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Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. What a privilege it is to be Tumuaki, Principal of Onerahi School.
Onerahi School is a friendly and caring place to learn and work, and sits in a prime position in Onerahi, a seaside suburb of Whangārei. We connect closely to Parihaka, our maunga and Hātea, our awa and we take great pride in being able to walk the lands of our ancestors.
The school is close to Matakohe Limestone Island, Dragonfly Springs Wetlands and the Marine Reserves of the Whangārei Harbour. We make the most of learning opportunities in our local community and contribute to the future of our environment.
Achieving Green Gold status as an environmental school in 2017 recognised our commitment to a sustainable future. We have fruit and vegetable gardens, beehives (our honey is delicious), we make Kawa Kawa balm, and we are continually looking for ways to make improvements. The Garden to Table programme is now in full swing and our tauira are engaging in learning new skills and utilising our produce in the kitchen.
We value people’s culture and identity and their connections to Aotearoa New Zealand. Understanding who we are, where we belong and our relationships with people and places are important aspects of our kaupapa.
Our vision, Onerahi School - A Place to Thrive, drives all that we do at Onerahi School and empowers students, their wh?nau and staff to grow as learners. We are grounded in whanaungatanga, manakitanga and manawa reka as we continue our pathways into the future.
We are on an exciting journey designing a rich local curriculum and building capacity in Te Reo Māori me ona tikanga. As we define Onerahitanga and acknowledge what we do well here at Onerahi School, we invite you along on this journey. This will shape our future together.
At Onerahi School one of the questions we are always asking ourselves is “why” and this has led to a culture of innovation and development. We are recognised in local, national and international circles as a progressive school and visits from teachers, administrators and leaders of education is common. All our visitors recognise and admire the culture they see and feel within the school.
We are proud to work and learn at Onerahi School. Haere mai. Come and see us anytime.
Annmaree MacGregor
18 Feb 2026
24 Feb 2026
27 Feb 2026 - 28 Feb 2026
Kia ora koutou,
We already find ourselves at the end of Week 2. Everyone has come back fresh and spent the beginning of the term both renewing and building healthy connections (whanaungatanga) with the people around them. The feeling in the classrooms and playground is beautiful. Such diverse groups of people working and learning together is a constant reminder of why I love being here.
We have Whānau Picnic on Tuesday the 24th of February. It will run from 4:30pm to 6:00pm. It is an opportunity for us to connect as a community and for you to connect with your child’s teacher. Bring along a picnic dinner and we will eat together and enjoy some sports on the field. More information will come next week.
Property development continues across the school. With a new home for our Reorua class (Te Whare Hikingia nga Reorua) now complete and tamariki and kaiako filling it with life, we move to our big playground upgrade. Builders are onsite installing it as I type this and if you travel near the back gate you can watch it taking shape in real time. We are looking forward to unleashing the children on it soon.
Lastly, a couple of friendly Term 1 reminders. This term hats are required for tamariki to play outside as part of our shared commitment to sun safety. No particular hat is required, just something to protect against the sun. Also, our pool is up and running. The school has a trained swim instructor (Sarah) who does an incredible job at building the swimming skills of our tamariki. This is a key part our learning programme and if your child is unable participate in a session this needs to be communicated to your child’s teacher ahead of time. Thanks for your support.
With that, and a weather deciding to shower us in heavy rain, we hope everyone has a safe and dry pick up this afternoon and a great weekend.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Danny Hamilton
Tumuaki Tuarua / Deputy Principal
Kia ora koutou,
Welcome back to 2026! Our staff have been busy over the last two days preparing for another successful year. Tonight will likely be filled with a mixture of excitement and nervousness for your tamariki. Please let them know how much we are looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow. What are they looking forward to? What do they want to achieve this year? Anything is possible and achievable when we work together.
We will be having our beginning of year pōhwiri for new students and whānau on Wednesday morning at 9:30am. As always, everyone is welcome. See you there.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Danny Hamilton
Tumuaki Tuarua / Deputy Principal
Kia ora koutou,
The School Board would like to wish you all very safe and happy holidays and extend their thanks to you for your support during another great year. At our final Board meeting for 2025 we discussed the recent legislation that removed the obligation for Boards to give effect to Titriti o Waitangi. We would like to reassure you that the Board fully supports Onerahi School continuing to honour Te Tiriti obligations. Take care everyone.
Kind Regards,
The Onerahi School Board
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