A decade long dream comes true
A lot of previous pupils have come home this morning, they had tears of joy to see the dream come to reality.
Principal Moana Kake-Tuffley
Dreamed of for a decade, joyful tears were shed as a new $2 million technology centre was opened and blessed at Te Pi’ipi’inga Kakano Mai Rangiatea in New Plymouth on Saturday.
Around 300 people gathered at the new wharekura for a pre-dawn blessing, principal Moana KakeTuffley said.
‘‘A lot of previous pupils have come home this morning, they had tears of joy to see the dream come to reality.’’
Light drizzle was falling as the group walked up to the new buildings, but stopped as the karakia began. It was the first time any of the women involved, including Kake-Tuffley and project manager Kiri Wanoa, had been inside the two buildings. Iwi tikanga dictates women are not allowed to enter the buildings until they were opened.
‘‘We’re very happy, the whanau are so excited. This has been a goal since I was a student here,’’ KakeTuffley said. ‘‘We are fortunate to have this beautiful whare, it’s a dream come true.’’
The wharekura, which had previously taught children from Years 1-8, added classes for Years 9 -13 in 2014, beginning with just four students.
The first Year 13 student would graduate from the kura this year, she said. Lessons were initially held in the library then later a Ministry of Education portacom building. This year, 24 secondaryschool aged students were on the roll.
The two buildings cost between $1.5 million and $2m, Daryl Austin from architects Stephenson Turner said, and were designed to be flexible in how they were used. They include a commercial kitchen and performance/ assembly space, a multimedia room, complete with green screen, and a science laboratory and project area, as well as teachers’ offices and resource rooms.
The design was inspired by the story of Rongo, God of Cultivated Food, taking shelter in the body of Papatu¯a¯nuku, the earth mother. The timbers of the ceilings in the two buildings reflected the tahu and heke of traditional whare and also the stem and veins of a leaf representing the shelter the whare gives to the children within, he said.