Tinopai School

02/09/2026

A message from Ruawai College.....

📚 2027 NEW STUDENT WHĀNAU MEETINGS
We’re looking forward to welcoming our new students and whānau who will be joining Ruawai College in 2027! 💙💛
Our New Student Whānau Meetings are an opportunity to visit the school, meet key staff, ask questions and share information to help us support a positive transition into Ruawai College. 🌟
🏫 During your meeting you will:
• Visit our Year 7 homeroom and meet the homeroom teacher
• Meet individually with a member of our pastoral team for an enrolment interview
• Have the opportunity to ask questions and share important information about your child
👨‍👩‍👧 Students must attend the interview with their whānau.
📝 BEFORE YOUR INTERVIEW
Please complete our online enrolment form before coming to school:
https://ruawaicollege.school.kiwi/enrolment
📞 BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL
Please contact the Ruawai College front office on 09 439 2216 to book a suitable time.
📅 Monday 31 August to Friday 4 September
⏰ 3:15pm to 4:30pm
📄 Please bring the student’s original Birth Certificate and/or current valid Passport to the enrolment interview.
We can’t wait to meet our newest students and whānau and help them begin their Ruawai College journey! 💙💛
Kimihia ngā maunga teitei | Seek the highest peak

01/09/2026

01/09/2026

And that's a wrap!
August goings-on at Tinopai School...

We've had the lovely Patience Day from Ruawai College here for Gateway Experience. Always special to have an ex student coming back to us 🥰

Duffy Theatre at Matakohe School was an absolute hit as always with the added bonus of our tamariki meeting another ex student Xavier, who is part of the Duffy crew! 😎

As always our tamariki strive to uphold our school values of Mana, Aroha and Pono (MAP) and at the end of each week our students get to pick an amazing reward for showing those values! Ka mau to wehi! 😍

A huge mihi to the amazing crew from Kiwi Can and Mana Ake for your weekly programmes delivered here at kura. We appreciate you! 🤩

Our tamariki, staff and wider community are truly blessed. 🫶

23/07/2026

Matariki at The Kauri Museum! Exhibition is open until the end of July.

This artwork created by Tinopai School tells the story of Mahuhu-ki-te-rangi, one of the great ancestral waka of Aotearoa.

The waka in this mural represents both the journey of Mahuhu-ki-te-rangi and the journey of Tinopai School whanau.

To make the waka the tamariki of Tinopai collected shells from Tinopai Beach, with each shell representing a person, a story and a connection to our community.
Fabulous mahi Tinopai School! 😍

04/07/2026

✨ And the Matariki celebrations continue… ✨

A huge shout out to the amazing team at the Matakohe Kauri Museum for putting on such a wonderful Matariki experience. Our tamariki had an absolute blast exploring the museum, getting creative, taking part in the scavenger hunt, and spending time with all of the incredible volunteers who made the day so special.

To top it all off, we finished our day and our term with visits to not one but two playgrounds! And whānau, the new Pahi playground is amazing, so if you’re looking for something to do over the school holidays, make sure you go and check it out.

What a wonderful term it has been. Thank you to everyone who has supported our kura along the way. We hope all of our whānau have a safe, happy, and well deserved two week break. We’ll see you all next term!

Mānawatia a Matariki! ✨

03/07/2026

❤️ What a night! ❤️

What an awesome evening celebrating Matariki together as a community! It was so special seeing so many whānau, friends, and familiar faces come together to share great kai, plenty of laughs, and welcome the Māori New Year.

One of the highlights had to be everyone making their own wood-fired pizzas. It was so much fun seeing all the different creations come out of the pizza oven!

A massive shout-out to the awesome team from Ruawai College for accepting the invitation from our tamariki and coming along to celebrate with us. It was so lovely to have you there and share in such a special evening.

A huge thank you to everyone who came along, lent a hand, brought a plate, or simply enjoyed the evening with us. Nights like these remind us just how lucky we are to be part of such an amazing community.

Mānawatia a Matariki! ✨ # # @

01/07/2026

💙 A shout out to our incredible volunteers! 💙

It takes a village, and we are so lucky to have ours.

To our amazing Reading Angels who spend time reading with our tamariki, those who bring along delicious baking to share, the creative people who help with art projects, the helpers who decorate for our events, the beautiful flowers that arrive each week, and everyone who quietly steps in whenever there’s a job to be done… thank you.

Some of you volunteer every week, others whenever you’re able, but every act of kindness makes a real difference. Your time, generosity and aroha help make Tinopai School the special place it is.

There are far too many of you to name individually, but please know how much we appreciate every single one of you. We simply couldn’t do what we do without the amazing support of our community.

Ngā mihi nui from all of us at Tinopai School. We are incredibly grateful!

30/06/2026

Our Matariki Community Dinner is on Thursday 2 July at Tinopai School, starting from 5.00pm.

Come along for a great evening of kai, connection, and celebrating Matariki together.
Please bring a plate to share or something to add on to the wood fired pizzas! Wrap up warm as some of the festivities are both in and outdoors 🙂

We can’t wait to see you there! 🌟