The Gully School - Learning Naturally.

The Gully School - Learning Naturally. A one day nature based school for children 5-12 years in rural Rotorua NOW OPEN!!

You can feel the change of season. The air is warmer, trees are bursting buds, baby’s are all around and everyone feels ...
24/09/2026

You can feel the change of season. The air is warmer, trees are bursting buds, baby’s are all around and everyone feels a bit more energised as we move out the darker days into the light.
The lovely use of loose parts was demonstrated as I happened upon a fishing trawler in the paddock. What an imaginative and creative space we were in. More creative play was noticed with two new friend making pirate ships and connecting in their own world.

We farewell some of our leaders today as their season ended and wish them well. We’re excited to see our other leaders rise up and take the mantle left behind.

A beautiful session to end such a busy term. We farewelled a little learner and hope to see him again soon. Thanks for t...
22/09/2026

A beautiful session to end such a busy term. We farewelled a little learner and hope to see him again soon. Thanks for the delish brownie and for being such a fun friend.
Roses 🌹 for me today included
💚 The wonderful entomologists 🐞 🐌 and their excitement at discovering lots of awesome creatures. They thought carefully about what the insects they found would need. They collaborated, solved problems and shared ideas. A few buds already blooming for term 4 and I’m so excited to see where they go with their learning.
💚 the brave and interested biologists wanting to learn about mammals and exploring their inner workings. We learned how body systems in mammals worked and were fascinated about what we could discover
💚 connections around the fire. There is no doubt that the biological urge to create a fire to sit around and talk is strong in humans. Thanks to our fire chiefs 🔥 kept the fire going and enjoyed raking it up and keeping the oxygen flowing through.

Not every day is the best day ever. The energy was low and heavy as we arrived today. Big emotions being felt. Tanks are...
17/09/2026

Not every day is the best day ever. The energy was low and heavy as we arrived today. Big emotions being felt. Tanks are empty and everyone is in need of a break. Learning how to handle these emotions is something we work on each week. No emotion is good or bad - we welcome all emotion. How we move through the tough moments into the next requires patience and practice.
Something that is special about this group is how they lift up their mates when they are low. By the end of the day the vibes were high and laughter changed our energy entirely.
What a joy to work in this environment 💚

15/09/2026

Spring has bought some new energy to our group and it’s been lovely to watch little pockets of like minded friends link up and explore their learning and areas of interest. We have a keen group of gardeners and they made short work of weeds while taking the time to observe creatures in the soil. Another group have been learning about habitats that insects like and we now have a mobile cave weta ecosystem.
Tired bodies and brains mean adults are needed up support regulation at times as we begin to put into practice skills we are learning. We have one more week of term before we kick into holiday mode!

10/09/2026

It’s been another lovely day with some super precious people.
Thank you to my super chefs chopping, stirring, boiling and serving. The conversation was flowing as we shared aspirations and dreams. What a privilege to be part of.
Happy birthday to two of our friends 🍰
It was awesome to welcome some whānau to be part of his birthday tray ritual. It always warms my heart to hear heart felt messages of what our friends like about us. Sometimes it’s hard to take compliments and we have to lean in. We are all so loved ❤️and have value to bring into the world.

08/09/2026

The old saying absence makes the heart 💚 grow fonder really struck me today. Running a business with heart can be challenging at times and I was feeling a little exhausted this term. Having some time away and then returning today filled me with an immense sense of gratitude. To be able to work in this way, with phenomenal coworkers and brilliant children…how lucky am I??

It was cooking time for me this week and we have many children building skills towards fire and cooking badges. 3 capable children took over prepping our food while I welcomed a new whānau in. They were so confident and the food was delish thank you team 💚

Sitting on the hill with 4 busy boys was bucket filling. Lots of chat, exploring ideas and creative moments.

My highlight had to be my birthday tray. I thought I had managed to go under the radar but Manuela and Mel got one over me. The emotional intelligence of our group moved me to tears. Again, I’m profoundly grateful for my abundant life and to work with your lovely children. What a gift 💝

26/08/2026

Oh no I missed international dog 🐶 day yesterday!! Here’s a special one for our special teacher Wilson. A source of joy and comfort every Gully day and the man to have in hand if you need a hole dug. We love you Wilson Manuela Küng Purser

25/08/2026

The gully was a busy place today with everyone focused and engaged in what brings them joy. Loose parts are being well used by this group and we can see the amazing problem solving and flexiblity of thought that comes from this.

20/08/2026

It was so lovely to have most of our friends back after lots of illness.
We had many mini projects dotted around the place. New friendships blossomed over hut building, faces became canvas’ and science experiments made us so surprised when colours changed before our eyes

We had some tea makers today with who created delicious mint and kawakawa brews and shared it with their friends. It was hard to keep up with demand and the water didn’t want to boil faster which was a little frustrating! But we worked through the challenge.

Another duo wanted to light a fire in the small fore space. Wet ground and wind bought more challenges! We felt like giving up. We took breaks. One person then sat for 45 minutes and worked hard on getting it going! Success!!!
When we keep trying we can accomplish amazing things ✨

Address

Hamurana
Rotorua

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 3pm
Thursday 9am - 3pm

Telephone

+642108229413

Website

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