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Our mission
At Alpha, we believe in creating a vibrant and nurturing environment where young minds can explore, discover, and grow. Our commitment to early childhood education goes beyond traditional learning; we are a community focused on building a strong foundation for lifelong learning.
Meet our teachers
Maria & Chris
I have owned Alpha since 1997 with my then wife Margaret who sadly passed away in 2006. Since 2011 Maria has joined me in running the Centre. We really enjoy the personal relationships we develop with children, families and our longstanding staff members that come with running a small Centre. We especially love it when children and young adults return to the Centre to visit having attended Alpha as children. We are really just one big family.
Alofa
Talofa Lava. I'm Alofagia Pesa, born in Samoa and raised in Christchurch since the early 2000s. I'm a mother of two boys and enjoy creating memories with them. I graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education in 2024. I've worked at Alpha since 2023, starting as a practicum student. I value our close community where everyone feels they belong. I believe each child learns uniquely and deserves an engaging environment for social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. I'm committed to building relationships with children, families/whānau and colleagues to support our mokopuna's development.
Nicole
Kia ora, my name is Nicole. I have lived in Christchurch my whole life.
I am married and have 3 beautiful daughters.
We all love the outdoors and going on adventures together especially camping, the beach and on walks.
I graduated in 2006 with a Diploma of Teaching and have been working at Alpha ever since.
I love our homely feel and love seeing the children achieve their milestones and love having strong connections with all our whānau.
I also believe in ‘the more mess, the more fun!’
Our tamariki are encouraged to freely play and engage in all opportunities alongside others.
Joanne
Kia ora, my name is Joanne and I have been at Alpha since February 2020. I was born in Thames New Zealand. I lived most of life in the North Island till I moved to Motueka and lived there for 6 years. I have lived in Christchurch for 3 years now and love it heaps. I fell in love with our Centre due to its close connections of kaiako and whānau, which enables our children to have a sense of belonging and be proud of. I have been a kaiako since 2017 and I am studying my Bachelor of Teaching and Learning in Early Childhood Education with New Zealand Tertiary College and am in my second year. I am finally following my dream when I was 18 to do my Bachelor. I have two adult sons who live with me and my huskies. I love to go camping, walking and travelling our beautiful country with my caravan.
Rajvinder
Hi my name is Raj and I am from India. I came to NZ in 2017 and fell in love with this country. I am married and have two beautiful children. In my spare time I love to travel, try new foods, meet new people and learn about their cultures. I also enjoy cooking, dancing and reading books. I have been a part of Alpha preschool since 2021 and I love its homely feeling. I am fully registered and completed my Graduate Diploma in ECE in 2022. I have a passion for nurturing young minds and creating a fun, engaging and supportive learning environment. I believe that every child is an uncut diamond and we as teachers have the responsibility of nurturing and guiding them to reach their full potential.
Charlotte
Kia ora, my name is Charlotte Dyson and I am the head teacher of our wonderful preschool. I have been at Alpha since 2018 where I started as a student and went on to gain my Bachelor of Teaching and Learning in Early Childhood Education in 2020. I choose to work at Alpha because I love how supportive and caring our Centre is as a whole and I love working together to foster the growth of all children and whanau choose to be a part of our Alpha whanau. One of my core beliefs as a teacher is “it's not the weather, it's the wardrobe”. I love having the children outside no matter the weather as it provides a wide array of learning experiences. My approach for learning stems from the core belief of “come as you are” as it means there are unlimited opportunities to learn from each other.
Andrea
Kia ora, my name is Andrea. I consider myself to be a passionate kaiako and have been at Alpha since the beginning of 2019. I love the homely atmosphere, the uniqueness of each individual child and how warm, friendly and caring the nga kaiako and whanau are here. Our families are so supportive of each other which I feel makes our Centre so special. I love having reciprocal conversations with the tamariki encouraging their language, social skills, questioning & Reasoning skills. I have been a kaiako for the past 25 plus years and have two adult children who no longer live at home but have contact on a regular basis. In my spare time I like to dance, relax in the garden and spend time with family and friends.
Sarah
Kia ora, my name is Sarah. I was born in Timaru but have lived in Christchurch for the last 11 years. I studied in Dunedin and graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Education (Teaching) Early Childhood Education. I have also worked in Centres both in London and Australia. I love the small environment of Alpha, and where we all get along so well and have good connections with the whānau. My hobbies that I enjoy doing in the weekend are going bike riding, cooking and going for coffees.
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