School

Tua Marina School welcomes all learners in our community. We are committed to their presence, participation, engagement, and achievement.
Tua Marina School is a semi-rural, full-primary school, located approximately 10 kilometres from Blenheim, heading towards Picton on State Highway 1. The school is situated close to the main railway line and State Highway One. It is fully surrounded by a fence and faces away from the road with a lovely rural aspect.
The Tua Marina School community consists of families who live mainly in: the Tua Marina township; the Waikakaho Valley; the area between Tua Marina and half way to Picton; and the nearby Rarangi settlement.
We are a U3, Decile 9 school with a roll that ranges from 100-145 students, seven teachers, 2 teacher aides, and a Principal. Approximately 15% of the students identify with Maori being their first or second ethnicity, and the remainder are mostly of NZ/European descent.
The school operates an enrolment zone. The boundaries for families living in the zone are: north of the Wairau River; west to the Waikakaho stream then up to the top of the mountain and an imaginary line to the coast; half way between Tua Marina and Picton; east to Rarangi; and south along the main road to the Wairau Bridge.
The majority of the children travel to school by bus – most of the inzone children come on the Rarangi bus and a few travel on the Waikakaho bus.
The school promotes a caring, inclusive, family orientated environment with a focus on ‘Striving for peak performance’. All students are valued and inclusive education needs are well supported.
The school was established in 1871. The buildings consist of six classrooms, a hall with library attached, an administration area, a staffroom, a teacher resource room, and several other offices/ breakout areas. The buildings are set in pleasant surroundings with large trees bordering a generous playing field, and a native forest area. There is a hard court area, an all-weather sports surface, three adventure playgrounds, native gardens, a large sports field, and a swimming pool.
Tua Marina School develops effective home/school relationships. It promotes an open door policy encouraging the parents and local community to take an active role in the life of the school and their child’s learning. The school is fortunate in having the support of a committed Board of Trustees, PTA, and enthusiastic and willing parents and caregivers. The parents provide assistance with a variety of educational activities and there is strong support for Pets Day and interschool fixtures. The PTA organises/assists with several fundraising activities including the following annual events: Rodeo, Disco, and Christmas Fair.
Traditionally Tua Marina was a dairy farming area with a large cheese factory in the township. However the blocks of land have been subdivided and the farming has become more diverse, with a move into viticulture. The cheese factory has gone and Fonterra has taken its place. There has been a growing trend towards lifestyle blocks in Rarangi and many parents commute to Blenheim to work.
Students leave at the end of Year 8 and in general attend Marlborough Boys’ College, Marlborough Girls’ College, or Queen Charlotte College.
Tua Marina School belongs to the Wairau Cluster group which consists of five small schools situated geographically close to each other. The children meet once a term for sporting activities as well as extension activities for gifted and talented students.
The school values e-learning and is a Network for Learning (N4L) school. There is wireless ultrafast broadband access in all classrooms and ICT resources continue to be a focus for development. Each classroom has a ratio of 1:1 device per student, a data projector, visualiser, digital camera, etc. We have a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) procedure, and are a Google Apps for Education school.
Our vision links well with the curriculum and is central to our teaching and learning programmes with ‘Striving for peak performance (me whakapau kaha)’ as our catch phrase.

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2024 Term Dates