Kaitao Intermediate on Bell Rd went into lockdown today for the third time in two months. Photo / Andrew Warner
Kaitao Intermediate in Rotorua has been forced into lockdown for the third time in two months after a 13-year-old girl who has allegedly been “terrorising” the school ran into the grounds at lunchtime on Tuesday yelling at students “you’d better f***ing run”, a school leader says.
The school says it is an incredibly frustrating situation for its students and staff who are being distracted by an outside teen who they wish could be given the support she needs and never return.
The Rotorua Daily Post reported on Saturday the teen girl allegedly bashed and concussed a 13-year-old student walking home from school in June, leaving the victim now so “terrified” her mother says she is not returning to school until she regains her confidence.
The school has been at the centre of six incidents relating to the offending teenager, including three lockdowns and allegedly two teachers and two students assaulted.
Police previously said the teenager was too young to face charges in the Youth Court but was being dealt with via a process where a plan is made for the young person to have a chance to make right what they have done.
School deputy principal Adrian Firmin told the Rotorua Daily Post he saw the teen girl and another girl run through the school’s front gates at the start of lunchtime, about 12.30pm, today.
“She was intercepted by myself as she entered. I immediately instructed the school to go into lockdown.”
When a lockdown is initiated, a bell sounds and students know to return to their classrooms and sit in the middle of the room.
Firmin said as students quickly went into classrooms, he walked immediately in front of the two intruders.
He alleged they were trying to approach students and the teen was “yelling threatening things to the kids” including, “You’d better f***ing run”.
Firmin said once all the students were inside classrooms, he met police who arrived quickly.
The school’s security cameras showed the two girls had climbed a rear gate and left the grounds.
The lockdown lasted about five or six minutes before the students went out again to enjoy their lunch break, Firmin said.
Principal Phil Palfrey told the Rotorua Daily Post he was impressed the police arrived within a couple of minutes.
He said it was unsettling for the students and staff.
“It makes all of us hypervigilant.”
He said Katiao Intermediate was an incredible school with “wonderful hard-working” staff, yet they were distracted by this issue involving a girl who did not attend the school.
In his view, it appeared that “simply because of her age, nothing can happen to her”.
Palfrey said the girl’s father later arrived at the school to apologise for his daughter’s behaviour.
The girl had been trespassed and she was not allowed within 200m of the school’s Bell Rd entrance, Palfrey said.
He encouraged people to call the police if they saw or interacted with her near the school.
“All we want is that she gets the support she needs and she is gone and doesn’t come anywhere near this school again.”
A police spokeswoman said police attended the school after reports of two young people behaving aggressively. Police were asked to comment further.
The mother of the girl allegedly assaulted on June 12 said they heard the lockdown school’s siren from home at about 12.30pm.
She said her daughter, who the Rotorua Daily Post agreed not to name, immediately started to “stress”.
The mother praised how Kaitao Intermediate handled the situation but felt sorry for the school because it was like the teen girl was “terrorising” it.
Her daughter was allegedly attacked by the girl, who she did not know, while walking home from school with two friends.
The teen girlallegedly punched the victim, ripped off her glasses, stood on them and threw them into bushes.
The mother said her daughter was then allegedly punched in the face and head, pushed over and kicked on her legs and back before a passing parent yelled out and the attacker ran away.
The Rotorua Daily Post reported in June the school’s struggles with the teen girl. In that article, Firmin outlined five incidents.
Only young people aged 14 to 17 can appear in the Youth Court, unless they are facing a very serious charge.
Those aged 10 to 13 who commit offences not subject to a penalty of a maximum of 14 years’ jail are dealt with by Oranga Tamariki under the “care and protection system”, and they might need to go to a family group conference or Family Court.
Sergeant Jim Harvey of the Rotorua police Youth Services told the Rotorua Daily Post last week the teen girl was going through the Oranga Tamariki process and victims would be notified soon about the next steps.
Generally speaking, he said young people involved in these procedures worked with their families, professionals and, if appropriate, victims and their families to come up with a plan to make good what they had done.
Examples could include koha for reparation, taking part in certain activities or doing work agreed to in the plan.
Once everything was carried out in the plan, that would be the end of the matter and no further action would be taken.
Harvey said he was aware of the Kaitao Intermediate incidents and said he had encouraged those involved to call 111 if there were further incidents.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.