Arahunga School is energy-driven, positive and upbeat is the order of the day and the order from its seemingly tireless principal, James Abernethy.
A serious biscuit-packing mission was under way in the kitchen to help raise funds for the school.
Students had baked and iced three kinds of biscuits the
day before and were busy preparing their wares to be packed in special, sealed cellophane packets by a local company in Wanganui.
They are always a sell-out, I'm told.
The young woman carefully arranging the biscuits looks up with a shy smile.
Arahunga is a very special school in many ways, and is at the leading edge in several of its educational practices.
Mr Abernethy, principal for 16 years, exudes enthusiasm for his students with diverse educational needs, once termed special needs kids.
Arahunga is the base school where 16 to 21-year-old students come in to learn life skills which encompass everything from cooking and gardening to heading out into the community for work experience in a wide range of industries.
And these students will eventually pick up a range of New Zealand Qualifications Authority credits as well. This is still in the planning stage, but it will be an exciting innovation for the school. There are 57 students learning in Satellite classes at five Wanganui Schools, Carlton School, Tawhero School, Rutherford Junior High, Gonville School and Cullinane College.
The satellite teachers come into Arahunga school once a week to compare notes and catch up.
These teachers are hugely experienced, wise people with great educational knowledge, Mr Abernethy said.
``They really are just the best, Some are teachers who have retired, some are mums coming back after having their families. Their satellite classes within the mainstream schools are all innovative and leading edge.''
But Arahunga School also stretches way beyond Wanganui to New Plymouth across to Waiouru and down as far as Levin.
Its itinerant students have individual educational programmes tailored for them.
These programmes are furnished by the expertise and special resource learning kits provided by Arahunga School.
The special education resources are actually devised and made at Arahunga and are stored in a special library at the school.
So this new strategic education for diverse learners is a far cry from the old days when a special needs child would start on Level one [or primer one] and stay there till they were adults, Mr Abernethy said.
The education programmes for them run the full gamut of reading, writing and maths taught through visually strategic lessons.
Resources are extensive and with the lessons come detailed guides for the teacher.
Mr Abernethy said all the teachers understand the student's needs and are hugely committed to their progress and welfare.
This was patently obvious during our visit to Arahunga.
Everyone from the receptionist, teachers aides to one-on-one caregivers were involved in the day's activities.
The endless chatting in a warm social atmosphere made for a group of very happy fulfilled students.
A remarkable attribute of these students is their ability to take in an instruction and forever stick to it with no deviation ever, Mr Abernethy said.
The raised vege beds are now bursting with produce from cabbages to lettuce, carrots, peas, corn and potatoes.
The learning here is socially based with the emphasis on fair, just, democratic and innovative and it shows.