Catholic kindergarten bows out Friday: Remuera
A cherished Auckland preschool is closing its doors after teaching Remuera children for 66 years.
St Joseph's of Cluny Kindergarten guides learners for the last time on Friday out of concern for the growing frailty of the Sisters who manage the institution.
Head teacher of 15 years Julie McClay said the Sisters of St Joseph Trust Board were aging and did not have any younger Sisters coming through to take the reigns.
"They're 80 plus so they can just relax and not have any financial worries down the track, " McClay said.
The Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny, a religious order founded in France, opened the kindergarten in 1954 to better serve their local congregation with early childhood education.
Among the first day pupils were the Bishop of Auckland, Bishop Patrick Dunn.
The initiative was so successful it led to the launch in 1960 of Cluny School, for primary students, which ran until 1981.
McClay describes the Sisters as "the unsung heroes."
They welcomed students with special needs and never turned away families who could not afford to pay their fees, she said.
"Whatever the need was we said, 'yes' and I think that's what we were about."
McClay said that over the years, she often heard primary school teachers remarking they could recognise the kindergarten's former students.
"I think it's (because of) the value system."
The children were given high expectations- and rose to them, she said.
"It was always done in a nurturing, loving environment at the pace of the child."
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Christmas gifts stolen from parked car prompts warning over holiday break-ins
An Auckland man whose Christmas presents were stolen from his car on a quiet street is warning others not to repeat his mistake.
Police and the AA say opportunistic thieves are breaking into cars more frequently during the Christmas period.
Jeremy Rees, an RNZ staff member in Auckland, had packed his car full of gifts when he decided to visit a friend.
“Everyone had handed over presents and we had a couple of bags full of presents sitting in the back of the car,” he said.
“I decided it would be great to go around and see a friend, drop off some presents and say hello. My wife said to me, ‘Are you sure we should be taking this car?’ I said, ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine’.
“I think it was only 20 minutes outside their house, a very quiet street. It was light [outside]. We came out and my wife pointed out that someone had smashed the rear window, reached in and grabbed the presents, and headed away.
“It was a shock. It was a shock partly because of the Christmas presents and partly because my wife had been telling me, ‘Don’t do that’.”
AA Insurance head of motor claims Beau Paparoa said roadside staff were responding to smashed windows more often.
“We definitely see car break-ins starting to occur a lot more around this time of year. We’re often hearing from customers and some of our roadside teams that there’s definitely a bit more opportunistic theft happening,” he said.
“We’re putting that down to it being a busy time of year. Everyone’s out doing their Christmas shopping and there’s much more presence of gifts and valuables being visible in the car.”
He encouraged people to be careful and make sure valuables were hidden from view.
“In terms of any valuables, if you’ve done some Christmas shopping, or if generally you’ve got valuables in your car, try [to] keep them locked away or out of sight – in your boot if you can,” he said.
“Where you’re parking is possibly a good thing to think about. If you can afford to, don’t park on the street, but if you have to park on-street, make sure you park in well-lit areas.”
Police said it was not uncommon for Christmas presents to be stolen.
“The key is to remove any opportunity. This includes taking valuables or documents out of vehicles wherever possible,” a spokesperson said.
Rees said he wished he had followed that advice.
“I feel a bit stupid, to be absolutely honest. I read all of the things from police saying ‘don’t do this, don’t pack your car, don’t just leave it on the street’, and I did exactly the opposite and I paid the price.”
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Auckland Harbour Bridge summer works
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is carrying out essential maintenance on the Auckland Harbour Bridge this December and January. The southbound clip-on lanes will be closed (24/7) from 26 December to 5 January for road resurfacing. Night-time lane restrictions will be in place throughout the summer for recoating work on the bridge. Traffic will still be able to travel in both directions at all times.
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