The class project titled "Operation Tohutō (macron)" started in term two when the class were writing thank you letters and realised they had been spelling Ōmokoroa incorrectly.
When presenting their case to the council the students stressed the importance of the macron by explaining words can mean different things without one and that a macron tells people how to pronounce words correctly.
He said it feels "pretty good" that Operation Tohutō had been successful.
"Now people can spell it [Ōmokoroa] right and they can learn from their mistakes."
Johan knows first-hand how important it is to spell and pronounce names correctly, as his was often mispronounced with a J rather than a Y sound.
"People might take offence if you spell their name wrong," he said.
Fellow classmate Vivienne Apanui, 10, said the decision was "quite astonishing" because she was expecting the council to "think about it and think about it" rather than act so quickly.
Every time the two students see signs without the macron now, they think it looks "a bit weird" and want to correct it.
Vivienne Apanui, 10, and Johan Heyns, 11, said it's weird to see Ōmokoroa spelt incorrectly without its macron. Photo / Alisha Evans
"It's quite annoying when people don't spell your name right, it kind of gives me OCD," Vivienne said.
Duggan said she was "really impressed" with the Year 5 and 6 students' tenacity because at first, they didn't realise that official processes can take time.
"I'm really impressed that they've stuck it out, because it's not just us going and using a paintbrush," she said.
"It has to be changed officially and it's part of council process.
"It's something that the kids were really quite determined and quite passionate about actually getting changed.
"We talk about kia tika … doing the right thing. And this is all part of that because it's all about respecting peoples' and places' names," Duggan said.
The class was supported by local Māori language specialist Terania Ormsby-Teki and Pirirakau hapū during their journey to recognise the history and cultural significance of Ōmokoroa.
As part of the project, the children have created videos about the importance of the macron and instructions on how to add it when using devices.
Duggan said they planned to share these resources with the rest of the school and wider community once they were complete.
The class also wanted to get local businesses on board to change their signs to reflect the tohutō.
"Now it's been officially changed by the council, we're looking for support from the local community. So, the kids will be working on getting our message out to them.
"Now it's just spreading the word. Spreading the love, getting them [the signs] changed."
After Room 10's visit to the council, mayor Garry Webber said: "As a community we need more advocates like these rangatahi".
"They're doing a fantastic job of showing their community how to use and respect the reo.
"We really appreciate their mahi [work] and we know they'll be carefully correcting the spelling of Ōmokoroa wherever they see it without it's tohutō."
Webber planned to visit Ōmokoroa Point School next week to talk about governance and social change.
