Rebuild Updates

nDrBjd6SGjUP1GZ96qlNJxXuLfYdAb9IsjuzX9ds

February Update

CrLAEdepq37gqm2mBNv15H4bT7nh6sTemn4VdsG2

6yK2RXQEEGZWWeLFaB6Be3cGXjOYa8bDkh3WsXtm

Demolition continues across the Aldwins Road site to make room for the new build.

Good progress on the demolition is occurring on the Aldwins Road site. Many of the old buildings have already been removed including the technology workshops, gyms, music and drama space and hall.

l54CXknuTliU6txNsAAwgo7P7x27VxcOwXnEdSqS

August Update

It is very heartening to see the visible signs of progress with our rebuild for our return to Aldwins Rd to what will be Te Aratai College. Those of us who have peered through the gate over the past weeks have seen the foundation work progress to be above ground, and now we see structures over the fence. It is worth remembering too just how good this rebuild is. As we have said in the past, the next time that you are in Tūranga, the central library, look up and look around. The same architect, Carsten Auers of Architectus, who designed Tūranga, is the architect for our school. Stunning. Likewise, Southbase Construction is a highly experienced and expert construction company with major success in many school redevelopments, whether totally new or rebuilds.

The Turning of the Sod

The sod turning event took place on Wednesday 5 August.

It was a particularly brisk but clear morning for this important ceremony. Representing our school were our head students Mario Cvetkoski and Paigan-Lilly Hall as well as the Watson-Hall whānau, a family which spans right across our year levels from Year 7 to Year 13.

We were honoured to have Ngāi Tūāhuriri and Ngāti Wheke present. Also in attendance were the Ministry of Education, our Board of Trustees, our rebuild architects from Architectus, our project management firm RDT Pacific, Southbase Construction and various school staff.

The event began on Aldwins Road where everyone was greeted by Corban Te Aika, Ngāi Tūāhuriri, who led everyone onto the site and blessed the land with karakia. The official sod was dug by our head students and has been retained for reinstating in the official opening.

The ceremonies ended with the sharing of kai.

k4EtKPyOhJz82Fi2DevxaKK8CmBmjI4XQAR37vRj

New School Name

By Dick Edmundson

With the Aldwins Rd demolition now complete and the rebuild beginning, it is now an appropriate time to consider the school's name. Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga have gifted a new name to the school and it is one that the Board of Trustees whole-heartedly supports. The name is Te Aratai. In English: pathway to the sea.

The Board has voted unanimously in support for this name change for when we return to Aldwins Rd in 2022. The Board fully support the information - the guiding reasons underpinning the name - outlined below. This information comes from Dianne Robinson on behalf of Ngāi Tūāhuriri. Dianne is a Mana Whenua Education Facilitator for Mātauraka Mahaanui:

"Linwood College on Aldwins Road is adjacent to the direct pathway (now Linwood Ave) to Te Ihutai, "The Avon-Heathcote Estuary" which was part of a larger fishery used by Ngāi Tūāhuriri. Te Ihutai, was renowned for its abundance and variety of fish and shellfish, including tuna (eels), kanakana (lamprey), inaka (whitebait), pātiki (flounder), and pipi. Several nearby kāinga nohoanga (settlements) took advantage of the estuary's rich food resources, with caves along the base of the nearby foothills providing necessary shelter. The estuary itself was the gateway to the vast comprehensive network of wetlands that once extended throughout the Canterbury region, with the Ōtākaro (Avon) and Ōpāwaho (Heathcote River) being the primary access routes. (kahurumanu.co.nz – Ngāi Tahu cultural mapping project and atlas).

This name links the school to this significant route and this significant mahinga kai area (Te Ihutai) which was traditionally owned and used by Kaiapoi Ngāi Tahu (Ngāi Tūāhuriri) and this relationship is acknowledged as part of the Claims Settlement Act 1998.

The major waterways Ōtākaro and Ōpāwaho flow into Te Ihutai and the school's catchment zone includes schools located along these waterways."

The Board's intention is that the school changes its name to Te Aratai for our return to Aldwins Rd, 2022. This is a keystone for so much else for our redevelopment. Two immediate examples are: place-based curriculum - using our local environment in our learning; and learning pathways - our students' individual learning pathways from early childhood education, through primary school, into secondary school and out into tertiary study and/or employment. It also links with our two, at present, separate Kāhui Ako (Communities of Learning): Tamai (Linwood-Woolston-Bromley) and Aupaki (Heathcote and the Bays.) The Linwood Ave pathway is geographically Tamai; and Te Ihutai (the estuary) and the coast are geographically Aupaki. The name Te Aratai unifies these.

We acknowledge the proud history of the name Linwood since 1954, the school's opening. 2022, and our complete school rebuild, is the opportunity to create a school name and identity that is open and inclusive to our wider community we serve, and is not just based on the actual location of the school. And, in a deep irony, Linwood High School-Linwood College has never actually been in Linwood. Our Aldwins Rd site is actually in Phillipstown.

More information about the name and the legal process for changing a school name will be forthcoming. We are very grateful to Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga for their gift to our whānau, to our community of this beautiful and appropriate name -Te Aratai.