Ngamatapouri SchoolAs part of my job, I have to travel to schools around the region to observe and assess teacher aides in the classroom. The other day I visited Ngamatapouri school to carry out an assessment. Wow, what an amazing place.
It's about 80kms from Wanganui, 50kms down a single track, no exit road. The school has a grand total of 6 students, ranging from 5-12 years old. 1 teaching principal and 1 TA.
Inside the one and only classroomWhat a gig! Great staff & great kids. Beats the crap out of town schools. Fair old commute though. On my trip out there, I didn't see a single other vehicle on the track - and the round trip took 1 1/2 hours!!
The Playground
The Playing Fields
2 comments:
Ngamatapari school!Ummm,not too difficult to get to know the children by their first name. Wouldn't mind doing a spot of playground duty to qualify for a daily free lunch. Writing the annual reports must take all of one evening!!! I reckon you could apply for the job of headship Ian.
Hi, well what a coincidence! Just 2 days ago (Jan 2009) I was also there on a nostalgic journey up the Waitotara Valley, where I lived and attended this school back in the early 1950s! I took the identical photo that is on this blog too!
This school, and district has a long history with our family, my great grandfather being one of those who surveyed the district, and was one of the first pioneering families to settle there in the late 1880s. My grandfather purchased the Ngamatapouri Store in approx 1910, and I actually lived there for several years while attending the Ngamatapouri School (in those days it was called the Makakaho Junction School). In those days there were about 20 pupils attending the school. Of course, in those days there was no electricity, or swimming pool, or computers, or any of the wonderful tools of learning that the present day pupils enjoy! However, many great times and happy memories remain from those days, dances in the hall, Christmas Tree parties in the hall, Guy Faulkes nights in the school paddock, (which in those days was used as a horse paddock for those children who rode to school). Yes there were many differences to the present day school life, and the school was quite a bit smaller - only one room and one teacher for 20 children. Those present children are very lucky indeed to have such a great school with so few pupils.
My grandmother was one of the very first teachers at the school, in about 1912 or thereabouts, when she married my grandfather who ran the store, post office, mail run (by horse drawn coach).
I must say I still know many people who have lived up "The Valley", as it is affectionately called, and there is a very strong bond between them all, to this day.
Happy memories......
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