Wā Ora Montessori School

Wā Ora Montessori School Realise your child's unique potential at the only Montessori school in NZ from playgroup to year 13.

A big congratulations to our talented Wā Ora writers who were recognised in the Upper Hutt Libraries Poetry Competition ...
06/09/2026

A big congratulations to our talented Wā Ora writers who were recognised in the Upper Hutt Libraries Poetry Competition 2026!

Spencer Tysoe received second place in the Children (ages 8–11) category for his poem The Hidden Wilderness.
Maeve Weir and Stella Meadows-Miller were also shortlisted in the same category for their poems If Trees Could Talk and Nature is All Around Me.

And it wasn’t just our ākonga showcasing their writing talents! A special congratulations also goes to our wonderful librarian Hannah Tysoe, whose poem My Time in the Wilderness was shortlisted in the Adults category.

With 111 entries received across the four age categories, being placed or shortlisted is a wonderful achievement. Ka rawe Spencer, Maeve, Stella and Hannah!

You can read their poems, along with all the winning and shortlisted entries, here:https://www.upperhuttlibrary.co.nz/files/assets/libraries/v/1/poetry-competition/poetry-competition-2026-anthology-booklet-children.pdf (ages 8-11) and here:https://www.upperhuttlibrary.co.nz/files/assets/libraries/v/1/poetry-competition/poetry-competition-2026-anthology-booklet-teens-and-adults.pdf (ages teen-adult).

24/08/2026

Announcement from Stacey Newlands on behalf of the Wā Ora Board of Trustees

Kia ora koutou,

I am writing with sadness to share some significant news for our kura. Ava has advised the board of her resignation as our Principal. Ava will remain in her role for term 3 and 4 of this year, with her final working day to be 27 January 2027.

Ava has been at Wa Ora for fourteen years, and has been Principal since 2017. It is impossible to do justice to the contribution Ava has made as a leader in our kura in this short email, but suffice to say, it has been huge and of enormous value! When Ava spoke to us at our board meeting last week, she said the best part of the job is still the everyday interactions with our tamariki and rangatahi, who bring her joy every day. So, while very sad to be sharing this news, I am also filled with gratitude, and a sense of celebration for all Ava has contributed.

We will begin the process of recruiting a new principal, and will keep you as informed as we can about this, including if any interim arrangements become necessary.

Please reach out if you have any questions and we will do our best to answer them. Maryann, one of our parent representatives, and Juliette, our staff representative, will be in the house behind the pre-school today between 3-4pm for a drop in session for anyone who would like to chat. Please feel free to visit if you would like to.

Stacey Newlands | Presiding Member and elected parent representative, Board of Trustees

This past weekend, the High School’s choir went on Wā Ora’s first choir camp, to Napier. We were lucky enough to be able...
23/08/2026

This past weekend, the High School’s choir went on Wā Ora’s first choir camp, to Napier. We were lucky enough to be able to collaborate with Napier Boys' Choir and the talented accompanist, and conductor of Altissime, Shawn Condon. We had the best time rehearsing at Napier Boys, exploring Napier, enjoying the various activities at Kennedy Park Resort, performing at the beautiful St Paul’s Presbyterian Church, and building a stronger sense of connection within our choir. Thank you Michael, Lottie, and Tanya, for organising and providing us with this opportunity. I hope we do it again next year!

Check out the videos of us below!

https://youtu.be/8M6vnhNKyHU

https://youtu.be/DLTZM1NtEy4

Little hands, important work 🌱In Nīkau, our Preschool tamariki have been busy developing their Practical Life skills - s...
20/08/2026

Little hands, important work 🌱

In Nīkau, our Preschool tamariki have been busy developing their Practical Life skills - sewing, chopping fruit, grating cheese and carrots, washing a chalkboard and carefully cutting paper along a line.

These everyday activities require hand-eye coordination, focus and concentration, while giving tamariki opportunities to work with real tools and develop their fine motor skills.

As Dr Montessori said, “the hand is the instrument of the mind.” Through purposeful, hands-on work, tamariki are also building independence and confidence in themselves as capable people who can contribute to their community.

♟️ Hutt Valley Chess Regionals ♟️Some of our High School ākonga put their chess skills to the test yesterday at the Hutt...
19/08/2026

♟️ Hutt Valley Chess Regionals ♟️

Some of our High School ākonga put their chess skills to the test yesterday at the Hutt Valley Chess Regionals, held at St Oran’s School in Lower Hutt.

A big congratulations to Deandre, who had a fantastic result, taking first place in the senior division!

Ka rawe, Deandre, and well done to all of our ākonga who represented Wā Ora at the competition!

In akomanga Kauri, we love handwork and making things so we thought we’d show some of the things we have been making thi...
17/08/2026

In akomanga Kauri, we love handwork and making things so we thought we’d show some of the things we have been making this term.

📖 Sewing book covers out of fabric for our work journals and spelling pukapuka.

🍂 Wet-felting pictures of leaves and then needle-felting on top the details to show the different parts.

🌏 Wet-felting balls to show the layers of the Earth – cutting them open was so fun!

🧶We love learning how to knit, but it can be hard sometimes and takes so much practice!!

🦅 This is a model of a Pouakai made out of paper.

🪡 We’ve been working on this class tukutuku panel for a while, still a bit to go…

The excitement is building! 🎭✨Tonight is the opening performance of the Primary Production, The Dream Factory, and it's ...
04/08/2026

The excitement is building! 🎭✨

Tonight is the opening performance of the Primary Production, The Dream Factory, and it's been busy and buzzing behind the scenes as costumes, props and final rehearsals all come together.

Our tamariki and rangatahi have poured so much hard work, creativity and enthusiasm into this production, and we can't wait to see them shine on stage this evening.

A huge thank you to our incredible kaiako, parent volunteers and everyone who has helped bring this production to life – especially Lottie, our wonderful drama kaiako, whose vision and dedication have guided the production from the very beginning, and Michael, who has done an incredible job bringing all of the music together.

Break a leg everyone....it's showtime!🌟

Another beautiful post from Association Montessori Internationale -Canada on what independence looks like in Montessori.
20/07/2026

Another beautiful post from Association Montessori Internationale -Canada on what independence looks like in Montessori.

Would you like to learn how Montessori can help your child be more independent, confident and capable? At Wā Ora, our ta...
19/07/2026

Would you like to learn how Montessori can help your child be more independent, confident and capable?

At Wā Ora, our tamariki learn through a calm, carefully prepared, child-centred environment that encourages curiosity, independence, respect, and a genuine love of learning.

Come to our Information Evening and hear Wā Ora staff talk about the Montessori philosophy of education. Enjoy a visual presentation outlining all the sectors of the school from playgroup through to the college programme.

Wā Ora is the only Montessori school in New Zealand that caters for children from playgroup through to Year 13 (the end of secondary schooling).

• We are currently accepting applications for younger tamariki turning 3.

https://www.facebook.com/events/831905016132839?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22your_upcoming_events_unit%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D

For further information, please contact: [email protected]

Address

278 Waddington Drive
Lower Hutt
5011

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 3:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 3:30pm

Telephone

+6445672377

Website

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