betterbecause@kidsfirst.org.nz
03 338 1303
0800 KIDSFIRST (0800 454 373)
Kidsfirst Kindergartens, PO Box 8089, Christchurch 8440
Beryl McCombs kindergarten 1956, more than a decade after it opened.
Redcliffs was one of our earlier kindergartens.
The kindergarten was rebuilt in 1952, at the time it was renamed as Beryl McCombs Memorial Kindergarten as a tribute to Mrs McCombs who had been a tireless advocate for the local kindy and had also become Vice President of the Association.
Following the earthquakes, the kindergarten moved across the road to share the local Church facilities, but this proved unsustainable in the long term.
Local children were still served by Kidsfirst Sumner and Mount Pleasant (which itself was operating from a local church). A few years later, Mount Pleasant would become The Bays and return to a new building on its site on the causeway.
However, Beryl McCombs kindergarten is though of fondly in many people’s memories and has a place in our story as a worthy tribute to a kindergarten champion.
Unconventional fundraisers have always proved popular – a flapper dance for Beryl McCombs Kindergarten attracted a lot of attention.
Community members fundraised and supported the kindergarten in any way they could.
Memories from our kindergarten album: