migrants
that qualifications alone will
secure a good job. He often says,
‘It is not what you have but what
you can actually do that makes an
employer want to hire you.’ The
purpose of a CV is not to get a job
but to convince the employer to
provide an opportunity to attend
a job interview,” he said.
Interactive Sessions
Mr Kumar also apprises
participants how a CV and Cover
Letter should be written to attract
employers New Zealand and how
get invited to a Job Interview.
The Workshop will comprise
practical and interactives
sessions, at which the attendees
will be asked to participate in
Mock Job Interviews so that they
can learn how to answer open
questions that Kiwi employers
normally ask. They will also
learn aspecific model that they
could use to confidently answer
situational, hypothetical and
behavioural questions.
“The Workshop will include
several topics of interest including
accommodation, insurance,
cultural and social practices in
New Zealand. Lunch will be
provided free for registered
participants,” he said.
For details, please contact
please call him on 021-1804908.
Email:
sowndar.mage@gmail.com