Te Kura-a-iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano gear up for swimming

Te Kura-a-iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano in Otaki were recently the very grateful recipients of 30 pairs of State Kiwi Swim Safe goggles and 30 Swimming Caps ready for their swimming lessons in Term 2.

The decile 3 school  has a roll of approximately 130 students, and considers swimming to be an extremely important part of both their school curriculum and their community responsibilities. Many of the students swim in the local river and at the local beaches, spending time with their whanau collecting seafood and enjoying the water. The school decided that this year they would focus on their students who had the least exposure to the water, to encourage them to grow a love and respect for the water, whilst enjoying it also.

As a State Kiwi Swim Safe school, Te Kura-a-iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano have made great use of the resources and poolside support that comes with the State Kiwi Swim Safe initiative, and have seen their students passion for swimming consistently grow. The teachers and parents asked many great questions during their professional development session and it was very easy to see that they are in it for the “longhaul” when thinking about their swimming programme.

Sarah Gibbison (Wellington Swim Safe Advisor) has had the pleasure of working with the school and has seen the passion and the willingness to learn from the teachers and students. Darrell Vickers from State Insurance was also able to attend the ceremony as was “blown away to see the impact the State Kiwi Swim Safe programme is having on the schools and their families”. The kids loved seeing Darrell there and especially enjoyed his modelling of the swim caps and goggles with laughing and squeals of delight being ever present.

Well done Te Kura-a-iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano and keep up the great work! Enjoy your new goggles and swim caps and we look forward to working with you again in the near future.Thank you also to State Insurance for your ongoing support of the State Kiwi Swim Safe programme – it is great to see you out in the schools enjoying the successes that this programme is bringing to our communities.