Pegasus Post: July 29, 2021

14 Thursday July 29 2021
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
PEGASUS POST
Dreams into
Reality
Te Aratai College
From Linwood High School
1954 to Te Aratai College 2022,
our school continues its proud
history.
Next year we return to Aldwins Rd and
our completely rebuilt and stunning new
school. We thank our architects, Architectus;
our construction company, Southbase;
our project managers RDT Pacific and
the Ministry of Education. Architectus and
Southbase are the designers and builders
of a number of prominent Christchurch
buildings including the Central Bus
Exchange and Tūranga, the central library.
We are fortunate to have such a team.
Te Aratai College is inspiring from the
650 seat theatre-standard auditorium
to the sunny student centre and the
student-friendly courtyards. Our design is
for community-whanaungatanga, kōreroconversation
and personalised student
success. It reflects the new name gifted
to us by Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Te Aratai College,
Pathway to the Sea.
In 2016 there was extensive community
consultation about what the community
wanted for their new school. The key
summary point from this community voice
was:
The school should nurture individual
excellence by providing varied opportunities
to meet individual needs. It should foster a
‘love to learn’ culture that returns high levels
of achievement and success at a cost that is
accessible for all.
Reflecting this, our classroom design is
based on responsiveness to the needs
of the students at that moment. Our
classrooms are the standard, time-honoured
size but with the flexibility to open up.
This is because there are occasions when
learning can be more open but equally there
are times for some students when this is a
learning disaster. Te Aratai College also has
smaller rooms for students who learn best
in reduced, very quiet environments, and
bigger spaces for larger student gatherings.
The building design has flexibility for staff
and students to respond to the many factors
that personalise success.
Of course, new buildings alone do not
necessarily improve education. The
relationship with the teacher - he tāngata, he
tāngata, he tāngata - and the personalisation
of learning are the key for this. However,
there is also no doubt that new, purposebuilt
buildings and spaces that arise from
these community values of relationships and
personalisation contribute hugely to student
success. This is Te Aratai College.
Southbase Construction is a leading construction management
company, recognised for building state-of-the-art educational
facilities where our tamariki can learn and grow.
We are proud partners delivering Te Aratai College.
www.southbase.co.nz