| 139 T T Kim Newth School welcomes its new complex Te Kōmata o Te Rangi was funded by the Ministry of Education, while an adjacent five-bay outdoor education storage facility was funded through the school’s board, sponsorship and community fundraising. Hillmorton High School COMMUNITY Years of planning for a new sports hub at fast-growing Hillmorton High School Te Kura Tuarua o Horomaka have resulted in the construction of a new, multi-purpose sport and health/physical education complex. The new complex includes two full basketball courts with spacious bleachers alongside, two sets of changing rooms, two classrooms for teaching health and physical education, a weight/exercise room, a sports office and a PE/Health office. “The need for this was pressing,” says Hillmorton’s principal Ann Brokenshire. “We were having to hire space for senior classes at Ngā Puna Wai netball centre, as we didn’t have enough gym space of our own. Our basketball teams were having to practise outdoors – that’s okay if it’s fine, but not when it’s raining.” Hillmorton High School’s roll has surged from 764 in 2018 to 1275 students this year. In reality, there are around 1350 students on campus most days, counting also international students and those enrolled in Ko Taku Reo Deaf Education. Driving roll growth in recent years has been a huge amount of housing development in Christchurch’s south-west. Students and teachers are delighted with the new complex, which has been in use since the start of November. In consultation with Ngāi Tūāhuriri, it has been named Te Kōmata o Te Rangi (The pinnacle in the sky), while the two classrooms are Manawaroa (resilience) and Ngākau Makahi (humility with heart) and the weights/exercise room is Mārohi (strength, power). “We are grateful to Lynne-Harata Te Aika (Ngāi Tahu – Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Ngāti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui), who worked with us to ensure the names were a good fit for place and purpose, aligned with our values and providing a strong cultural narrative.” Leslie 1 and Leslie 2, the two basketball courts, were named to honour Graham Leslie, a long-serving deputy principal and basketball coach. Basketball has grown to become very popular at Hillmorton, from years 7-13. “Our junior boys won the South Island tournament this year and our other top teams are doing well, even though they’ve had to go to other schools to practise on a full-length court. Now they can do that here. “Our Friday night basketball is going to be huge next year, now that we have these two full indoor courts.” Te Kōmata o Te Rangi was funded by the Ministry of Education, while an adjacent fivebay outdoor education storage facility was funded through the school’s board, sponsorship and community fundraising. It is being used to house equipment supporting student participation in outdoor activities. Year 10 students have planted a stormwater swale area next to the complex, putting in 1500 native plants. At the end of term 1 in 2025, year 9 students will be planting out garden plots around the centre, under the guidance of Trees for Canterbury. Baldasso Cortese Noordanus (BCN) Architects designed the new complex, which was built by Leighs Construction Ltd. 190A The Runway, Wigram, ChCh | Web www.amtmech.co.nz | Phone 03 338 0145 Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning Engineers DESIGN | INSTALLATION | MAINTENANCE Proud to be the Mechanical Contractor for Leighs Construction on the Hillmorton High School New Gymnasium Proud to support Leighs Construction on this project
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