Our identity
In 2009, the name of our school was changed from ‘The Correspondence School’ to 'Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu'. Our new name has multiple meanings and the logo, which is derived from a Māori koru pattern, was carefully designed to represent our school’s identity.
Our name – the full story
‘Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu’ refers to connecting students with learning. There is a wealth of meaning behind the name. This reflects the role we play within the education sector, our students and our vision for their achievement.
The most commonly used meaning of ‘aho’ is rope or line, but the more traditional meaning is about genealogy – connecting back to history, our ancestors. It can also mean: radiant bright light, the highest light and open space. The relevance of this meaning to us is around cyberspace and connecting to the virtual environment. ‘Te aho’ opens up new worlds.
‘Kura’ is most commonly used today to mean school. However, kura also means knowledge and the concept of knowledge. Other meanings of kura include: ornamental, treasure, red and glowing.
Pounamu is the end result of a geological transformative process and is a treasure, whether or not it is rough or polished. We see our students as greenstone: a treasure undergoing transformation through learning. The link to te aho means the pounamu has a whakapapa. Our life’s experience has a whakapapa to it. Wherever we go we take that story with us. Pounamu also connects us – it is global and transportable and can link us into the past, present and beyond. ‘Te Ara Pounamu’ – follow the greenstone path of education.
Our logo
The design on our logo is derived from the Māori koru pattern that was part of our previous logo. This link to the previous logo shows the growth and development that has taken place at our school.
The koru pattern depicts the connections between students and all those who support their learning: their supervisor, whānau, community, our staff, partners and other agencies.
The koru also represents peace and harmony, personal growth, positive change and caring for each other.
The colour used is a mid-tone shade of green derived from the kahurangi type of pounamu. Kahurangi is the rarest variety of pounamu and is named after the clearness of the sky. The word kahurangi also indicates nobility and refers to precious jewels.