Our School

Our School

Huirangi School is a Decile 4 Primary School located on the outskirts of New Plymouth and neighbouring the town of Waitara. It was officially opened in 1872. As of June 2022, our roll was 105 children. Currently, 50% of the children come from rural areas and 50% from the urban area of Waitara. We pride ourselves on our rural character and rich bicultural history.
In 2022 we renamed our classrooms to reflect our place in Aotearoa. Our new names represent the life cycle of a plant and each class has its own whakatauki that links to the new name and the stage of the learning journey our tamariki are on. Our new names are:
 
  • He Puāwai: New Entrants. Whakatauki: “Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu ~ Although it is small, it is precious.”
  • Māhuri: Year 1 and 2. Whakatauki: “He māhuri tororangi ~ A sapling reaching for the heavens.”
  • Kōkihi: Year 2 and 3. Whakatauki: “He tiwai kōkihi whakamua ~ A humble vessel proceeding towards its destiny.”
  • Puawaitanga: Year 4 and 5. Whakatauki: “Te puāwaitanga, ngā hua o te kura ~ The fruits of our school are fully blossoming.”
  • He Kākano: Year 5 and 6. Whakatauki: “E kore au e ngaro he kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea. ~ I shall never be lost for I am a seed fully nourished mentally and spiritually.”

 

We pride ourselves on our Transition to School Programme for our new families and their 5-year-olds. We encourage our parents to work with us so we can develop positive attitudes toward learning, ensuring goals are attainable and expectations are high for student achievement. Literacy, Numeracy and developing the ‘whole’ child are our priorities in our teaching environments where teamwork is promoted. All other curriculum areas are taught through our developing local curriculum. The country school heritage, our rich history and caring for our environment, are valued and traditional activities continue to feature throughout the year.

Planned activities where older children mix with younger children occur on a regular basis. We continue to build on our relationships with our Marae – Kairau, Hapu – Pukerangiora and Iwi – Te Atiawa. Students are encouraged to explore leadership opportunities and be given a voice in school-wide protocols and decision-making.
Innovative and effective teaching practices are encouraged with the provision of quality professional development opportunities for staff being a high priority of the Board. The Board are committed to ensuring children and staff are equipped with resources to make the most of their learning time.

A range of up-to-date technology is available to support this, as too are furniture and equipment within learning environments that enable creativity and collaboration to happen.

We continue to have the privilege of being involved in two superb initiatives. Fruit In Schools provides each child in our school with two pieces of fruit every day and Duffy Books which promotes reading at home as well as at school by providing new reading books to all children.

Huirangi School is a place where review practices are embedded in all aspects of school operations. On-going review of school initiatives, curriculum, routines and practices results in positive change and better outcomes for our children. Outside agencies such as RTLit/RTLB and SWIS are also engaged for students of concern – academic, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Reading Recovery and extra Mathematics support are offered, along with programmes delivered by teachers and teacher aides to support students that have been identified with significant learning or other needs, as well as students who need extending.