Business North October 2021

100 | Waterview welcomes in a fresh space Sue Russell Waterview Primary School in central Auckland. COMMUNITY Waterview School S ince 2013, when the old Waterview Primary School in central Auckland was demolished, teaching and learning had been from prefabs and since that time, plan- ning had been underway to build a new, and very modern, expression of a primary school. Brett Skeen has been Principal of Water- view Primary School for 20 years. He says the whole process of designing and constructing the new school was achieved through fabu- lous support from community and Ministry of Education alike. To build a whole new school the journey is one of undertaking staged phases and in 2017, that first stage was completed. “It’s our fifth year in that building and we’ve been very much looking forward to comple- tion of the school. We work in teaching hubs with this first building containing four hubs, with three classes in each. When we moved into it we were a school of just over 300 stu- dents,” Brett explains. With the final stage of work, another four hub teaching block and a school pool complet- ed the school is set to eventually cater for 600 students. “There is a lot of development going on in Waterview, with upward of 4,000 houses planned to be built over the coming years and this school has been future-proofed to cater for that growth.” Asked what it is about the new learning hubs that lends itself to enhanced learning outcomes Brett says it provides teachers with an opportunity to shine in their particular teaching strengths and interests and to work collaboratively. “The old traditional model of teaching has been turned on its head as we see that by sur- rounding a child with several teachers enables a much richer learning environment.” Acknowledging that some children find this teaching model somewhat challenging, the building has been designed to have spaces for children to be in a quieter, separate situation. Brett says the design team at Brewer Da- vidson Architects did a great job listening to feedback from the staff following completion of the first stage and applied some modifica- tions to the second block accordingly. “They gave us some ideas on the shape of the buildings to consider as staff and looking at what has been created, and we’re really pleased with the outcome as its been a real team effort.” Preparing for a shift into a new teaching approach involved a considerable amount of professional development and community engagement. Considerable care has been taken to engage with parents and caregivers with positive outcomes. “When we first moved in we created ‘drop-in Fridays’; an opportunity for parents to step into the hubs and experience first-hand how their children were being educated. That worked very well,” Brett says. The level of attention paid to the acoustic performance of the buildings is second to none and while Brett says the school com- munity is always working on a continuum of constant improvement, he feels the school is now in a situation to make really meaningful pedagogical gains. “We’ve sought very honest feedback from our community and have spoken at length with our Maori and Pacifika communities to ensure they understand why we chose to teach this way.” The largest hub space is big enough to cater for 68 students with 3 teachers. Shifting into the new school gave opportu- nity for an extensive evaluation of teaching strengths. “Teachers also discussed what makes a good team and who they felt they could work well with as hub colleagues, and how the children would be moved around the hub to be taught by all teachers in that space. It was a very worthwhile dialogue.” The pool came via funding from Lotto and other community trusts and is a community pool and is an outdoor facility heated to 30°C. When Business North spoke with Brett completing landscaping and playground areas was underway. “We’re all very pleased with how the new teaching, admin and staffroom spaces. The school works very well and feedback from students and parents confirms the carefully thought through design ticks all the boxes.” Excellence in Cladding INSTALLERS IN NEW ZEALAND AND THE PACIFIC Kiwi Can Cladding’s experienced installers ensure the finished product reflects the desired quality and style of each project. sales@kiwicancladding.co.nz +64 9 836 1978 www.kiwicancladding.co.nz Cladding Installations | Architectural Services | Project/Site Management We are friendly and reliable, providing service to the wider Auckland area. For all your Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainage needs contact us at: info@ventureplumbing.co.nz • 021 500 993 and 0800 32 10 32 CMT Group recently installed new Tactile Indicators and Stair Nosings to provide a safer, more accessible classroom environment at Waterview Primary School 0800 147 433 INFO@CMTGROUP.CO.NZ WWW.CMTGROUP.CO.NZ