Pūtahi-Allenvale has given Elmer a new name... Hear our Voice as part of the Ōtautahi Elephant Trail.

Remember the Pop up Penguins and Stand Tall Giraffe exhibitions? Well this year it is the turn of Elmer the Elephant in partnership with the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust, Wild in Art and Andersen Press to bring to Christchurch the Ōtautahi Elephant Trail. 

Pītau-Allenvale was chosen as one of 30 schools to showcase their creativity to design a unique creation for their elephant. We were really excited to do this but had to keep the name Hear our Voice and design a secret until the elephants were out on the trail. There are also 30 larger elephants out on the trail who have had their designs created by professional artists. 

For the design of our elephant we took inspiration from the communication tools our students use, since communication is an integral part of the student's learning. Students and staff played a fantastic part in making the design a reality as you can see from the photographs.

The trail takes place from Saturday 25 November 2023 to Sunday 18 February 2024. You can find Hear our Voice Elmer at the Westfield Centre in Riccarton on the second floor, opposite to Hoyts cinema. There is an app which can be downloaded from the App Store for Apple users or Google Play for Android users. This shows you the locations of all the elephants, lets you collect sculptures and unlock a series of rewards. We are looking forward to getting out in the community to spot Hear our Voice and its friends.