Te Pahūtanga o Tarawera
Our place, our story — the land, the awa and the people who carry them, woven through learning every day.
Te kōrero
Te Pahūtanga o Tarawera
Our kura stands where the land breathes. Te Pahūtanga o Tarawera — the emergence of Tarawera — is the story of the mountain, the awa and the people of this place, and it is woven through everything we teach.
This is not history kept in a cupboard. It is the living landscape our tamariki walk through every morning: the geothermal valley, the village, and the whakapapa carried by whānau who have been here for generations.
Ko au te whenua, ko te whenua ko au. I am the land, and the land is me
Te ataata
The story, on film
Whakarewarewa — Te Pahūtanga o Tarawera
A short film made with our kura and community.
The film is hosted externally — it plays on Dropbox in a new tab.
Te ako i te whenua
Learning from the landscape
The geothermal valley
Science, safety and stories in one of the most remarkable landscapes in Aotearoa.
The awa & the maunga
Names, tikanga and the whakapapa that connects our tamariki to this place.
The village & the marae
Community knowledge carried by kuia, kaumatua and whānau who live it.
Te manaaki
Grounded in place, ready for the world
Our tamariki learn the names of the awa and the maunga that surround us — and the modern skills they will need in a changing world, side by side. That is what place-based learning means at Whakarewarewa: not decoration, but curriculum.