Mary's World
Mary Woods is the principal of Matahui School, a school so rare that it is almost hidden in plain sight between Tauranga and Waihi in Aongatete. Here, a child can be a child, free range in a nurturing environment where they can be themselves. Teachers are committed to and care for the young people…
Mary's words
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Mary Woods is the principal of Matahui School, a school so rare that it is almost hidden in plain sight between Tauranga and Waihi in Aongatete. Here, a child can be a child, free range in a nurturing environment where they can be themselves. Teachers are committed to and care for the young people they teach. Relationships and connections are important.
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Towering trees provide climbing frames for children to climb, and laughter and joy fill the air in-between buildings and other playground structures. It is a happy place, a place where dreams come true. Students can be themselves, and learn at their own pace in a place that values difference. Students are supported to solve conflicts and abide by the school's strong values.
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Mary sees the kids- she truly sees them. She is quick to praise their written stories about adventures, and their paintings, even if they got the proportions of the hands or the details on her analog watch wrong. After all, what is a wristwatch to a 10-year-old?
Who of us really knows what a wristwatch or the education we prescribe today will mean for the future of the next generation? Yet, before they can have a future, they need to be kids and Mary knows a great deal about how the elements shape children in ways a computer generated programme will never understand.
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