Principal's Message

Te Ara Whakamua - OUR VISION:   Together we Excel

Whakapapa - MISSION

Empowering through language, identity and culture.

Ngā Uara - VALUES

We will be explicit about;

AROHA, RESPECT, HONESTY, EXCELLENCE, CONFIDENCE, MANAAKITANGA, CREATIVITY, COOPERATION, SELF-DISCIPLINE, SERVICE and TOLERANCE acknowledging our tipuna walk with us

Tēnā koutou e te whānau o Te Kura o Te Kauaeranga,

Our aim this year is to be intentional about striving towards our vision – Te Ara Whakamua, Whakapapa – our mission, and ngā uara – our values. We acknowledge that to do this we need to ensure that we are working in collaboration with our tamariki and whānau. We want to prepare our tamariki to be effective members of our kura, whānau, marae, hapū and hapori with a sound understanding of who they are and where they come from. This is an opportunity for us all to learn this and reconnect with our people, and our place.

Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua:

‘I walk backwards into the future

with my eyes fixed on my past’

A kōrero recently shared with me about this whakatauki was that we look back into the faces of our tūpuna to guide us through the present and future. There are no future facts, these are yet to be embodied experiences for our tamariki and us. May we do this with determination in our pursuit of excellence in both Te Ao Māori me Te Ao Hurihuri.

Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi

Nāku iti nei,

Whaea Barbara Hetaraka

principal@thamessouth.school.nz 

Introducing our new mural by Matua Rick Fisher

Our 4 manu represent the hapū our kura is split into for all of our whole school activities and challenges. All manu are on the lookout and hunt for kai representing a hunger for education and learning. The brown koru represents Tānemahuta and the 3 baskets of knowledge. The blue koru represents our connection to Tikapa and its significance to our place. The white lines throughout represent the waves in learning and life. The green koru represents our connection to our maunga and the white lines throughout depict our awa that surround us. The Unaunahi designs near the top and bottom represent the significance of Ngāti Maru; our Mana Whenua. The harakeke speaks to the natural resources at the heart of learning and the kowhai tree speaks of the hauora of our ngahere.

Ngā mihi mahana ki a Matua Rick.