Kawerau Putauaki School is celebrating after NZCT awarded the school with a grant of $72,637 for sports uniforms, an indoor sound system for the school hall, and a flying fox for the playground.

Deputy Principal Jeff Dunn says since the school merging of three Kawerau schools in 2011, they have been using the uniforms from previous schools.

“At the moment they are a mismatch of old uniforms and singlets purchased from Kmart.

“We have worked hard to develop our identity as a new school and have changed logos, and colours and are currently in the process of being rebuilt.

“We want our students to have a sense of pride when they step foot onto the court or the field to represent Kawerau Putauaki school.

“We pride ourselves in our sporting achievements for a small school in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and having our own kit will help develop school pride and a love of representing our school.”

Along with the new uniforms, Jeff says the “main part” of the grant application was for a flying fox to go on the school field.

“Our school is nearing completion of a rebuild since 2018, which has left the school grounds in a mess. Having a flying fox is the start of our field restoration to build an area where kids can flourish. It will also be open to the public outside school hours to create another community resource.

“Since the 2018 school rebuild, we’re still trying to get our grounds back to the state they were in prior to the demolition.

“Our hall is also set for a revamp, including replacing the aging sound equipment. Our vision is that the school can become a hub in the community where whānau can gather to have fun and kids can come to play outside of school hours.

“Our dream is to have a flying fox and a bike track on the school field. Flying foxes are always the part of a park that has the biggest lines of kids wanting a turn.

“We also received funding for the equipment perceptual motor programme which will help younger students improve their eye-hand and eye-foot coordination, fitness, balance, locomotion, and eye-tracking skills.

“We are seeing an increasing need for this type of programme. Movement is a language that children speak fluently. PMP gives children experiences by seeing, hearing, touching, making perceptual judgments, and reacting through carefully sequenced physical activities.”