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Libraries are places where knowledge is shared and passed from one generation to the next, so it was fitting that generations old and new came together to officially open Kaiwaka Primary School’s long-awaited new library and multi-purpose building this month.
Students, staff and dignitaries were welcomed into the new building on August 3 as the ribbon was ceremonially cut by the school’s youngest student, five-year-old Dusty Alway, alongside Kaiwaka Primary School’s oldest living former pupil, 94-year-old Bill Jaques.
The project was funded by the Ministry of Education and includes a well-equipped library, a dedicated Learning Support Coordinator office, a large area for kapa haka and Ngā Tūmanako practice, and kitchen facilities for the school’s Garden to Table programme.
During the opening ceremony, principal Sharlene McCormick said the building reflected the school’s vision of nurturing children to fly.
“I see this building as representing the feathers that will provide our students with the environment they need to soar,” she said.
“This building was built by hands, but a school is built by its community. I want to recognise the team who collaborated with effort and determination to design and complete our building.
“The structure is more than a building to us. It is a special place where our children can discover new knowledge, ask questions, be problem solvers and learn how to learn. These walls will foster not only academic success but also our school values.”
The new building is one of the largest infrastructure projects the school has seen in recent times and replaces the old library, which had been used as extra classroom space for the school’s growing roll until water damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 left the school without a permanent library.
Designed by Whangārei-based Design Group Architects h + k and built by NPM Construction, the building was crafted to ensure the school could continue expanding without it limiting any future development.
Inside, the area has been decorated in nature-inspired earthy greens, greys and blues, which principal McCormick said feels like a “warm space that hugs you.”
Landscape windows frame views of Pukekaroro, the sacred maunga of hapū Te Uri o Hau that watches over the school.
Librarian Sara McAulay said she felt “overwhelmed” to finally have a library, and seeing the children come into the space for the first time made the wait worthwhile.
“There is almost a whole cohort that has gone through school without a library, now the kids have a happy, warm and safe space to read and enjoy,” she said.
During the welcome ceremony, several former pupils shared memories of their time at the school, including Bill Jaques, who was a student at the school in the late 1930s. Jaques shared how he and his friends used to have clod fights in air raid shelters that were built in the early 1940s due to fears of a Japanese invasion.
Jaques said he thought the new library was “brilliant,” and reflected on how much the school had changed.
“This building here was just about the size of the school when I came here,” he said.
Former pupil and Kaipara District Council Mayor Jonathan Larsen attended the opening alongside his mother, Judith, who was once a new entrant teacher at the school. Northland MP Grant McCallum also attended on behalf of Education Minister Erica Stanford.
Student Joeli-Bree Schipper said she was happy to have the new library.
“It’s really nice and is a big upgrade from the old library. I’m really happy it has a multi-purpose room too. I’m excited to read some books and take them home.”
