Fourways nursery school Land of Oz has reached its third decade of teaching children who are not even halfway through their first!
The preschool recently celebrated its 30th birthday with a party that would have made any young child happy. The children and their teachers enjoyed cakes, balloons and a puppet show.
Maureen Irving, who has been principal of the school for 24 years, explained that birthday celebrations were held not only at their campus in Fourways, but also at the second Land of Oz campus in Broadacres, which opened to pupils in 2007.
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“When I joined in 1993, Land of Oz was a very small playgroup that was actually held inside a house,” Irving explained. “It’s absolutely fantastic, all these years later, to see how the school has grown and changed since then.”
Although Land of Oz was started in January of 1987 the school decided to celebrate the birthday in May instead. The school grounds were decorated with balloons and colourful streamers and a huge cake was made for the day. The staff were treated to a nice lunch and the children were entertained by Scooby the puppet and all his animal friends, who put on a performance for them.
“What I love most about this school is how we’re a family. We have parents who came to Land of Oz themselves when they were young, and now these people are sending their children to the school as well. The thought of second generation Land of Ozians is incredible to me.”
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