ABOUT US
Waihārara School is a small rural school catering for students from years 1 to 8. Multi-level class programmes support students’ learning through natural teina, tuakana relationships.
15 minutes from the townships of Awanui and Pukenui and 20 minutes north of Kaitaia. At the beginning of the Aupouri Peninsula.
State Highway 1 runs along the eastern boundary of the school. To the west is Aupouri Forest, and beyond that Te-Oneroa-a-Tōhe/Ninety Mile Beach. Lake Waiparera, is immediately to the south west. To the east is the beautiful Rangaunu Harbour and the seaside settlement of Kaimaumau, home to many of our students.
The majority of our students identify as Māori with whakapapa to the local iwi, Ngāi Takoto and many are the mokopuna of past students.
Staff and whānau have longstanding and inter-generational connections with the school.
Our school’s history includes a strong connection to early Dalmatian immigrant families who settled in the area at the time of the kauri gum diggers.
Our community is diverse and tamariki travel to kura from Kaitaia transported by parents or on our school van.
The richness of our people, place and environment is celebrated and explored through an innovative, marau-a-kura/local curriculum. We provide quality educational experiences with a strong focus on literacy and numeracy that fully integrates modern e-learning including the use of iPads in the teina room and chromebooks in the tuakana room.
The taiao is a major focus in the curriculum. We engage respectfully with the taiao and local mātauranga through te reo me ōna tikanga which is provided daily in a natural way.
We use inquiry teaching to explore aspects of sustainability, promote student efficacy and students are learning at a deeper and more creative level, resulting in a positive climate of student engagement.
We provide exceptional learning opportunities that are further enhanced by our small classes and strong staff student relationships. We are fortunate to have experienced, committed teachers and support staff, who develop warm, respectful, relationships with our students.
Through Sport Northland, we are able to provide a high quality physical education programme delivered by experienced sports coaches that encourage both competition and cooperation. We also have swimming lessons from qualified coaches at the beginning of the year.
Our year 7-8 programme includes fortnightly technology lessons at Kaitaia Intermediate. Students in year 7-8 also have opportunities to be involved in a leadership programme with the principal, focusing on critical thinking, risk taking and resilience through our Te Ara Taumata.
We are fortunate to have a strong supportive community made up of parents, wider whānau, local businesses, past students and whānau from the Dalmatian community who support our kura and fundraising efforts.
Waihārara School is a Ka Ora Ka Ako school and lunches are cooked on site. We plant seasonally and produce which is harvested from our maara and orchard either goes onto our kura table or is sent home with tamariki.
Waihārara School is a Civil Defence Evacuation Centre and provides a safe haven for the community in an emergency situation. Our community is strongly connected to each other, the land and the environment.