As a school that is undergoing a $4.1M building upgrade and significant site development, we have the one-off opportunity to brand our school in a manner that reflects the unique culture of our school. Our school name and logo will be prominently displayed in our school for many years to come, on all buildings, glass doors, signage, uniform, office space, stationery etc. We want it to be one that has meaning and one that we can be proud of as a school for many years to come.

Our Cultural Story

Our school is built on a coastal plain and is an area surrounded by three magnificent sites. These are Waimairi beach (Ōrua Paeroa), Bottle Lake Forest and Travis Wetlands. In 2017 every student in our school visited these three sites to learn about their cultural and impact on our place and school.

Our area historically had a significant range of birdlife and this was chosen by our students as a theme for our school. The birds selected range from small to large and from swamp based to coast based. This depicts our students growing up as they physically move through our school, from land based birds (buildings closer to the road) to the ocean based birds, as our 5-8´s will be located at the beach end of our school site.

The team names our students have selected for our school teams will be:

• Piwakawaka - Fantails (Year 0-2) - these birds are small and very curious with an amazing amount of energy as they are always chirping and jumping from branch to branch.

• Pukeko (Year 3-4) - these birds live in swamps and have tight family connections and work together to raise their young as a big tribe.

• Kereru - Wood Pigeon (Year 5-6) - these birds visit our school in season and were much more commonly seen throughout New Zealand until Māori arrived 1000 years ago.

• Kōtuku - Heron (Year 7-8) - large sea birds who are graceful, expert hunters and powerful flyers with ablitiy to adapt to their surrundings.

The Maori name for nest is Pārua, all birds have a nest and this is their safe place where they are nurtured to learn and grow.  The possible names for our school are designed to link to our bird theme and our team names. 

Look out for the list of possible names, including our current name, in the coming newsletter.  A paper survey will come home to all families where you can identify your preferences to guide the Board of Trustees in the decision making process.

Thank you for your amazing support in a process that does not come along very often in the life of a school.  Have a fantastic weekend.  Mr T