M¯aori name for Fernworth school
Fernworth Primary School in Invercargill has incorporated Ma¯ ori values with a new name and vision.
The school’s new name, Te Kura o Whare Pa¯ , was gifted by Waihopai Runanga. It was the original the name of the area where the school is based.
Fernworth Primary school: Te Kura o Whare Pa¯ principal Alison Cook said when she was the principal of Bluff School, they were based close to marae and she wanted to continue that connection with Fernworth.
‘‘We wanted to involve the marae [Murihiku]. We wanted something that whanau could own,’’ Cook said.
They are hoping to take the name further by planting trees native to the Whare Pa¯ area and aligning the schools curriculum with its new vision.
The school will also be issuing out new uniforms, with six colours for children to choose from.
With one of the new visions for the school focusing on selfidentity, it would be difficult to do so without giving students options to identify themselves, Cook said.
Students would still be in uniform but this way they could express their own identity, she said.
Fernworth Primary School: Te Kura o Whare Pa¯ deputy principal Carla Wilson said nearly 50 per cent of its students were
‘‘We wanted to involve the marae [Murihiku]. We wanted something that whanau could own.’’ Alison Cook
Fernworth Primary school: Te Kura o Whare Pa¯ principal
Ma¯ori and it was part of their identity.
Ministry of Education South Island senior partnership advisor Victor Manawatu said Whare Pa¯ was the name of the area which Fernworth is based pre-colonisation.
A new school logo is also being unveiled, incorporating a fern, which honours the past, and whale’s tail, linking to Murihiku.
The new name, logo, and vision will be formally announced at a presentation on Thursday.