The Year 5 and 6 Waipāhīhī students made the tough climb up Mt Tauhara.
The Year 5 and 6 Waipāhīhī students made the tough climb up Mt Tauhara.
Students of Taupō’s Waipāhīhī-a-Tia School celebrated reaching new heights recently with a trip to the top of Mt Tauhara.
The 65 Year 5 and 6 students from three classes made the climb through low clouds with their teachers and 19 parent helpers, marking a first trip up the maunga for many of them.
The steep ascent was not only a physical challenge but formed part of the students’ learning about their connection to the place they live.
The theme for term one was Whanaungatanga, or connections between people.
The classes have been working with Matua Snow Rameka, an across-school lead teacher for the Taupō Kahui Ako/Communities of Learning.
The school has students from more than 13 countries, including 38 who speak English as an additional language.
Saville said it was equally important to give students from other cultures opportunities to learn about Māori culture and develop their sense of turangawaewae, or belonging.
The view from the top certainly gave the students a good sense of place.
Waipāhīhī students take a well-earned breather at the top of Mt Tauhara.
Whata Ratu, 9, said he was not put off by the tough track and was keen to climb the mountain again soon with his friends Ryder and Heemi, who were also on the trip.
“From the top, I could see all the town, the lake, everything.”
It was also the first time up the mountain for 9-year-old Iyah Maniapoto.
She said the hike was “a challenge” and a step up from her usual walks around the Waipāhīhī gullies and Botanical Gardens at bush school.
She enjoyed the trip, noting her legs were “kind of sore, but good”.
Mikayla Blackbourne and Mia Bron, both 10, said although there were some “very steep hills”, it was worth the climb as “the best part was the view”.
Not everyone was tired out by the three-hour return hike to the peak, which is 1088 metres above sea level.
