Kia Ora, a very warm welcome

As Principal it gives me great pleasure to extend to all students, their families and other visitors a very warm welcome to Wairakei Primary School. Many people comment on how 'good this school feels', whether they be prospective families considering to enrol, visitors from other schools, as well as our very own families already associated with the school. For that reason we know you will enjoy your time with us and we look forward to meeting you and your family.

Proud history as 'rural' school for northern Taupo catchment

Our school community includes families living within the northern Taupo regions, on lifestyle blocks and farms, in addition encompassing areas within closer proximity to the central Taupo northern boundary. The community is proud of its long history as a rural school established in 1959, and today this still shapes its essential character. Several generations of some local families have attended Wairakei Primary School, enjoying its wonderful and rich history for delivering excellent education. We look forward to providing this quality education to all new and established families into the future.

Excellent reputation for strong community partnership

Through the diversity of our programs, the enthusiasm of our staff and the support of our wider school community, I believe our excellent reputation rests in our strong sense of partnership with the parents and community. The values we celebrate are formed from our commitment to realising the potential of all students through a balanced education addressing the academic, social, emotional and physical aspects of our children's lives.

The 250 children who attend Wairakei Primary School are considerate and supportive of each other and are fortunate to be offered a wealth to a variety of endless opportunities to spark their interests, feed their enthusiasm and extend their creativity into success. Whether it is programmes offered as part of the academic curriculum or numerous co-curricula activities and sporting opportunities, the range offered goes toward creating well-rounded individuals with a richness of experience. The aim is children to be active in forging and leading their own pathways to success through the choices that they are encouraged to make.

Breadth of educational  and co-curricular opportunities

It is a privilege to lead the educational team at Wairakei Primary School where the academic aim is to provide an enriched, interesting curriculum that meets our students needs to prepare them for future learning. We are well respected for providing a secure and challenging learning environment of equal opportunity for all our students. Whilst all New Zealand's curriculum areas are taught with strong vision to nurture 21st century learners, the emphasis of teaching and learning programmes is on Literacy and Numeracy in order to build a solid foundation for future learning.

On-going devotion for learning can be attributed to the superb quality and experience of the teaching and support staff who work together to provide a breadth of educational opportunities in a friendly and caring school community. We have a strong belief that success for life requires full involvement from everybody in the diverse wider community who has stake in improving learning for our children. We actively value and promote open communication in the belief that strong positive home-school partnerships, with parents and teachers working together will enable our children to achieve their full potential.

Warm welcome to visit

You are most welcome to come and visit Wairakei Primary School, for I believe the most important way to know if a school is the best place for your child to be educated is to spend time seeing, hearing and getting a feel for how our school operates. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to know more about our school or contact us to make an appointment so that I can show you around this special place.

Paula Farquhar

Principal

Wairakei Primary School