Frequently Asked Questions

You can enrol at any time using our online enrolment form. We appreciated pre-enrolment as it helps with our planning. Enrolment is finalised closer to the start date and requires proof of address that you are residing (or building) in our zone. All information is found on our enrolment page.

Our uniform has been developed by the Board and with input from the community.  The majority of the uniform is purchased through Argyle; teal polos, navy shorts, skort or pants, navy soft shell jacket. Cardigans and jumpers are purchased through the office. Please follow this link to the uniform page for more information.

This is dependent on the age and needs of the child. Generally, when a 5-year-old starts school they have three visits of varying lengths of time. More can be arranged if needed. Our older children are welcome to come for some visits prior to starting. If they are starting in the new school year this would occur in the December prior and coincide with a time when all students meet their next year’s teacher.

Before and after school care is provided by the Kelly Group and is called the Kelly Club. More information and a link to Kelly club can be found here.

We welcome you to discuss your needs with a member of the team and you can direct your enquiry to the school office, office@ararira.school.nz

Cohort enrolments are batch entries at the beginning or halfway through a term where children start at the date nearest their fifth birthday. At Ararira Springs – Te Puna o Ararira, we will be starting our tamariki two times a term, rather than on a child’s fifth birthday. This will begin from Term 1, 2024. Please refer to our enrolments page  for full details including dates.

We are an Apple school and supply iPads for children to use at school. Children are welcome to bring a device from Year 3 on and we encourage this to be an iPad or MacBook Air as this is what our team is most familiar with and it fits best with our ICT systems. Other devices can be used but troubleshooting may be problematic if it occurs.

Composite groupings are widely used at Ararira. This is partially determined by the number of children we have working at each year level but is supported by our beliefs about teaching and learning. In an ideal world, we anticipate this being no greater than a two-year spread, however, this may be dictated by the number of children at each level.

Historically, the schools in the area work together on one teacher only day after Queens Birthday weekend. Currently, the Teachers Collective allows eight teacher only days to be used between Aug 2019 and Aug 2022.

SCHOOL HOURS