Last week Katikati News covered the launch of Katikati College’s new logo, houses and motif designs. This week the paper talks to students who helped to design the new logo, motifs and new house system.

Katikati College students who’ve been part of creating their school’s new logo, houses and motif designs are overwhelmingly positive about the changes.

Year 8 students Monty Groenewald, George Donaldson, Parker Airey and Riley Hannah said they thought the logo was a simple design with lots of meaning that included the Kaimai Range.

“We really love the new house names, colours and meanings,” they said.

They also said they felt more connected to the new logo because they weren’t really aware of the meaning of the old crest.

Year 9 student Rowan Sutherland said the new logo represented her school better and the changes that had been made at the school. She also liked the new logo because it reflected the Kaimai Ranges and Katikati, “which is where I live”. “It also felt very good to be part of the design team and that I’ve made an impact on the school’s history.”

Better representation

Year 10 student Ella Taylor said a lot of thought had gone into the design. Taylor said she felt more connected to the new logo. “It represents the school better.”

Hannah-Marie Newman said she “liked how it showcased what our school is now”. She also loved the new house names because “they are related to what is around us”.

The college’s 2025 head students, Hannah Gourlay, Jack Harray, Rajveer Sania Kaur and Charlotte Tanner – who were part of the focus group to create the new logo – shared their thoughts after working on the project throughout this year.

“I really like the logo because I think it represents a lot of people throughout school and it’s showing off the diversity that we have, whereas the past logo – it didn’t really cover everyone in the school and make them feel seen,” said Tanner.

Kaur said the new logo offered a truer reflection of students who attended and learned at the college today. “It also shows the connection of the people within the school – I just think it was a really good idea to change to something new.”

“It really shows how far we’ve come as a school and as a community – and that’s what you want in a logo – and it tells a story within it,” said Harray.

Multicultural

Gourlay said: “I think this new logo is very much more representative of all the students who attend Katikati College. Whereas the old one, it’s still a good logo, but it’s more English based while this one is multicultural.”

As part of the focus group, the head students spent much time sifting through ideas, designs and meanings of drafts until, layer upon layer, the new logo came together.

“We looked at other schools’ logos, different designs, our old logo and what we wanted from it and it went from there,” Harray said.

“We chose things we liked, we brainstormed and then told the design company what we liked and they came up with concept drawings,” said Tanner.

From there it was a case of refining and fine-tuning. “We went through so many different variations of the logo that it is now,” Gourlay said.

College staffer Kate Sutherland said Buckley had made sure to include multiple parties within the process. “There were loads of design meetings and feedback sessions – and everything that is on the new logo now is there for a reason.”

Relatable

All four head students thought every student who attended the college in future would find the new logo relatable.

As for the new house names, Tanner said they represent the school and its community well.

Gourlay said again, these weren’t decided overnight. “We went through so many concepts of what would work for our school.”

Harray said the house names acknowledged the college’s natural surroundings.

“You drive over eight rivers to get into Katikati from Waihī and another eight from Ōmokoroa. Obviously, our school’s on Beach Rd and near lots of beaches. The Kaimais sit right there – so it all matters and we have shown it in our house names.”

“Not only that, but our students either come from horticultural or agricultural backgrounds or they have some touchpoint to the outdoor surrounding environments,” said Sutherland.

“That really makes it easier for students to link themselves into a house.”

Houses and uniforms

From next year, all students would be reshuffled randomly into new houses, Sutherland said.

“As for uniforms – the college will sell its existing stock with the crest until it’s sold out and the new logo will be eased in. So parents do not need to worry – they will not have to purchase uniforms next year unless they need to.”