Rotary is very proud to have contributed $37,000 to this worthwhile project along with additional funding from the Community Trust of Southland, Meridian and other local sponsors. The official opening was undertaken by the oldest and youngest members of the troop - Sophia Humphries and Mere Tamatea and followed by a cake cutting and wonderful afternoon tea.  The culmination of several years' work, it was great to see another project come together which will benefit the education of our youngsters and contribute to them becoming well rounded individuals.

In today's world of more screens and less movement, some children miss out on the major milestones - they don't have as much tummy time and are not left to explore enough.  A lack of moving, rolling, crawling and progressing to walking could consequently impair their learning.  However, research shows that an early intervention can address mobility issues and therefore improve learning.  Linley has implemented a program at the primary school and now has a small class who are benefiting from her assistance.  Children can be labelled as being a "problem" or just "being a boy" when really then need to learn to balance, coordinate and let their bodies create the neural pathways that should have developed at a younger age. So if your child or grandchild is struggling to concentrate and learn then perhaps the move to learn concept is one worth exploring - you never know where it might lead.  And, it's never to late to learn as adults have also benefited from these programs.

Fiordland is an amazing place to gaze at the night sky and now vision boards along the lakefront help to put the planets into perspective.  The team would like to see the boards as a permanent attraction and have requested funding to help them achieve this. The current boards simply have laminated information on them so are unlikely to last more than a few months.