Te Wharekura o Maniapoto is a rural school situated 8km North of Te Kuuiti.  The catchment area of the kura is Oparure, Benneydale, Te Kuuiti, OOtorohanga, Waitomo, Piopio, Te Awamutu, Kihikihi, Taumarunui, Waimiha and Kaawhia.  We have students who travel daily from the the main town centres of OOtorohanga and Te Kuuiti, as well as those who live in the outer rural areas within our rohe.

Te reo Maaori is the principal instructional and delivery language. The kura is a Level 1 reo provider delivering from 80% - 100% instruction and learning in te reo Maaori.

We promote as part of our uniqueness and taaonga tuku iho Ngaati Maniapoto me oona hapuu maha, Te Pua o Maniapoto.  A strong focus on Ngaati Maniapoto landscapes, histories and aspirations is incorporated into the learning and this is referred to as our unique Eduscape.

The wharekura delivers from years 1-13. Tama-kai-uru (Igniting positive behaviour) is a whole school focus within the kura.  The wharekura acknowledges EXCELLENCE as the quality of the journey in pursuit of excellence. We recognise that excellence presents itself in many ways and the worth of individuals must be valued.

The new wharekura building was opened in July 2018.

The raaranga whakairo pattern on the second image is displayed on all the kura windows and is called ‘Te karu o te whenua o Wairua’.

It refers to the eye of the land as kaitiaki so will keep an eye on us. In other words, if we look after the land it will look after us. (From the collection of Rangimarie Hetet and Te Kanawa collection at Waikato Museum.)

Reference: ‘E Nga Uri whakatupu’ authors – Ngahuia TeAwe Koyuku, Kahutoi Te Kanawa, Rangi Te Kanawa, and Barbara Moke.

Our kura logo was designed in 1999 by a student. It represents : The koru eye (in the middle) is Papatuuaanuku surrounded by Ranginui (blue). The larger koru on the outside is our past tupuna.  The smaller koru through-out is our future generations.  The harakeke acknowledges Dame Diggeress Te Kanawa and Rangimarie Hetet renown for revitalizing traditional weaving of raaranga.

Kura-aa-iwi​​​​​​​

Te Wharekura o Maniapoto is a kura-aa-iwi.  The staff, management and BoT receive regular updates on kura-aa-iwi initiatives as well as attending professional development seminars that they provide.  They are a constituted that represents and supports tribal school that affiliate to their organisation voluntarily.  The organisation identify themselves using the term 'iwi' (literally bones) to denote descent from an eponymous ancestor and are a collective of state funded Maaori medium language immersion tribal school comprising of a mix of; primary schools, composite schools, intermediate and secondary schools.