Maungakaramea School is a co-educational, full primary, state school, which has been functioning in the community since 1875. It is a U2 school with a staff of 6 teachers, one principal, one teacher aide, one administration officer, a caretaker and a cleaner. The school’s decile rating is 5.

The present school buildings are composed of a three-classroom block with an office, reception, stationery room, teachers prep room, staff room, principal’s office, staff toilet/shower and two sets of cloakrooms and toilets for boys and girls. The fourth and fifth classrooms are situated to the right of the path as you enter the school. There is also a separate library/multi-purpose room, as well as a combination resource room and art shed. We also have storage shed (sports gear) adjoined to the swimming pool changing rooms. A prefab building is currently used as a place for OSCAR – our after school care programme.

The school is situated on a flat, well-drained, 1.42-hectare block of volcanic land. The grassed area is used for winter and summer sports activities as well as physical education and free play. There is also a new turf multi sport court area, a swimming pool, a concrete cricket wicket and two barked playgrounds. Lawn areas are attractively arranged with established trees, shrubs and planted gardens. A feature is the old puriri tree that generations of Maungakaramea School pupils have played on. During 2015 we developed a new outdoor learning area as part of our modern learning environment. This area is used for learning outside the classroom, playtime activities and by the wider community as a recreational area.

Maungakaramea School works collaboratively with the community in order to provide rich learning experiences. Parents are also consulted on a regular basis on school strategic policy as their feedback is viewed as a vital component. The school embraces the Inquiry Learning philosophy with focus on providing higher order thinking skills for children, with staff working in a collegial and professional manner. We are also integrating the use of ICT throughout all classroom programmes and developing student voice whereby all students take an active role in their own learning. The school begins professional development during this year in e-learning which will support our vision of the future to ensure that all children have the necessary skills for their future learning.