About Us
Aoraki Mount Cook School is a rural U1 primary school in the heart of Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Having first opened on the 23rd May 1960, the school caters for New Entrants through to Year 8 pupils with a fluctuating roll from 6 to 18 pupils. Our students are from families who work in or near the National Park. At the start of the 2023 school year there are 6 students from 3 different cultures.
Cultural identity, environmental education, literacy, numeracy, creativity, and digital literacy are priority areas in the school, ensuring that all students are given the opportunity to achieve to the best of their ability in these areas. We celebrate and welcome our cultural diversity and practice cultural inclusiveness. Our English language learners are supported and, as staff and children, we seek to learn and celebrate each child’s culture.
We pride ourselves on providing students with the support and learning they require to achieve, and consider our small numbers central to student success. Our school is well supported by the Board and a strong parent community. The school enjoys a favourable reputation both in the local community and in the wider education sector.
Our Vision
Aim High!
Motto: It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves - Sir Edmund Hillary
Our Vision and Values
Values are those things that really matter to us; the ideas and beliefs that we hold as special.
Responsibility (tokohanga)
for self, for others, for the environment
Our students are able to take responsibility for themselves, their learning and their
actions. They are also able to take responsibility for supporting the needs and learning of others.
They take an active role in protecting the natural resources, wildlife and
plants for future generations.
Respect (whakaute)
for self, for others, for our environment
Our students have respect for themselves, who they are and where they have come from.
They give this same respect to the people they learn with and meet. They care for the
environment and have respect for the land and its resources.
Relationships (whanaungatanga)
with self, with others, with the environment
Our students have an understanding of themselves and their own innate value and self-worth. They are able to see the same merit in others and are able to encourage, share with and support people around them. They have a strong understanding of the
environment and are aware of the impact that they have on it.