My son started attending the programme in March 2014, after we moved here from the United States. Compared with our childcare experiences in the U.S., the staff and programme at New Shoots has exceeded our expectations, and then some. When we first came in for a visit, we were welcomed by Denise (at the front desk), who was warm, friendly and very helpful in answering our questions about the centre. We were taken on a tour of the centre, in particular, the Rimu room, where our son would be based. I explained to the teachers that I was interested in a play-based programme for our son (who was just 2 1/2 years old at the time). They showed us the activities available to the children, both indoors and outdoors. After our first visit and tour, I was highly impressed by the level of training of the teachers, the quality of the programme (from an educational perspective) and the amenities included in the programme (such as the food and nappies being included in the price). Even though there was a bit of "love at first sight," with the programme, I would say that our happiness with the centre has continued to grow over the last year. We are very pleased with the availability of the online portfolio, where the teachers upload stories about our son. We have been able to share these with our family members in America, and it helps them stay connected with our family and updated on our son's growth and development. Our son has a documented, mild-moderate speech delay (diagnosed in the U.S.) and the teachers were eager to learn our U.S. signs (and gestures) that our son was using when he first started the programme. Since he's been at the centre, his spoken language skills have grown by leaps and bounds. We've noticed it and the teachers have commented on it as well. They helped us locate local services and provide referrals for another speech/language evaluation, so that we can see where our son is presently and if additional services would be beneficial to him. As migrants to New Zealand, we arrived with no friends or family in the country. The staff at New Shoots have taken the time to learn our names and have expressed a genuine interest in our adjustment and have offered helpful advice and suggestions, when asked, to help make our transition smoother. Our family has appreciated this level of personal attention very much. The teachers in the Rimu room have also gone out of their way to make accommodations for our cultural needs, including helping my son to make a Father's Day card (in June, which is when we celebrate it in the United States). They have also offered support and guidance around the local customs regarding birthdays for small children and reaching out to other parents in my son's room. They also helped accommodate a visit that I made to the room, on my son's birthday, to share cupcakes and balloons with the other children, to sing birthday songs and to help us celebrate. In the absence of local friends and family in New Zealand, I can say that I very much appreciated this opportunity and I know that my son had a fantastic time celebrating as well. In the United States, we were paying $1200 US per month for our son to have childcare services three days per week. This was in a public daycare centre (not private). The teachers there were friendly and helpful, but few of them had any formal training in early childhood education. Many simply, "liked working with children." It has been our great pleasure to now have the opportunity for our son to participate in world-class early childhood education programming here in New Zealand. The expertise of the teachers here is light years beyond what we experienced (at greater personal cost) in the United States. The young children of New Zealand (and their parents) are so incredibly lucky to have such amazing resources available, and New Shoots Centre in Hamilton is a shining example of what the best of the best can be. When I returned to work after our youngest son was born, we enrolled him in the infant room at the centre. I'm still continually blown away by how awesome the teaching staff are with the babies and the great care that they take with them. It was heartbreaking to go back to work and leave him, but in the end, I am extremely happy that these are the folks I leave him with every day. read more