Principal Shane Cunliffe with year 3 students Zoe, Grace, Kaiya, and Camila. Photo / Andrew Warner
Principal Shane Cunliffe with year 3 students Zoe, Grace, Kaiya, and Camila. Photo / Andrew Warner
Two-teacher classes, a school dog, a cafe in the library and multi-year classes are just a few of the ways the new Te Manawa ō Pāpāmoa primary school is doing things differently.
The school had its first day of term yesterday, with 185 students and 13 teachers.
Principal ShaneCunliffe, known to the students as Matua Shane, said they were "treating every kaimanawa [their name for students] as a new entrant" to help integrate them into the school.
Cunliffe said the new school would "alleviate" pressure on other schools in the areas that were "overloaded" and "bursting at the seams".
He said the school had a "one size fits one" approach to education "to ensure that our students thrive".
Each class has two teachers, and Cunliffe said he hoped to expand that to three as the school grew.
He said research showed three teachers was ideal, as students were exposed to a wider range of personalities and teaching methods, and teachers could observe and learn from each other.
He said the same was true of multi-year classes.
"Kids learn by observing, imitating and activating," he said, and being around older children helps that process.
Matua Shane and Whaea Helena Swan teach new entrant students about their manawa (heart). Photo / Andrew Warner
The school also has tiered seating for students instead of the floor, which Cunliffe said was "mana-enhancing for the kids - they're not being looked down on".
Another point of difference for the school was Roxy, the school dog.
Roxy was there to help students who struggled with anxiety or emotional regulation.
Deputy principal Cath Humphries, Roxy's owner, said she had been a huge help on the first day of school.
"It distracts them [the kids] a bit, makes them feel like they've got a little bit of responsibility, and that they've got someone with them."
She said Roxy also helped children who struggled to connect with their peers.
Left to right: deputy principal Cath Humphries, principal Shane Cunliffe, and deputy principal Kris Metcalfe with school dog Roxy. Photo / Andrew Warner
Humphries was deputy principal at Te Puke Primary, where Cunliffe was principal.
She said starting a new school was "a big draw" for her, and she had loved working with Cunliffe before.
"When something is totally new, you've got the potential to do things not just the way they've always been done."
She said the school had the chance to be a "hub" of the new community being built around it.
Fellow deputy principal Kris Metcalfe, former associate principal at Selwyn Ridge Primary, said starting a new school was a "once-in-a-career opportunity".
"I knew it was gonna be hard, but I wanted a challenge."
He said he was excited to see the leadership team's "big-picture thinking coming to life".
"The connection among our whānau and our kaimanawa is really important. It's at the forefront of everything we do."
Principal Shane Cunliffe with year 3 students Zoe, Grace, Kaiya, and Camila. Photo / Andrew Warner
Four of the school's Year 3 students said their teachers had been great on the first day.
Six-year-old Grace said her favourite part of the day had been playing on the swings.
Zoe, 7, had loved playing on the playground with her nine-year-old sister, Ava.
Kaiya and Camila, both seven, enjoyed building a 'zoo castle' together out of blocks.
Many of the students had siblings in other classes or their own - one family had seven kids across the classes.
