Broomfield School Te Kura Onepunga

Broomfield School is located in the rohe of the Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri rūnanga, with a tribal area extending from the Main Divide to the sea, bounded by the Hurunui and Hakatere rivers. At the school's request, Ngāi Tūāhuriri has gifted a name. In deciding upon a name, the geographical and cultural aspects of the area the school is situated in have been considered. The gifted name is Te Kura Onepunga.

One-punga is the name for a light type of soil, found within the area, and in addition to this is the name of an area of bush listed by DOC as having national significance, and special wildlife significance. Many of the plants within this area are important to manawhenua, and are listed as Ngāi Tahu taonga species.

The small tawhai forest shelters an array of native species, such as mānuka, kānuka, kōhuhu, tī kōuka, mingimingi, houhi, houhou and putaputaweta. On the edges of the forest, small areas of mānuka regeneration can be seen trying to reclaim the surrounding farmland. 

Logo Meaning

Broomfield School Te Kura Onepunga is a small and caring country school that is highly regarded by its community as a high-quality learning environment. Underpinning this reputation is its values - Achievement, Belonging, Creativity and Self-Belief (ABCS). These are deeply embedded in the school and help create an environment conducive to developing dynamic, driven, determined, highly regarded, high-achieving students that will thrive in the world.

The Māori name ‘Onepunga’ means ‘soft rich soil’ and is the name for the light type of soil found within the area. In addition to this, it is the name of an area of bush listed by DOC as having national and special wildlife significance.

The logo design can be talked about in many different ways beyond what is written here. To begin with there are four koru. These represent the four school values and allude to the many plants and trees thriving in the area. The koru rise up from the ground represented by the five horizontal lines. These symbolise the five Key Competencies within the New Zealand Curriculum that form the basis of the Broomfield School Te Kura Onepunga Curriculum. The horizontal lines also represent the ‘soft, rich soil’ layers and, as the school website states, “the school values are woven through the curriculum at every level and are both modelled and taught.” We see this ‘weaving’ taking place in the logo symbol. 

Not only do the koru weave into the earth's area but they go deep like roots on healthy trees or plants. These are healthy if the soil is healthy. The orange horizontal lines form a downward-pointing arrow. Broomfield School Te Kura Onepunga learning is built on a healthy foundation that goes deep. Like healthy soil, the school has all the right nutrients/ingredients to help students grow to become thriving young people.

The logo design is clean and modern looking. The colours are based on the existing school colours. However, the yellow is more orange so that it can stand out on light-coloured backgrounds and allude more closely to the soil it symbolises (but not literally). The blue is a darker navy colour as requested which makes the logo a little more sophisticated looking. Both colours are less garish than the previous colours.

The logo reproduces well when reduced in size and there are various options shown on the following page to allow for different space and media requirements.

Pronunciation of Broomfield School Te Kura Onepunga

Audio files for correct pronunciation of Onepunga can be found by clicking here or via Te Aka Māori Dictionary