70 days ago

Rangiora school’s Te Whare Mātauranga aims to boost arts, culture

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

Rangiora High School is investing in arts and culture with a new learning whare, as the principal looks to support a growing community.

The school’s much anticipated Te Whare Mātauranga (house of learning) is due to open in term four, while a community performing arts centre is also proposed.

The Government has told schools to focus on literacy and numeracy, but acting principal Remihana Emery, himself a maths teacher, said there was still merit in arts and culture.

The $1.2 million, multi-purpose Te Whare Mātauranga is being fully funded by the school’s board of trustees.

‘‘The whare is waiting on some minor things to be completed and we are hoping to open it in term four,’’ Emery said.

‘‘It is a great investment for the school and the community.’’

The 171 square metre whare has an ‘‘imposing’’ frontage, and will be used for cultural and community events.

It will have a multi-use cultural and teaching space equivalent to 1.5 classrooms, a wet room / dining space and a huge 51m2 north-facing verandah.

The teaching space will be big enough for 35 students.

As an auditorium, it will seat 65 people, while 30 could be seated in the dining room.

The whare is located on Wales St at the northwest corner of the school grounds, facing Mt Grey.

Board of trustees presiding member Simon Green said the school worked closely with Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga in planning the whare.
‘‘We are really pleased with how it is coming along.

‘‘Our intention is for every student to spend time in the building during the year and to understand the significance of it.’’

He said the school’s Māori department will move into the new whare building, which will mean moving it back on to the main site rather than being housed in an old prefab across the road.

A sub-committee has been formed to develop a proposed 800-seat performing arts centre / auditorium which is likely to cost $10-12 million.

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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3 days ago

TV 1 last night.

Anne from Rangiora

Did any body watch A Remarkable Place to Die last night?
Did I miss something at the end as it went straight to the next program after the adds.with no finish

5 days ago

Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.

John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!

As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!

John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.

Share your question below now ⬇️

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1 day ago

Calling All Puzzle Masters! Can You Solve This?

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

When John was six years old he hammered a nail into his favorite tree to mark his height.
Ten years later at age sixteen, John returned to see how much higher the nail was.
If the tree grew by five centimetres each year, how much higher would the nail be?

Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.

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