Welcome to Awhitu District School

Awhitu District School is a well established full rural primary catering for students from New Entrants to Year 8. 

Our motivating and engaging curriculum focusses on our individual learning journeys, our environment and our PRIDE values.  We provide a quality education in a caring and stimulating environment. 

We enjoy all the benefits of rural living and the best of innovative teaching and learning practices through Inquiry, a blended eLearning approach and personalised learning. 

Our school is well supported by an active Board of Trustees and PTA who are dedicated to help provide wonderful resources to enhance students learning and experiences. 

Our PRIDE Values are very important at Awhitu District School as they form the basis of our School Vision:

  'Empowering students to care, adapt and succeed with PRIDE' 

Personal Best 

Respect 

Integrity 

Determination 

Exploration

OUR PRIDE PANELS 

Our PRIDE panels are proudly displayed in the heart of our school. 

These all started some time ago with the development of the School Vision (Empowering students to care, adapt and succeed with PRIDE), by the school community as a whole. 

The PRIDE Values have been embedded within our curriculum and everything we do here at Awhitu. 

Students and staff have been developing our PRIDE Matrix, which explains what is expected of each of us within each value, in each school setting. This Matrix provides the basis for our Values lessons each week.

During the design of our PRIDE panels our children identified animals, wildlife, trees and environments that are important to us, and that depict our PRIDE values. These ideas were then passed on to our talented designer Sasha Maya from ‘Sasha Maya Creative’ who has designed our PRIDE panels and school signage.  

Below is a description of some of the meanings and the story within our stunning PRIDE panels.

Moving from Panel 1 to 5 they move through from early morning to midday,   to dusk, to night. 

Each of the panels represent a different part of the Awhitu environment:

Panel 1: The Sea

Panel 2: Awhitu School Pine Forest

Panel 3: New Zealand Bush

Panel 4: The Foreshore and Lighthouse 

Panel 5: The Manukau Harbour

          environments of the Awhitu area. Some of them also represent the                                                        PRIDE values.

                  The Hammerhead shark (Mangopare) in Panel 1              represents strength and determination. 

           The Turtle in Panel 1 is a symbol of the good life, navigator        (exploration), calmness and achievement.

             Pukeko in Panel 4 were known for their bold scheming and           determination. They raided gardens for kumara and taro.

                  The Albatross in Panel 4 symbolize beauty and power.             Wearing albatross feathers or bone pendants conferred these qualities on the wearer, usually a person of rank.  Garlands of feathers adorned the prow of waka taua (war canoes).

The Māori name for the Fur Seal (Kekeno) in Panel 5 meaning 'look around' depicting exploration and curiosity.

The Heron (Kōtuku) in Panel 5 fly at night.  Kōtuku had mythical status for Māori because of their rarity and beauty.

     There is a Whakataukī used in relation to rare guests.    

       The epithet 'Te kōtuku rerenga tahi' the white heron of a single flight            given to distinguished guests who seldom visited.

Many of the animals have relevant symbolism within Māori Culture.