Its ageing building suffered water damage and asbestos was found during checks, meaning tamariki have had to attend class out of the nearby Putorino School kitchen while rebuilding gets under way.
That’sset to change, and last Friday, the small group of students got to see their new classroom fully built for the first time thanks to a collaboration between school whānau, Hawke’s Bay Homes and the Ministry of Education.
However, one big challenge remains - transporting the fully built structure along the windy State Highway 2 road north. Mitchell Hageman reports.
The joy on the faces of Kotemaori tamariki was evident as they stepped into their new classroom, which currently sits on Hawke’s Bay Homes’ Hastings premises.
They’d been involved in the design process for a while now, even picking the lime-green colour for the walls to match their school colours.
“I let them choose some of them, or it might have been a rainbow,” principal Roxine Habib joked.
Kotemaori School students enjoy their new classroom at the Hawke's Bay Homes Hastings site. The building will traverse State Highway 2 in July. Photo / Paul Taylor
These scenes are starkly different from those a year ago when the school found out it would have to shut down and rebuild due to cyclone damage and the eventual discovery of asbestos.
“The Ministry of Education came in to do all the building checks for the school not long after the cyclone. When they poked holes in the wall, our school was deemed to have asbestos,” Habib said.
“We were moved to Putorino School and worked out of their kitchen.”
After working with the Ministry of Education, the school whānau fought hard for a solution and eventually settled on a new custom-built classroom.
Habib said the closure shocked the small school community, so she organised trips for students to see the building take shape.
“There was one part at the beginning where they had the shell and the outside walls. I took the kids down because they were still a little bit uneasy. Their school was sort of pulled down in front of their eyes with sort of no closure.
“When I took them, I said, ‘This is why we’ve been pulled out of our school, so we could rebuild a new one.’”
She said the response from students was fantastic.
“It was exciting. It was cool to see their faces.”
Teresia Rokoli, 10 (left) with Kotemaori principal Roxine Habib and Aylah Habib, 10, explore their new classroom. Photo / Paul Taylor
Mark Roil of Hawke’s Bay Homes said the company started constructing the classroom six weeks ago and that it was “hugely rewarding” to see the kids enjoy their new space.
Unlike other companies, he said Hawke’s Bay Homes had expertise in building full structures in-house at their Hastings premises.
“Where we are different from the others is that our buildings are completely finished when they leave our factory, with minimal on-site work.
“We will only take two weeks on-site.”
The Kotemaori School site ready for its new classroom. Photo / Paul Taylor
When it came to getting the building to the Kotemaori site, he admitted it had been “hard work” to get a transport company to make the difficult journey along State Highway 2.
“Britton Housemovers are going to transport it mid-July. We’ve got a permit in place to get up SH2, and WSP has issued the all-clear to go across the Waikere Bailey Bridge.
“The hardest part of the journey will probably be from the top of Tangoio down to the Devil’s Elbow with the dropout, due to it being one lane with a cliff on the left-hand side and a dropout on the right.”
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in January 2023. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
