Maungatapu School is a school with a proud heritage and a rich and colourful history. Founded in 1881, the school is uniquely located between two marae – Hairini of Ngai te Ahi and Maungatapu of Ngāti He. The traditional name of the area where the school currently stands is Te Puwhāriki. The land was once productive with gardens, flax, trees and birds, providing an environment that nurtured growth and sustainability for the people of the Maungatapu area.

The school currently operates two curriculums – The NZ Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. Staff are passionate about supporting individual students with their learning needs and are encouraged to treat all children as if they were their own. This forms the basis of having a solid foundation for education at Maungatapu school where learning is fun, challenging, nurturing and culturally responsive. In this approach, staff and students are happy, feel they belong and develop a strong connection with the Maungatapu School community.

The new school logo is based on a stylised and modernised representation of the Tui. Tui are considered special by Māori and were sometimes tamed and taught to speak. It is shown in the design amongst Kowhai and Pohutukawa. These trees are prevalent in the local community and Tui love resting in their branches. Pohutukawa are often trees that relate to the past with significance to those that have gone before us. The kowhai tree, in this instance, is symbolic to the school’s future and prosperity.

The throat tuft of the Tui (in the shape of a koru) represents growth and learning. The interconnected koru (the tui’s neck feathers) represent the support of whānau and teachers in support of learning. The three tail feathers represent the school values – Honesty, Respect and Courage. They also represent Strength Knowledge and Identity from the school’s History, Land and People. All of these help guide the direction of the school.

Lastly, the four new house colours are represented in the logo. The blue/green colour of the logo symbol shows and represents the translucent colour of our native Tui. This colour can often change on a Tui, similarly to the ever-changing world of education. Maungatapu School has seen and experienced many changes in how our world and society function. It has grown with the change and still holds many of the founding principles within the culture of the school.