supplied
Students cut out templates from masking tape to paint designs on the pou whenua, carved by parent and local master carver, Gordon Toi, at Mapua School's entrance.
Internationally-acclaimed local master carver and tattoo artist, Gordon Toi, helped students create the pou, showcasing what the children treasured about their community.
Toi, who has a child at the school, was persuaded by project manager, teacher Sarah Trollé, to commit to the undertaking, as part of a Government initiative to help schools team up with a professional artist or “creative practitioner” to deliver a new project.
Māpua School was among 34 schools nationwide to secure funding in the first round of the “Creatives in Schools” scheme.