Amid the ongoing recovery from cyclone devastation in their community, Te Karaka Area School students have achieved 100 percent pass rates in NCEA levels 1 and 2.
The school is expecting to get a 100 percent pass rate in Level 3 as well but are waiting on art board results which take a bit longer.
The achievements of years 1 to 8 ākonga (students) is also commendable.
TKAS tumuaki (principal) Renae Savage said the results were a reflection of the whole community working together and supporting each other to achieve their best.
It took a village to raise a child and this village helped all 107 students at the school, she said.
“The work the cohorts have produced is amazing despite the year we have had.
“They all have maintained aspirations for educational success throughout the cyclone recovery, Our staff, despite dealing with the impact of the cyclone themselves, have been pivotal to what we have achieved,” Ms Savage said.
Cyclone Gabrielle caused devastation across the region in February and the Te Karaka township was among the worst hit.
Many houses were destroyed by the waters that ran through the township.
But the kura got through it unscathed, which meant it could be used as a base for Civil Defence teams and the community.
Some people were housed there for four weeks, meals were constantly made and donations came in and went out to those in need.
“In that week, our whole reality was flipped upside down,” Ms Savage said. The first term was pretty much a write-off with so much damage in the community and people displaced from homes.”
It was a huge privilege to be the hub to support the community, she said.
“So many strong relationships have grown since then.”
Throughout the year, many organisations have supported the school and wider community.
All Black great and mental health advocate Sir John Kirwin and South Auckland community leader and Brown Buttabean Movitation programme founder Dave Letele visited the kura at different times to korero about their experiences with mental health and wellness.
Charitable trust Mana Mentoring helped students and teachers work through stress and anxiety.
TKAS student Stellar Aulding said one important message she got from Sir John was “DOT” — doing one thing a day.
“Just focusing on getting one thing done for the day was a good way to get back into focusing on school,” she said.
“They all made an impact,” Ms Savage said. “Nobody is an expert on how to respond to a situation like this, so support from anyone who can share it is so important and we welcome it.
“All the students have been committed to learning and wanted to get back into the routine of school.
“It helped settle whānau as there was a bit more normality to life again.
“If we can achieve these educational outcomes in a year with some of the biggest devastation many of them have ever experienced . . . then what could we achieve in a year without that?”
Ms Savage wanted all those who supported, donated or sent aroha to the kura and the Te Karaka community to know that it meant the world to them.