Te Kura o Kokohuia School - Castlecliff

'Pupuritia te mana o Kokohuia'

‘Ko te aronga matua o Te Kura o Kokohuia,

kia hua nga tamariki ki o ratau taumata tino teitei

i raro i nga tikanga, nga waiaro, nga whai painga

me nga wharekura hoki o Te Atihaunui-a-Paparangi.’

The purpose of Te Kura o Kokohuia is

to ensure all tauira attain their highest level

of educational achievement based on Te Atihaunui-a-Paparangi

values, knowledge, beliefs, skills and institutions.

He kura a iwi Te Kura o Kokohuia, e noho ana ki te taha o te repo o Kokohuia, kei Te Kaihau-a-Kupe ki Whanganui. He kura pono ki te kaupapa o te reo Maori me nga tikanga o Whanganui. Mai i te tau 1 ki te 13 nga tauira a he kura tuturu ki te reo Maori hoki. Kia akiaki i nga tamariki ki te to pakari i ta ratau ake tu, ki te tautoko hoki tetehi ki tetehi i nga haerenga i te ao matauranga.

Te Kura o Kokohuia is located next to the repo in Castlecliff, Whanganui. We are an iwi kura committed to te reo Maori and nga tikanga o Whanganui. We cater for tauira from Years 1 to 13 in an environment where te reo Maori is a priority. Our tauira are nurtured in a holistic way to be confident in their identity and to support each other in their learning journey.

Kokohuia comes from the name of the repo (swamp) which covered the area where the kura now stands. One korero is about a battle that took place between Pamoana from Operiki and Tutemangarewa. Pamoana defeated Tutemangarewa and the battle was over. When asked, 'Did any fall by your hand today?', Pamoana responded 'Kotahi tui no Pamoana, koko Pamoana'. This meaning, although he had slain only one man, that man had been the chief of Rauru.  When the chief had fallen, the battle ceased. 'One bird alone I brought to earth, the one and only that scattered the rest'.

Over the years, Te Kura o Kokohuia has worked towards joining Nga Kura a Iwi in an effort to support the aspirations of iwi, hapu, whanau and community.  At the end of 2019, we were fortunate to be approved, a great milestone for our kura, with the help of dedicated whanau and endorsement from iwi kaumatua.  It has been a long journey to get to this point but we are so proud to be connected to such a great network of like-minded kura.  Mauri tu, mauri ora!