In Hawke's Bay, Hukarere Girls College is finally reopening four months after it was destroyed by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Te Aute Trust Board has bought a Havelock North motel as a hostel for Hukarere staff and students, who have been teaching and learning online. Negotiations are also underway to buy another property for a new school site.
‘Kia ū ki te pai’, follow what is good, is the motto of Hukarere Māori Girls College and this is what it's holding on to following the loss of the school, destroyed by flooding and silt during Cyclone Gabrielle.
Although Hukarere has experienced the loss of a school, which for some was also a home, principal Caron Taana says there is a positive mind-set among the school staff and students.
“Grief is a process that will affect students individually and they need to work through that themselves. But we as their staff and their carers collectively have worked together to provide support for the girls,” she says.
A new home has emerged for the school, with the Te Aute Trust Board having bought a Havelock North motel as a hostel for staff and students. Negotiations are also underway to buy another property for a new school site. The principal says being together again is what matters most.
More than a building
“You can replace buildings, but you can't replace people and Hukarere is more than just a building, it's a wairua, it's a collective of old girls, community and that's what keeps it positive.”
Hukarere Board of Trustees co-chair and Te Aute Trust Board member Joleen Perry says heading into term 3 of the school year, the school wants the girls together again in the same space.
“So we are moving them to another location, hopefully by the end of next week moving into the school holidays, so that at the start of term three we are able to bring all of the kōhine back, have them all working face to face, sister to sister with their kaiako and all of their tuahine,” Perry says.
Relocation will be costly. The government allocated just over $980,000 from its cyclone recovery fund but, with the amount that they were given, they were able to create a space for the girls to learn. Perry says it wasn’t just the work of the trust but the support of many others.
“With the little we do have, we've been able to move mountains, through the support that we've received from St John's College trust, within the Hāhi and from other foundations,” she says.
But Taana says although the school is working on its recovery it still needs support from the Ministry of Education.
“Come visit us even, come and see what we're working with and talk to us about how we can work together,” she says.