KŌTARE team
KŌTARE team
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Team Kōtare is part of the Tōtara Senior Syndicate and comprises of two Year 7, 8 composite classes.
Leah McKay - leah.mckay@wakefield.school.nz
Scott MacKenzie - scott.mackenzie@wakefield.school.nz
Kathy Jessop - kathy.jessop@wakefield.school.nz
Rachel Daniel - rachel.daniel@wakefield.school.nz
MODULES
MODULES
Modules are where our students have an opportunity to try something new.
2026 Modules
Wheelchair Basketball
Upcycling
Cooking
Mountain Biking
Print Making
Origami
Chinese
Kapa Haka
Design a Tshirt Logo
School Magazine
Performing Arts
Upcycling
2025 Modules
Upcycling
Cooking
Sign writing
Golf
Leatherwork
Epro 8
Spanish
Performing Arts
Upcycling
Painting
technology
technology
Our programme includes:
Design and innovation
Solving real-life problems, helping others
Hard materials - using hand tools, power tools
Digital tools to work with wood, metal, soft materials and plastic
Construction, mechanisms, engineering and scientific exploration
Soft materials - using natural and manmade textiles and fibres
Coding, robotics and computational thinking
Food technology - cooking, food safety and hygiene, meal planning and nutrition
Our projects:
Constructing equipment to engage students at break times - go-karts, cornhole games
Designing a camp menu and pre-making all of our dinners for camp at Tōtaranui
Designing and making a prototype to solve a problem - bag tags for teachers, kinesethetic wall hangining for junior students
Power challenge - designing and making a wind turbine
Designing a logo to apply using the X-Tool and heat press to our PJ/lounge pants made in sewing
external opportunities
external opportunities
Ki-o-rahi tournament
NISSA swimming & Novelty swimming sports
NISSA summer tournament
Rippa Rugby
NISSA Cross Country Teams
NISSA Cross Country
NISSA winter tournament
Mountain Biking Event
Saturday Netball
E-Pro 8 Competition
Kid's Lit Quiz
Because we have less students than other intermediates we often have a larger percentage of students participating in regional sporting and academic events.
education outside the classroom
education outside the classroom
Kōtare students enjoy a week long camp every year in Term 1. 2026 saw us head to Totaranui and in 2027 we will be going to Mistletoe Bay.
Walking to Anapai was torture. The fire in my legs, an inferno. The pain in my ankle worsening with every step. Hardly able to walk, I had pushed myself to the limit. “No more!” my whole body was screaming. I could go no more. But I had to. Then finally, the beach, in sight. As soon as I stepped onto the warm sand I rushed to a spot so I could rest, but… we still had to get back. After around forty five minutes of blissful rest. We set off back to camp.
Kayaking at Totaranui was wayyyyyy better than the walk to Anapai and it was so nice to sit and paddle our little boat around the estuary. Playing tag, Stu nearly tipped my kayak for no reason. It was very annoying. Near the end we had to tip our kayak. Ea-sy. Tipped in the first few seconds. The best part of it was the cave. So cooooool.
We go further afield for educational experiences, such as the Suter Art Gallery, Riverside Pool, Whenua Iti, Bridge Valley, Appleby School, Coronation Forest.
We enjoy the fact that we have amazing community resources. We often utilise Falkner's Bush, Falkner's Bush playground, McGazzaland and the river as part of our learning.
william pike challenge
william pike challenge
Every second year our students take part in the William Pike Challenge.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
PASSION PROJECTs
PASSION PROJECTs
COMMUNITY SERVICE
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Enterprise
Enterprise
Each year we do at least one form of enterprise. Market Day is always successful and loved. Fundraising for camp this year saw students managing a budget, providing goods and services such as car washes, school lunches, raffles, a disco, lemonade and more.
I personally enjoyed Market Day. If I had to rate my experience from 1 to 5, I’d probably give it a 3 or 4. It was fun, but members of our group would often walk off and be gone for 5–10 minutes /:
Our shop was quite popular and crowded! We all did our best to attract customers and keep them satisfied—and we did GREAT at it!! I’d say we delivered a 5/5 in both service and performance.
Most of our stock got sold. By the end, we had to run around giving things out for free—like one of our Disney keychains and around 10–15 of our bracelet-making kits—but we managed to get rid of all our stock eventually (:
We thought the weather was going to be an issue, so we didn’t set up in the same spot as last year. Instead of being near the hall, we set up in the room along the 6-5 deck. Since we changed our location just a little, it actually felt busier than the previous year—so that was a win-win for us (:<
As for our actual profit, we made $124.40!!
I am happy with our earnings and am looking forward to deciding what to do with the money (:
Since I’m quite a social person, it wasn’t bad working with a team. I’m actually happy that we got to work with others and that it wasn’t totally independent (apart from the prep leading up to Market Day, of course :3). I didn’t really learn anything new from working with a group, but it was fun and enjoyable.
I would definitely work with the same people again—they were nice and supportive!
sva - student volunteer army
sva - student volunteer army
The Big Bake Up - we are looking forward to supporting the Big Bake Up team in term 3 this year.
Every year we spend a day at the St Johns church cemetery weeding, sweeping, cleaning.
In 2024 we uncovered a lost grave which was pretty exciting.
https://nelsonapp.co.nz/news/articles/6760a82d23fe6002c2d1a530
Every couple of years we go to Coronation Forest to plant trees and learn about local industry and conservation.
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