Nau mai, Haere Mai

Welcome to Whakamārama School, a picturesque rural school located 20 minutes from downtown Tauranga in the sunny Bay of Plenty. 

For us, the success of our school begins with creating a safe place for all and having a shared vision – staff, students, parents, whānau, board of trustees and community members. We encourage positive relationships and live by our mission statement ‘Growing a Positive Learning Attitude’ to ensure that the potential of each student flourishes during their time with us. 

This website is a place where you can find information about our school and where we can communicate with you. Browse our site and get a feel for the learning environment we create for our students.

We welcome inquiries and feedback at any time from school families past, present and future. Please do not hesitate in contacting us if you would like to find out more about our school.   

Ū ki te ako, tu tangata ai apōpō 
Excel in teaching so our learners will excel in the future

Whakamarama School 2019
​ Board of Trustees’ Election

FROM THE BOARD CHAIR
Firstly, I would like to thank board members that have recently finished their tenure. Mike, Keryn, Truan and Jacqui have been committed trustees for the past 6 years and their efforts across this time have ensured positive outcomes for Whakamarama School students.

Congratulations to our newly elected parent trustees - welcome aboard Fraser, Maria, Mark and Mike. The board of trustees is an essential and important role for the school and we look forward to the journey ahead - a journey for our students, whanau and staff.

The full makeup of the new board:
Parent elected trustees – Marie, Fraser, Mike, Mark and me (currently the board chair)
School based trustees – Natasha (principal) and Brenda (staff)

Acknowledgement of Achievement

ROOM 3 RECOGNITION CERTIFICATES - WEEK 8
21 JUNE
Mason - A great thinker!  Mason can make great connections when he is learning! Yay! … and wow - what super ideas when writing!
Gemma - Wow - A super reader and writer.  Yay!
Jamie - Wow - Thanks Jamie for being so responsible and reliable when working in a learning team this week!
Cullen - Big improvement!  Super effort when writing - Keep it up  Cullan

ROOM  2 RECOGNITION CERTIFICATES - WEEK 8
21 JUNE
Charlotte - For quietly encouraging those around you during Fresh Moves.  Your focus was on unity and helping others to work and feel part of the team. 
Joshua - Joshua you blew me away with your focus, dedication and positive attitude in learning and performing the Fresh Moves dance.  You were a role model for those around you.
Jasmine - Jasmine you were focused and listened carefully during our Fresh Moves practices.  You gave your all on the night - thanks for being fabulous!

ROOM  1 RECOGNITION CERTIFICATES - WEEK 8
21 JUNE
Brodie - For making thoughtful contributions to his reading group. Starlia - For showing kotahitanga in dance
Nina - For making fantastic connections to texts during reading.
Alley - A focussed and attentive learner in her writing group.

Grant Congratulations to Our School

Special thanks to TECT for their support. TECT Charitable Trust approved a grant of $5,200 to support Whakamarama School towards ICT equipment. ​

Special Thanks

Aroha mai, aroha atu
Love received, love returned

GROWER DIRECT
​Thanks to the support offered from Debbie at Grower Direct, we have enhanced the school grounds with beautiful ceramic pots around our verandas. Grower Direct is a hidden gem in Te Puna. I would highly recommend taking a visit.

Thank you Grower Direct
HELLERS' SAUSAGES
​The school would like to acknowledge Heller’s for sponsoring this year’s supply of sausages for our cross country events. Heller’s is a firm believer in supporting community initiatives through donating their award-winning sausages, rather than writing a cheque. Sausages for Schools is about helping more Kiwi kids!

Matariki Celebrations

Wednesday 3rd July hosted a Matariki breakfast in Room 1. The breakfast was time to spend with whānau and friends – to enjoy kai (food), waiata (song), poi, craft and tītītōrea. What a wonderful morning of spending time together - a true sense of family and belonging! 
Above: Our dedicated breakfast servers who willingly put their hand up to support the morning.  
On Monday 24th June Michela from Te Wananga o Aotearoa united with Whakamarama School. Room 1 & 2 students undertook poi making before lunch. Room 3 were thrilled when Michela arrived in their class after lunch as they were awaiting her guidance in learning the actions to Tauranga Moana (a waiata we have been learning). The day ended with the whole school uniting for an action poi song. Thank you Michela - we had lots of fun! 
Above: Michela leading the way with poi making.

School Disco: The Electric Glow Party

It was great to see so many of our students and family members at our school disco on Friday 28th June. As you can see from the photos below, our parents really know how to put on something special for our learners. Food, raffles, entertainment - an AWESOME night!

Fresh Moves Dance Festival

Our Year 3-8 students excitedly and proudly appeared on stage at the Baycourt Community and Arts Centre for the “Fresh Moves 2019” dance festival on Tuesday 18th June. This non-competitive festival provided our students the opportunity to experience the processes involved with creating and performing dance for a community audience. Our students displayed the values of unity (kotahitanga), perseverance (hiringa) and confidence (māia) as the prepared a dance themed ‘Impact’ and then performed in front of an audience of 500.

The dedication, enthusiasm and energy of teachers, parents, caregivers and whanau ensured that our students once again experienced success on this evening - our children believed that they could succeed; and they did!

School Assembly 10th May 2019 

What has 2019 held for Whakamārama School?
​Check out our photo gallery

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