About Matahui School
We recognise that everyone has individual strengths and learns in different ways.
Matahui School is not your typical school. We combine a holistic, values-led, community-focused education with a rich outdoor education programme, that delivers student-centred academic results and develops confident, competent, motivated and empathetic young people.
A Message From our Principal
As the Principal, I am honoured to introduce you to Matahui School—a school where children actively influence their own pathways. At Matahui, we embrace a balance of the fundamentals of core learning wrapped in inquiry that encourages children to flourish in a way that best suits them.
Matahui School is a hidden gem. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. It is a place where hands-on, real-world learning allows children to be creative and inquisitive. Our small class sizes allow more individual one-on-one time with the teacher and create a quieter, calmer environment that is more conducive to learning. Our unique mix of inquiry-based education, a progressive curriculum, and outdoor education fosters individual strengths and helps children build the skills they need for life.
We believe all children learn in different ways. So, rather than trying to fit our children into a system, we have designed our school systems around our students’ needs and interests.
Matahui School provides an alternative education where students are at the core of everything we do. They are the engineers of their own learning journey.
Mary Woods
Principal, Matahui School
Our Values
Our learning approach fosters diversity, inclusivity, discovery, culture, and community. We’ve created a nurturing environment where all children thrive, that celebrates diverse learning styles and neurodiversity.
We embed our school values in our everyday interactions and all aspects of our curriculum. We explore these values weekly, through artwork, drama, music, and weekly discussions, reinforcing them in class and on the playground. Each week, a student is presented with a Citizenship Award for demonstrating that week’s value at our school assemblies. Our 12 school values are:
Our Environment
Nestled in a beautiful rural setting, our school provides an inspiring environment where curiosity and creativity flourish. Our grounds are spacious with plenty of room for children to explore, climb, and play. Our classrooms are designed to encourage active, hands-on learning, with lots of space to move and engage, and quieter spaces to suit varied learning styles.
Our learning environment extends beyond the traditional classroom, and students enjoy a native bush area where they can build huts, climb trees, or find wildlife. We have an archaeological dig site, sports field, climbing wall and outdoor playground, edible gardens, sand pits, and an outdoor picnic area. Once a week, our students spend the day off-site in the native bush as part of our forest school programme.
As a smaller school, older and younger students play together daily. Our school grounds are safe and welcoming, and no child plays alone.
Our Community
We view feedback between home and school as central to our students’ success. Our teachers have an ‘Open Door’ policy, which means parents are welcome to visit the classroom and see the learning in action each day.
Parents, grandparents, caregivers, and extended family are encouraged to participate in life of the school. This could be joining us for excursions and sports days, volunteering in a classroom, helping at camps and working bees, or attending school assemblies and community fundraising events.
Our school assemblies are a valuable opportunity to connect with other parents in our community and gain insight into that week’s learning.
The essential elements of Matahui School’s application of the Multiple Intelligences
· We recognise that every student relies on a mix of connected skills (the Multiple Intelligences), through which they learn and experience life;
· We recognise that every student has a unique mix of strengths across the Multiple Intelligences. For many students, their strongest skills and therefore, their most effective methods of learning, lie outside the “traditional”, more easily measured verbal / linguistic or logical / mathematical skills;
· We provide the opportunities, structure and support to enable our students to learn through their strengths and by doing so, improve their learning across all their skills;
· By enabling our students to learn in the way they learn best, our students develop strong and positive self-esteem, which in turn promotes their motivation to learn and success in doing so.