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Learning and laughter to be found at Rainbow Station

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The Rainbow Station campus will hold its grand opening on Saturday, complete with face painting, train rides, balloon making and clowns.

The facility, which caters to children aged 6 weeks to 14 years, has standards of learning and lesson plans for all age groups. The lesson plans, called Play Works, is a curriculum developed by Rainbow Station.

Play Works is one of the unique features of Rainbow Station that sets it apart from other pre-school facilities, said Nadiya Lakhani, Executive Director of Rainbow Station Cedar Park. “We have the lowest child-teacher ratios in the area of 1-to-10,” she said.

With bigger classrooms for more interaction, four playgrounds for all age groups, and a building that is child friendly, Rainbow Station is a unique area for children to learn, play and interact, said Lakhani.

Perhaps the most unique feature of all is the Get Well Place, which is a center within the facility where children can go if they're ill. Misty Vires, RN and the Get Well Place administrator, said children who are mildly ill can come to the Get Well Place and stay there for the day.

The center has a triage area and four different rooms based on a child's sickness. The Whoozy Station is for kids with nausea, vomiting or gastrointestinal (GI) problems; Sniffle Stop caters to those with allergy, sinus or respiratory problems; R&R Crossing for those who are just not feeling well; and a reverse airflow/isolation room for kids with chicken pox, the flu or other highly infectious illnesses.

“This will help with infection control,” said Vires, who said the Get Well Place is open to enrolled Rainbow Station kids and children in the community who need a place to go when they're sick.

“Rainbow Station is the only childcare center in Austin with a nurse on site,” Vires said. “This is the most unique thing about us.”

Vires also plans to educate the children and instructors about common illnesses and their signs and symptoms, hand-washing, and diaper-changing techniques to help combat the spread of illnesses and infections.

While the campus has a pre-school area and the Get Well Place, it also boosts “The Village” - a special area for school-age children which is housed in an adjoining building.

The Village provides a variety of learning activities for children at different “stores” within the village, including an apothecary, arcade, art gallery, Café Rainbow, gymnasium, theater, toy shop and the village green. Club 5 is also part of the village and is a 1950s style diner for children in 5th grade or older.

It will serve as an after school program area starting in the fall, but for the summer it will house summer camps. “We're offering a summer camp during the summer months,” said Lakhani, who said they are currently enrolling for the camps.

In the Fall of 2009, a private kindergarten will also open as another aspect of the campus.

The campus currently has 55 students enrolled and ready to start in the coming weeks with full capacity set at 320 (150 in the infant/pre-school area and 170 in the village).

Rainbow Station, which is based in Virginia, has only seven locations nationwide and only one other campus in Texas - located in San Antonio. Lakhani said when she was looking to open her own franchise she thought the Austin area would be the perfect place. “I was told north of Austin is the place to be,” she said. “This is where the growth and development is happening.”

After driving through the area, Lakhani chose Cedar Park because of its excellent location. “It's part of the city (Austin), but still outside.”

Though the school has not officially opened, Lakhani said she is “already confident that I made an excellent choice and others have endorsed my choice” in choosing Cedar Park.

“I'm happy to be part of this community and I thank them for welcoming me with open arms,” said Lakhani. “The chamber has really helped me out.”

The grand opening festivities will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and mark the official opening of the 20,000 square foot facility located at 11651 W. Parmer Lane.

To learn more about the Cedar Park location of Rainbow Station or to register a child visit them online at www.rainbow stationaustin.org. They are open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

E-mail jennifer@hillcountrynews.com

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