It is interesting to note that despite the signalled name change for the school to Te Aratai, Alumni enrolments continue to roll in. Do we interpret this to mean that as a past school body the link to our school remains strong? We hope so. After all the school is returning to its old site and within its traditional catchment.
What has changed is that the name of the school now has a unique meaning. Our old name, did not reflect even our physical location being situated in Phillipstown nor did it reflect the wide geographical area the school draws from, serving as far east as Sumner and Taylors Mistake to almost the eastern edge of the city. The reason behind the change is repeated below in part:
The concept of the pathway is very powerful in education with a student’s curriculum and career pathways a central part of learning. Te Aratai and pathways also support our school’s motto since 1954, Kimihia, with its meaning of “to seek, to search, to look for”. Also, Te Aratai links with our two, at present, separate Kāhui Ako-Communities of Learning – Tamai and Aupaki. The Linwood Ave pathway links geographically to Tamai, our Linwood-Woolston-Bromley schools; and Te Ihutai (the estuary) and the coast, link geographically to Aupaki, our schools from Sumner to Heathcote Valley.