Tēnā rā tātou katoa, We are delighted to welcome our new Kapa Haka tutor, Rawiri Henare. Rawiri hails from Waikato Tainui and has vast experience in te ao haka. Haka has taken him all across the world, and now he is using his experiences to teach people the world of kapa haka. He has worked…

We have been advised this week by The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) that former Aquinas College student Stella Janissen will have her NCEA Level 3 Printmaking portfolio displayed in NZQA’s Top Art exhibition this year. Top Art is an annual touring exhibition featuring a selection of the NCEA Level 3 portfolios that achieved Excellence…

Aquinas Music 2021 At Aquinas our aim is to be the best we can be. We offer many opportunities for students to be involved in music both in and out of the classroom to nurture their uniqueness as musicians. Check out the range of Itinerant music lessons for many musical instruments plus a selection of…

Peer Support is all about shaping great people and building on the strengths that many of our students already have to develop their leadership skills.  We have had a full on past 2 days learning about communication, cooperation, self-awareness, peer-pressure and other interpersonal skills. At the end of the programme 48 students will be selected…

Year 10 Humanities Hāngi  On Friday 23 November, the Year 10 Humanities class held the second annual Humanities Hangi. On this day, Social Studies students made fry bread, participated in flax weaving and learning about the Hāngi process. The amount of preparation and quality of the food and its presentation was a real credit to the…

Our Pasifika Whānau have recently worked together with Mr Dalton to provide a senior award for prizegiving. The award was deservedly received by Trevel Gardiner Hano for his contribution to Leadership and Service as a Pasifika senior student. Trevel was chosen as a student Executive member as the Hine Pore House Leader and also Pasifika Leader…

Matariki “E ngā maunga whakahī, e ngā awa whakatere taniwha, tēnei tātou o te karaehe reo Māori o 9P e mihi kau atu ana ki a koutou katoa e tō tātou whānau. Matariki hunga nui Matariki ahunga nui Matariki the gatherer of people Matariki the provider of plentiful fruits The beginning of term 3 coincided…

Colour, fun and Dress Ups Traditional dress or a nod to your heritage in fun costumes was the order of the day as part of this year’s International Week at Aquinas. It was a week to celebrate diversity and culture in our College try out some new dishes, take part in some fun games, watch…

International Students Discover Tauranga fun spots! This year, with disruptions and requirements to maintain social distancing, outings to explore more of Tauranga’s attractions have been curtailed for our International students and their host families. But recently they were able to visit some of our historical and stunning sites, as well as enjoy some great Kiwi…

Drama Year 10 Drama have been getting creative with their Eastern Theatre Style Maori Myths or Bible Stories. Shown left is a version of Noah’s Ark using the anti-realist, stylised and abstract techniques explored in this unit. Some useful self-reflection was gained with students using the online form, asking them to consider their collaborative skills….