Te Kura o Waihārara

24/07/2026

🌱 Kaitiakitanga in Action | Te Roto o Waiparera 🌱

On Wednesday, our tamariki headed to Te Roto o Waiparera to take part in another restoration planting day alongside the amazing team from the Department of Conservation (DOC).

Ngā mihi nui to Jacki, Kaio, Nana Bootsie, and all of the rangatahi who came to support our kaupapa.
Your time, knowledge, and encouragement mean so much to our kura and our tamariki.

Our biggest acknowledgement, however, goes to our incredible kaitiaki …. our tamariki. 💚

With the biggest smiles on their faces and plenty of determination, they absolutely smashed through the planting, completing not one, but two planting areas! Their hard work, teamwork, and pride in caring for our taiao were inspiring to watch.

Days like these remind us that kaitiakitanga isn't just something we learn about in the classroom, it is something we live. By caring for our whenua today, our tamariki are helping to protect and restore it for the generations to come.

Mā te kimi ka kite, mā te kite ka mōhio, mā te mōhio ka mārama.
Through seeking we discover; through discovery we know; through knowing we understand.

💚 He nui ake i ahau, It's bigger than me. Every tree planted today is a gift for tomorrow.

24/07/2026

⭐️ Tino pai, e ngā mokopuna mā! ⭐️
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou i whiwhi tohu i tēnei wiki. He tino whakahī mātou ki a koutou. Ka mau te wehi! Kia kaha tonu ki te whakaatu i ō tātou uara i ia rā.

Congratulations to everyone who received an award this week. Keep showing our school values every day.

17/07/2026

He ingoa hou, ko taua wairua anō.

We are proud to now officially be known as Te Kura o Waihārara.

While our name has changed, our commitment to our tamariki, whānau, hapū and iwi remains the same. Together, we continue to grow a kura grounded in Ako, Rangatiratanga and Kaitiakitanga.

He iti pioke, nō Rangaunu, he au tōna!

15/07/2026

Every voice counts! 💚
Join us as we create the next chapter for Te Kura o Waihārara. Come along, share your whakaaro and help shape the future of our kura and tamariki.

📅 Tuesday 21 July | 🕙 10am–2pm

See the poster below for all the details. 🌿

10/07/2026

**He iti pioke, nō Rangaunu, he au tōna!** 🌟

We are incredibly proud to share this beautiful glimpse of our kura and our Matariki celebrations. Although Te Kura o Waihārara may be small in number, our tamariki stand tall in their identity, their reo, their culture and their connection to whānau, hapū and iwi.

This kaupapa reflects the heart of our kura — **Ako, Kaitiakitanga and Rangatiratanga** — and the collective strength of everyone who supports our tamariki to shine.

Ngā mihi nui to Kea Kids News for capturing the wairua of our kura so beautifully. Our hearts are full, and our pride is even fuller. 💛✨

Watch and celebrate with us here:
[https://youtu.be/msc3HvDeqDk](https://youtu.be/msc3HvDeqDk) ([YouTube][1])

[1]: https://youtu.be/msc3HvDeqDk "Smallest school celebrates Māori New Year - YouTube"

Reporter Kobe-Joe and his mates are pulling out all the stops for M...

01/07/2026

✨ Mānawatia a Matariki ✨

What an absolute privilege it was for Te Kura o Waihārara to host this year’s Te Hiku Matariki Festival.

The weather turned up looking beautiful, the tamariki turned up shining, and our Te Hiku principals turned up with sleeves rolled up, muscle power ready, traffic-directing skills activated, and enough aroha to make our wee kura feel truly supported.

From putting up the marquee, guiding buses and cars, supporting our playground fundraising by buying a whole kura worth of sausage sizzles, through to bringing beautifully prepared kapa haka performances, every kura contributed to the wairua of the day.

Our Te Hiku tamariki were outstanding. Each performance carried pride, mana, courage and connection. It was a beautiful reminder that when our kura come together, we are not just sharing a stage, we are strengthening whakapapa, whanaungatanga and the future of our rohe.

To all the kura, tumuaki, kaiako, kaimahi, whānau, kaumātua, kuia, supporters and especially our amazing tamariki — ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa.

Nō mātou te hōnore to host you all. We are still smiling, still feeling proud, and possibly still eating sausage sizzles!

We cannot wait for next year’s Te Hiku Matariki Festival.

He iti pioke, nō Rangaunu, he au tōna! ✨

28/06/2026

Kia ora koutou,
We are calling in all available muscle today! 💪
We will be putting up the marquee at kura today for tomorrow’s Matariki Festival, and we would really appreciate any help we can get.
Ngā mihi, John Windleborn, who will be there to guide us through the great marquee mission! 😄
If you are able to help, please come down to school at 2.00pm today.
Many hands make light work… and hopefully stop the marquee from trying to become a kite.
Ngā mihi nui!

Send a message to learn more

28/06/2026

🌟 Matariki Festival – New Date Confirmed! 🌟

Kia ora e te whānau,

Thank you all for your understanding following the postponement of our Matariki Festival due to last week's weather. While we were disappointed not to celebrate together, the safety of our tamariki, whānau, and manuhiri was our top priority.

We are excited to announce that our Matariki Festival has been rescheduled to:

📅 Tuesday 30 June 2026
🕙 10.00am to meet on school courts for whakatau
📍 Te Kura o Waihārara

We are looking forward to welcoming our neighbouring kura and early childhood centres from across Muriwhenua for a special day of pōwhiri, kapa haka, whanaungatanga, and celebration of Matariki.

A huge thank you to everyone who has continued to support this kaupapa, including our whānau, volunteers, sponsors, community organisations, and all those who have offered their time, resources, and generosity. Your tautoko means so much to our small kura.

We can't wait to come together to celebrate this special occasion with you all.

Nau mai, haere mai! ✨

Send a message to learn more