Return or rebuild: The different paths Hawke’s Bay most flood-damaged schools are taking

Omahu school students Harley, Stellan (standing) and Darius, Ruka, Hayden and Reihana with principal Te Kewana White. Photo / Paul Taylor

Only two schools in Hawke’s Bay - Omahu School and Hukarere Girls’ College - will definitely not return to their pre-cyclone classrooms this year. As James Pocock reports, they’re on different paths for their future.

Inside the walls of the Irongate School hall, a group of 28 students have founded a new school, so to speak.

It’s the home of Omahu School, for now.

Principal Te Kewena White is determined that the laughter of these kids will ring out again on Taihape Rd, the site of Omahu School, which was inundated when the Ngaruroro breached its banks on February 14.

But a long wait is ahead. Potentially three years.

The Irongate School hall has been lent to them until term four this school year, when they will move to a joint space at Flaxmere College.

White said assessments and an eventual rebuild would likely take between two to three years.

He said the Ministry of Education hadn’t minced its words about how long it might take. Staff, parents and students appreciated the ministry’s openness and honesty.

Even three months on, it was challenging. The kids are, put simply, missing their school.

Year 5 Omahu School student Ruka said the school was important to him and his whānau because of its ancestral links.

“I miss my school because my family used to go there. My dad, my grandad, great-grandad,” Ruka said.

Year 7 student Stellan said she was sad that her school was damaged in the flooding.

“I like it here... [but] this isn’t our school,” Stellan said.

Year 7 student Tahuwaka said he was thankful to Irongate School for hosting them while their school was rebuilt, but he was very eager to return to his school.

White said the workload had “tripled” for him and his staff, and they’d had to procure resources they used to take for granted, like desks.

There was also a big focus on ensuring the wellbeing of staff, as well as students.

“Some of the staff, they lost their houses too,” White said.

The Omahu School grounds are expected to not be able to re-open for up to three years. One part of the school is 125 years old. Photo / Warren Buckland

He said MOE was assessing the school, including an historic 124-year-old part of the school which he said remained intact.

White was advocating for Omahu tradespeople to be brought in to work on rebuilding the school - to build a new heritage.

“It is easy for tradespeople to come and go, but if the kids know that ‘My koro rebuilt the school’, that is what lives on.”

For now, the school has been doing art therapy run by artists from Omahu with the children, and White had brought in more staff from Omahu to work with the students to foster that same connection to culture and community.

“I think their culture and heritage is something to build on, something to hold on to, something to celebrate as we move forward out of this mess.”

White had only been principal at the school for about four months when Cyclone Gabrielle hit, but he said his strength in handling the cyclone came from not growing up in Omahu and not having any emotional attachments to cloud his judgement.

“I didn’t feel dismayed or overwhelmed in any way because there were people and resources all around me who I could go to for help,” he said.

“I’ve got awesome staff around me. We are a team, a unit working together.”

The Puriri Reid Trust, a small local whānau trust, was able to fundraise $4000 for the school from the community with a fundraising event and auction last Saturday.

Rose Reid of the Puriri Reid Trust said it was the first fundraiser she had organised and the organisers felt blessed and privileged to be able to do it.

“It is our way of giving back to the community and the children,” Reid said.

She said people gave money from across NZ and even Australia, with sponsors including local businesses Bareknuckle BBQ, Mad Butcher, Maxim Barbers, Music World, Hustler and Ashley Emiko.

White said he was overwhelmed by the support shown via the fundraiser and said the money would be used to enhance the students’ learning.

“You have to now create meaningful experiences so that their minds are now focused on learning and not on the trauma,” White said.

Jocelyn Mikaere, Ministry of Education deputy secretary for central, said that besides Omahu School, Hukarere Girls’ College was the only other school in Hawke’s Bay where students were unable to return to their site for longer than a year.

“We’ll be working with these schools and their communities, the council and other stakeholders to develop our long-term plan for these schools,” Mikaere said.

The four-year plan for Hukarere Girls’ College

Unlike Omahu, Hukarere Girls’ College has no intention of returning to its Esk Valley school grounds, which were buried in silt not long after they evacuated during Cyclone Gabrielle.

The school is currently providing teaching and learning for 78 students, both online and from a learning hub set up at St Luke’s Anglican Church in Havelock North.

Te Aute Trust’s board, which runs the school, has secured a suitable property in Havelock North under contract to be utilised as a new wharenoho, or dormitory.

It has sought land use consent from Hastings District Council, which confirmed the application has been approved, and Te Aute Trust board said they are in the process of getting approval from MOE.

Hukarere Girls' College was buried in silt right after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Warren Buckland

The land use application states that the wharenoho will be able to house up to 80 full-time student boarders and three permanent staff on-site.

Te Aute Trust board spokesperson Mere Pohatu said while the board had decided the school would not be returning to the old site, they were clear that Hukarere would not close down.

“Originally, the Te Aute Trust board was looking at another site for Hukarere ... They have pushed that forward in very trying circumstances,” Pohatu said.

“It is very challenging for all the staff and the Te Aute Trust board really acknowledges the staff’s dedication to helping keep things going.”

She said the school and parents were very excited about the new wharenoho, which they were hopeful would be operational in term three.

She said they will operate from two sites, the wharenoho and the Havelock North learning site, while they worked through a four-year timeline to be fully set up at a whole new building on a whole new campus, potentially with a new governing authority.

“We are doing our very best to keep people at the top of their learning, ahead of their learning and achieving.”

She said the Te Aute Trust Board had a “tremendous appreciation” for the support and kindness shown by the community, particularly from the Hukarere Old Girls’ Association, the church and other schools.

“So many of the girls are spread throughout New Zealand currently online, and many of them are being hosted by other schools, so there is great co-operation and networks,” Pohatu said.

“Hukarere Old Girls’ Association is bringing all the students back from all over Aotearoa to a wananga to be held at Pukemokimoki Marae in Napier from May 18 - 21. We are all especially excited about that.”