Our Lady of Kāpiti School has received a gold level certificate for being a water-only school.

The school is the third school in the country to achieve the accolade and the first water-only school in Kāpiti.

Former Silver Fern Irene van Dyk presented the school with the certificate on Friday.

School principal Viv Conroy said the school was extremely proud to accept the certificate.
Various criteria needed to be reached to obtain the gold level status.

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Some of it included having a policy and sticking to guidelines set by the school's board of trustees including only drinking water at awards, celebrations or sporting fixtures.

Fundraising activities were free from sugary drinks, sugary drinks weren't sold at school, there were no sugary drinks in the staffroom, water fountains were available, posters were displayed promoting water-only, and all families new to the school were informed of the water only policy.

Viv thanked mayoress Claire Gurunathan and Paraparaumu Raumati Community Board member Kathy Spiers who had worked with the school towards the goal.

She also thanked Regional Public Health, Hutt Valley District Health Board, the community board who donated money so the school could get three water coolers for school events, and LT McGuinness who donated colourful metal water bottles, with the school logo on them, for every pupil.

The school's board of trustees, staff, families and pupils were praised too.

Van Dyk spoke to the children and joked that if they wanted to become as tall as her then they should "drink water all the time and out of a tap is okay as well".

But on a serious note she said, "I want to congratulate you and officially hand over your gold level three star for being such an incredible school.

"You guys are the third school to do that [go water-only] — how cool is that?

"So one day when all the schools in Kāpiti have gone water free, people will say which school was the first, and it's going to be you guys.

"So you guys will be out there in history for the rest of your lives — which is pretty awesome."

Mrs Gurunathan told pupils, "You are leading the way for all the other Kāpiti Coast schools.

"We are really proud of you."