Te Kura o Whare Pa

Nau mai haere mai tauti mai

Ko Takitimu te maunga
Ko Waihopai te awa
Ko Te Ara a Kewa te moana
Ko Takitimu te waka
Ko Murihiku te whenua
Ko Murihiku te marae
Ko Waihopai Runaka te mana whenua
Ko Tahu Potiki te tangata
Ko Ngai Te Ruahikihiki te hapu
Ko Ngai Tahu te iwi

- Manaakitanga - Whakapono -

Manaakitanga (respecting and caring for each other) encompasses ideas such as reciprocal relationships, accepting of differences, kindness, inclusion, and collaboration.

Whakapono (self belief and confidence) encompasses ideas such as belonging, trust, responsibility for own learning, resilience, and motivation.

These two words align with the Key Competencies in the New Zealand Curriculum and as part of our learning and teaching programmes we unpack and foster these concepts.

The fern shaped logo depicts both of these with:

Whakapono being the blue at the top with the single koru as it is about self and also the steps of the poutama to reflect learning steps and what has gone before.

Manaakitanga on the bottom in the green has multiple koru as it is about relationships with others - the 2 curling are protecting each other.

The blue whale’s tail at the base is a nod to the marae and Murihiku.

Enrolment Information

We would love to talk to you about enrolling your child or to show you around if you would like. We are happy to meet with you or do school tours at a time that suits you, including outside of your work hours.

It is exciting times here at Whare-rā / Fernworth as we implement and embed our new vision. A part of this is our new uniform where we have remained with the base colour of navy blue as it still remains dominant in our logo. However, as we have Whakapono as part of our vision for our learners, and this involves being confident in your own identity, we wanted a uniform with some choice. Students may wear whatever type of navy blue bottom they wish - trousers, skirt, shorts, skort, tights. The biggest decision however, is what colour T-shirt to wear - we have 6 choices for students so they can go with their preference/s from navy blue, teal blue, green, orange, red or pink. This is one small way of 'walking the talk'. Our curriculum and what we offer as opportunities for students are continuously under review to meet the needs of the students we have and to align with our school vision.

Feel free to be in touch if you would like to discuss what happens at our place or how we could meet the needs of your child.

Enrolment Form

School Life at Whare-rā

Learning

Learning is fun at Whare-rā! Our mornings are built around a Literacy programme. The Literacy programme includes Reading, Writing, Oral and Visual Language, Spelling and Phonics. Teachers work with small groups, and one on one to progress students in all of these areas. Classes are exposed to lots of reading and opportunities to get into high interest literature for young people! Writing is taught in all classes 5 days a week, and in Reading students are involved in explicit teaching of comprehension and decoding of texts through a guided reading programme.

We have a Mathematics programme at Whare-rā that balances essential Numeracy Knowledge and Strategy with strand based skills. Students are exposed to a variety of strategies through a range of equipment and work in small groups with the teacher to develop new understandings.

Hubs / Inquiry

3 afternoons a week the students are mixed into mixed age/ tuakana-teina groupings to do their learning. All Hubs cover the curriculum areas of Science, Social Sciences, Technology, Health and PE, The Arts.

These are designed to really allow kids to get involved in their learning - to be interest based, foster positive relationships with a range of students, grow leadership, provide hands-on learning experiences, and integrate real life contexts.

All learning has a purpose and skills are taught through our own Inquiry process. The teaching is done using our Inquiry Process of Determine, Discover, and Deliver!

In their own classes

Wellbeing

We aim to make life as user-friendly for students and their whānau as we can. Students are welcome to be onsite as long as a staff member is there (always by 8am).

Breakfast Club

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and we know how busy family life can be in the morning! Ensure you are fueled for learning by coming along early to the whānau room for Weetbix and Milo every day from 8.30am.

Social Worker in Schools

We are lucky enough to have access to a Social Worker in schools to support whānau in a range of different ways. To be referred to this service, please make an appointment with one of the leadership team to discuss.

Lunches in Schools

We are part of the Government's free lunches in schools scheme. Monday through Thursday we are catered for by local organisation Lee's Catering. On Friday we have the support of our local Pita Pit. All this is at no cost to parents!

Fruit in Schools

Students receive a piece of fruit from a wide range of seasonal produce every day! We have fruit in class to keep students' brains firing. Kids with good food in their tummies can make the most of teaching and learning opportunities.