Moriah Kindergarten has been part of New Zealand’s diverse and cultural capital for 41 years. We need to rebuild our facilities to keep up with the growing competition, demanding building standards, and maintain the strong Jewish traditions that have always set us apart.

Like many small Jewish communities around the world, Wellington, Zealand has been through some difficult times. We’ve had families move to larger communities in Australia, legal challenges to shechita and six years ago the city’s only Jewish Day School closed down. However, the community is proactively rebuilding and strengthening. The Wellington Jewish Community Centre has employed a new enthusiastic and energetic rabbinical family, and the WJCC is building a new mikveh to attract more Jewish families to the city, and there are plans beyond that to look into building an eruv, a kosher cafe and a Jewish School.

preparing for Shavuot

Big history

For the past 41 years, Moriah Kindergarten has been an essential component of the Wellington Jewish Community Center.  Most of the community’s families have sent their 2 – 5 year olds to the kindergarten and for many families it was their entry into the Jewish Community. It is also an important draw card for Jewish families considering moving to Wellington. The kindergarten also welcomes a diverse range of families from the city and prides itself on it’s environmental education initiatives. In a highly competitive preschool market, Moriah remains popular, well-managed and attractive to Jewish and Non-Jewish families.

playing Shabbat

Big hearts

As Wellington’s only Jewish Kindergarten, it really is a treasure. The teachers are warm and inviting, the children friendly, the families actively engaged, the Shabbat and Festival customs delightful, it is Jewish, welcoming of all cultures. The New Zealand Education Review Office noted that teachers establish a culture in which children are valued and affirmed for who they are and what they bring to their learning. Adults talk with children in ways that challenge their thinking.

Big needs

Unfortunately the kindergarten is currently facing challenges. The early education market in New Zealand is competitive, and another childcare centre has opened near by. In addition, changes to NZ Health and Safety Laws have made it difficult for the kindergarten to cook with children using the current facilities. Moriah Kindergarten is tackling these challenges head on. We have specific plans to make the physical environment as warm and as inviting as its caring heart is. The kindergarten has become an Enviroschool to better market ourselves to the wider Wellington community (as well as teaching children how to care for the Earth in line with the Moriah value of Ma’aseh Bereshit). We will rebuild the kitchen so that children can actively participate in all the food rituals associated with Shabbat and Festivals. We will build a new room where younger children can have naps so that we can accommodate more children for more hours.

In the sandpit, children help with the kindergarten build

Big plans

Moriah Kindergarten consulted with architects who specialize in kindergartens and preschool centers, and developed plans to better utilize the space we have. The plans include:

·         Redesigning the kindergarten kitchen so that it is in compliance with new health and safety laws, as well as making it a more safe and enjoyable place for teachers and children to prepare food together especially before Shabbat and Festivals. This will include a complete rebuild; rewiring, improving lighting, replacing plumbing, painting and putting down new flooring in the entire kitchen area. There will be a custom built kitchen which will perfectly fit the space and safety requirements, which includes an island with an additional kitchen bench at child height, gates preventing children getting near the oven and dishwasher, buying a new oven, rangehood, clothes washer / dryer, creating more kitchen storage and shelving, and putting in an additional large sink to help with preparing and cleaning art projects.

·         Creating a separate sleeping space so that the kindergarten can accommodate a larger number of two-year-olds and offer extended hours. This involves extending the existing ‘Orot’ Room by demolishing a wall, relining walls and ceiling, plastering and painting, wiring and new lighting, laying new carpet and installing custom built double doors leading through to the main play area. This new sleep room is essential in today’s changing preschool market and allows better transition for children staying longer days.

·         Improving the main kindergarten area by adding more windows so that there is better light and visibility. This space will also require new electrical wiring, painting and plastering, relining walls and new flooring.

·         Painting and laying new carpets in the staff office

As a result of a building boom and tradespeople shortage in New Zealand since the 2010 Earthquakes, building costs are increasing every year. Therefore in order to lock in the quoted prices, the kindergarten has begun the renovations already, even though the funds are not completely raised. Renovations began in the kitchen in May 2019 and the entire project is due to be completed by September 2019.

Cooking for Hannukah

Small community

For the past three years, the families of Moriah Kindergarten have been actively fundraising for these improvements. There have been raffles and film screenings, pub quizzes and photo shoots. The kindergarten has applied for funds from New Zealand charities and from Trusts within the NZ Jewish Community and throughout the Jewish world. Many generous grants have been awarded and a significant proportion of the funds have been raised. In fact, Moriah Kindergarten has raised approximately 80% of what is required to complete the build.

However, $20,000 is still required, and with the construction already underway, the kindergarten is facing enormous pressure to find this remaining amount before September 2019. This amount cannot be fundraised from within New Zealand, we need the help of the worldwide Jewish Community. Your donation will enable the kindergarten to remain open and continue to grow. Judaism has a very long tradition of helping the members of its community most in need, and now if your chance to support Moriah Kindergarten and help the Wellington Jewish Community grow from strength to strength and raise a new generation of community leaders. Your support is greatly appreciated. Moriah Kindergarten is a registered charity in New Zealand and functions in full compliance with the New Zealand Ministry of Education Guidelines.