100 | Banks Avenue School “We are all just so excited to be moving to the new school and very grateful to all those that have helped us to get there.” COMMUNITY Long wait almost over for Banks Ave School The new school will contain room for future growth allowing the present roll of 400 to increase to 600. It’s been a long wait but the kids of Banks Avenue School in Christchurch are set to move into their brand new school. The school will hold its welcoming pōwhiri on July 26 and principal Toni Burnside says everyone can’t wait to enjoy the new school. The present school was damaged by the Christchurch earthquakes and kids and teachers have had to put up with a site riddled with cracks in the concrete and a myriad of other problems for over a decade. The new school was supposed to have been completed five years ago but issues with the first land site selected meant the project was delayed until Shirley Boys High School could move to its new school freeing up its old site on North Parade for the build of the new Banks Avenue School. Constructed by Hawkins and designed by Opus Architects, the new school will pop with bursts of colour and have a deeply ingrained cultural narrative, says Toni. The new school will be called Pareawa Banks Avenue School. Pareawa, meaning, ‘adorn the banks of the river’, was a name gifted by local iwi. The four teaching pods, each containing Karen Phelps four classrooms, have been named after local river plants with images of the plants etched onto the glass. The school values are engraved in the concrete pillars leading to the entranceway. Each pillar has a stunning macrocarpa beam on top of it, which will be carved at a future date. The school will also include a library and administration building; new school hall and the prior Shirley Boys High School two level gymnasium will be repurposed. It also offers outdoor hockey greens that can be utilised by the public after hours. Toni says the school is also investigating an artificial cricket turf. There are also new playgrounds and a cycle track running alongside the school boundary. Toni says connecting with the wider community has also been an important aspect of the new school. For example the library will contain a whānau room with kitchenette so parents can hang out and the gymnasium will be open for the public to hire at night. The new school will contain room for future growth allowing the present roll of 400 to increase to 600. Toni says that thanks to the dedication and skills of the teaching team the children have continued to receive the best education despite the less than ideal physical environment. In recognition that around 300 children have passed through the school who should have had the opportunity to learn from the new school but haven’t, year photos of these children will be displayed in the new school foyer. There will also be the opportunity to purchase a brick that can be engraved with a message or name and will form the foundation for a new artwork. “It’s about acknowledging the past and taking the spirit of those who have come before us into the new school,” says Toni. “We are all just so excited to be moving to the new school and very grateful to all those that have helped us to get there.”
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