On Monday 25 January at 7.35am we officially celebrated the start of the construction process in our Ministry of Education redevelopment project.

What a wonderful day; the sun was shining, a slight breeze in the air and birdsong surrounding us as we finally began our build/refurbishment process.

The process was formally led by Corban and Lynne Harata Te Aika, representatives of our rūnanga, Ngāi Tūāhuriri. The site was blessed with a karakia.

We were fortunate to have a strong gathering present from the Canterbury Ministry of Education including: Coralanne Child, Amanda Dowling, David Hobern and Adel Isaac.

Our Waimairi-iri Kāhui Ako leads; Matt Bateman, Eddie Norgate and Raewyn Saunders attended on behalf of the Kāhui Ako.

Architects Chris Wilson and Hannah Gosling from Wilson Hill were in attendance.

The contractors and leads from CityCare Property outnumbered school staff. A huge thank you to Shane Wildermoth, our Project Manager, who prepped the site ready for the ceremonial dig.

Board of Trustees Chairperson Tim Stedman spoke about the long awaited process from the Education Brief to today's gathering. Tim together with long-serving Board member Heather Algar and our Principal, Suzanne Newton all turned the sod using the special Ministry of Education shovel. The soil removed will be stored safely until the end of the refurbishment process when it will be returned as part of our opening.

We are absolutely thrilled that the construction of the new multi-purpose space & our refurbishment of the Canterbury blocks has begun. 

Huge thanks to everyone who was able to celebrate the milestone with us.