Our Kura
Te Pākihi o Maru provides a warm, welcoming environment where children can realise their social, emotional, and academic potential. We’re an active part of the local community, and our doors are always open for whānau to visit!
About
Te Pākihi o Maru staff are undergoing professional learning in structured literacy and as a result our teaching practices will transition to align with this teaching approach in spelling, reading and writing. Structured literacy is an evidenced based approach that is grounded in the Science of Reading. We are also in the process of developing our localised curriculum, which will draw from New Zealand’s national curriculum and focus on the areas that are important for our tamariki and community. We also have plenty of sports and other activities on offer, both through external opportunities and having professionals come in to teach our students.
Photo Credit Right: Oamaru Mail
Free school lunches
Te Pākihi o Maru offers free school lunches and breakfast in school, and keep our class sizes small to enable focused learning.
Sense of whānau
Children are welcomed into one of four school houses, which provide a wonderful sense of whānau within the school and develop leadership skills in our older tamariki.
Multi-cultural
Te Pākihi o Maru is proudly multi-cultural, and we offer specialised support for children who have English as a second language.
History
Our kura was established in 1872 as Oamaru North School, and officially became Te Pākihi o Maru in April 2021. We’re proud of our history as one of Oamaru’s first schools and look forward to celebrating our 150th centenary in 2022.
The name Te Pākihi o Maru was gifted to the school by Ngai Tahu and represents our positive way forward.
Te Pākihi refers to the vast open land our school was built on, and Maru is a figure of importance in Ngai Tahu history - a name you might recognise in the towns of Oamaru and Timaru. Together, our name means ‘The wide-open plains of Maru’ - a celebration of the land our school is situated on and an acknowledgement of our local iwi and tikanga.
