132 | New school a special place for students The school learning environments have been designed for a maximum roll of 250, with the longer-term potential for the roll to increase. Suzanne Aubert Catholic School: Watts & Hughes T T Sue Russell “We felt it was very important to reflect her work in the field of medicine in New Zealand in naming the hubs after these native plants.” COMMUNITY Anthony Mills, Tumuaki Principal of Papamoa’s Suzanne Aubert Catholic School is thrilled with, and deeply committed to, the new school he is proud to lead. The Year 1-6 primary school opened its doors in February 2021, though Anthony says planning for the school stems back many years before that. “The land was purchased around 2013, and it was always planned to be a Catholic school. An establishment board was put in place at the very beginning of 2020, and the proprietor had appointed the project management team,” Anthony says. “The establishment board appointed me, and my job was to engage our pioneering team of teachers to bring us one step closer to opening the school.” The senior management team was appointed around July 2020, and Anthony says leaders and teachers were fortunate to have the teaching team all engaged by Term 4 of that year. “It was a very exciting time for us all. Making strategic decisions, setting the curriculum and embracing the opportunities we could see being founding staff of this very special school. It’s been a wonderful journey so far.” Today, Suzanne Aubert Catholic School, named after its patron Suzanne Aubert (Mother Aubert), who established the Sisters of Compassion, working with people on the fringes of society, has a roll of 205 students. In its first year, it welcomed 80 students through the school gates. The school learning environments have been designed for a maximum roll of 250, with the longer-term potential for the roll to increase. “When we opened we had one learning hub (collaborative learning space) and an admin space, with a second learning hub added in April 2021. In Term 1 this year, construction company Watts & Hughes completed the school’s third learning hub, which is for our senior students,” Anthony explains. Each hub is named after a native plant Mother Aubert used in the preparations of her herbal medicines. In the case of the school, these hubs are named kawakawa, harakeke and pohutukawa. “We felt it was very important to reflect her work in the field of medicine in New Zealand in naming the hubs after these native plants,” Anthony says. Prior to opening the doors, Anthony says, teachers engaged in considerable professional development around teaching and learning in flexible collaborative spaces. “From the outset, it was always going to be flexible collaborative learning spaces, and the classrooms have been designed to function for different modes of learning. “The designers were able to utilise current research about natural light, acoustics, colours and design, to create the space where quality learning would occur, and we’ve been very happy with these hubs.” Now, a new project, one the whole community is eagerly looking forward to seeing completed, is underway. Named the Pompallier Centre after Bishop Pompallier, who happened to originate from the same part of France as Suzanne Aubert, it will provide a much-awaited space for school and community gatherings. “Construction started in June and is due to be completed by the end of November. “They are making great progress,” says Anthony. The school’s leadership team, staff and board had considerable input as to what the space would look like. “At this point, we don’t have a space to gather and worship as a school and community. The hall will have all the amenities needed, such as a commercial kitchen, office, foyer area, bathrooms and a music room, and has a sports-quality floor, along with staging at the front and high-end audio-visual technologies.” Once completed, the Pompallier Centre will bring to a close the stage 2 developments on the school site. “We all feel very blessed to have been a part of the foundation of our school,’ says Anthony. “It is a privilege to be leading a Catholic school in our very supportive Papamoa community. We have a very special place for our students to learn and grow.” www.bopasphalt.co.nz | 07 578 1277 Quality | efficiency | safety of surfacing in the Bay
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