A variety of farmyard animals will join kids, staff and families for the 125th anniversary celebrations of Ōropi School.

The event features a display of old photos and memorabilia and is being timed to coincide with the annual Calf Club Day on Friday, October 18.

“It’s an opportunity each year for kids to highlight their achievement in raising a baby animal, so we have lambs, goats, calves and chickens,” says principal Andrew King.

“The kids will create displays around the theme of the spring season. They bring in produce they’ve grown. It’s not just raising animals but giving kids opportunities to experience life cycles in a way that you can’t in an urban school.”

Ōropi School opened in a house in 1899 for around 20 children from a handful of nearby sawmilling families.

“We believe it was a turbulent time in the area because the European settlers had taken over and confiscated land from Māori, following the Battle of Gate Pā. This land, at the time, was considered the most fertile part of Ōropi,” says Andrew.

So, students at Ōropi School are taught about the journey taken by Māori travelling from Rotorua to Tauranga Moana, through Ōtanewainuku, down the Waimapu River, as well as the local legend and ancient stories surrounding the area.

Ōropi School principal Andrew King. Photo / John Borren

“It means that we have both European and Māori threads to pull on when talking to the kids about the significance of the school in both history and legend,” says Andrew.

In 1902, the school was closed when the house was reoccupied and three years later, a small school was opened at Gluepot, and a hall was also built across the gorge at Ōropi.

The school was held three days at one location and two days at the other until the population grew on the Ōropi side to make the more logical location. In 1934, a two-roomed school building was built on the present school site.

“There were about 50 kids through to the 1960s, mostly from surrounding dairy farming families,” says Andrew. “Now, there’s more horticulture and lifestyle blocks with many parents working in the city and we have around 350 students, which is a really nice number.”

That roll has plateaued over the last few years.

“There’s a lot of growth in Ohauiti which may eventually push up numbers,” says Andrew. “We still have the original building that has been renovated about five times over the years and we’ve added another eight buildings to the school.”

As part of the school’s 125-year anniversary celebrations, eight Year 7 and 8 student leaders as well as 20 Enviro Club members last month added 125 saplings to a piece of farmland at Mangatoi Rd.

Former Oropi School staff. Photo / John Borren

“It was an opportunity for Ōropi School to be involved in the regeneration of the Kōkako Corridor project which is re-establishing the link for the birds between Ōtanewainuku and Kaharoa forests.”

The latest census carried out by Ōtanewainuku Kiwi Trust in early August found 113 kōkako – an increase of 44 since the last census in 2020.

“A kōkako is on the logo of our school, hence the significance,” Andrew explains. “Back in the 1950s, there were so many of them that they would run along the school fence. But now, we hardly see kōkako so as part of our celebrations, we want to be part of bringing the species back to life.”

Andrew said kids at Ōropi School understand the importance of the trees they’re planting and that they are contributing to the conservation effort of the kōkako. Their intention is to take other students to the site in the coming years to care for the trees and watch them grow.

“We have a genuinely beautiful environment,” says Andrew. “

You couldn’t get a better context for school kids in terms of the place we’re in. It highlights why rural schools are so beneficial to primary kids in terms of connection to the land.

"The kids get unique opportunities and a more rounded education because they get to play in the bush, dig in the dirt, raise animals and be connected to the land.”

Photos from the past. Photo / John Borren

The school is hoping past students and members of the public join the celebration in October.

“This is a thriving school doing cool things. In fact, we’re known in education circles and held up as an example to other rural schools. People want to see what we do. We work hard to retain the essential characteristics that make this Ōropi School. I’m proud of what we have here and the children we’re teaching.”