Canterbury school celebrates new whare
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
The opening of Rangiora High School’s new whare has been a long time coming, board of trustees presiding member Simon Green says.
The school opened the $1.8 million cultural learning centre, Te Ao Mārama, with a pōwhiri last week after a nine month build.
‘‘It was fully board funded and it has been a long time coming,’’ Mr Green said.
‘‘We are embarrassed it has taken this long, but we are proud we are here and we are able to provide this nice space for students to celebrate their culture.’’
Up until now, Te Reo and kapa haka lessons have been held in an old prefab building across the road from the main school site.
Green said the next major project for board is developing a new performing arts centre for the school and wider community, while it continues to invest in the whenua (school farm).
Principal Bruce Kearney paid tribute to former principal, the late Peter Allen, who had the foresight to employ a Te Reo teacher and establish a whānau classroom for Māori students back in 1990.
‘‘We have built this in a time when it is acceptable to build things like this, whereas Peter created something we didn’t have before.’’
He described the new whare as ‘‘simplistic and beautiful’’
‘‘It is all about form and function,’’ he said.
The new building will be used as a classroom, to host performances and for functions.
‘‘Come summertime this is where we will have concerts and performances for our music and drama students,’’ Kearney said.
‘‘So it will be a performing arts centre as well, until we can build a purpose-built one.
‘‘One of the first things I said post-earthquake was we’ve got to stop building things which only open on weekdays or on Sundays.’’
Kearney said the new whare will be a space for the community, as well as the school, and for all cultures.
The 176sqm building has a fully equipped kitchen.
It can provide a classroom for 30 student desks, seat up to 100 people for performances or 40 people for dining, and 20 people sleeping.
The name, Te Ao Mārama, which means the world of enlightenment, was gifted to the school by Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
-
4.6% Second half of November
-
43.6% 1st December
-
17.5% A week before Christmas
-
33.2% Whenever you wish
-
1.1% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.
Loading…
