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A proliferation of primary schools in Ōrewa is one of the reasons behind a decision by the Ōrewa North Primary School community to change its name.
From Monday October 12 it will be known as the Ōrewa Beach School.
Principal Katherine Pascoe says the new name comes at the end of a lengthy process to re-visit the schools’ vision, mission and values.
“The school is just a block away from the beach, which is a big part of our children’s lives,” she says. “It seemed like a natural fit.
“Increasingly, schools are being encouraged to localise their curriculums so capturing the beach in our name reinforces this sense of identity.”
The school also faces confusion with the existing Ōrewa Primary School and the soon to be built Ōrewa North West Primary.
“Calling ourselves Ōrewa Beach makes it much clearer exactly who we are and where we are.”
Ōrewa North opened 42 years ago and currently has 427 students on its roll.
“We are at capacity so don’t take any out-of-zone students anymore,” Katherine says.
Along with the new name, a new school logo reflects the Ōrewa headland, pohutukawa and beach, and a new school t-shirt is emblazoned with the words: He waka eke noa (all in this together).
“It has been a very exciting journey for the students, staff and whole school community where we have had the opportunity to both look back and look forward to the sort of future we want the school to have,” Katherine says.
