Opening of Lemonwood Grove celebrated

Students, whānau and educators joined the Prime Minister, Associate Minister of Education and others to mark the official opening of Lemonwood Grove School in Rolleston.

Around 100 students started the school year at the $12 million Lemonwood Grove School | Te Uru Tarata, which is located on a four-hectare site near the recently opened Rolleston College.

Earlier in the month Christchurch’s year 1–13 Haeata Community Campus was also officially opened.

Ministry of Education Head of Education Infrastructure Service Kim Shannon says these projects are part of a large investment in education infrastructure in Canterbury.

“Lemonwood Grove School and Rolleston College have been built to cater for anticipated population growth in the Rolleston area,” she says.

“Haeata Community Campus is part of the Government’s $1.137 billion Christchurch Schools Rebuild programme. The programme includes building or redeveloping 115 schools in greater Christchurch, 23 of which are brand new schools. Eight of these have already been built.”

Kim says the three schools all have ‘state-of-the-art’ facilities that will inspire learners and educators for years to come.

Lemonwood Grove School will cater for year 1–8 students across 17 teaching spaces. Around 100 students are currently enrolled at the school; however, the current facilities will provide for up to 400 students. A future second stage of building will take up to 750 students.

Facilities at the new school include a multi-purpose space, library, technology ‘maker spaces’ in each learning landscape, outdoor teaching spaces and an adventure play area.

The flexible learning environment focuses on students’ engagement and motivation, and creates space for learners to work independently or collaboratively. Collaborative spaces extend to teachers who have access to resources in the administration building called The Grove, but otherwise share the learning spaces with the students.

As set out in the New Zealand School Property Strategy 2011–2021, the Ministry of Education is working towards ensuring that all schools have good lighting, acoustics and ventilation, are a comfortable temperature, and meet the Government’s ICT requirements for schools.

Lemonwood Grove School was finished six weeks ahead of schedule. This is a feat largely attributed to the innovative and collaborative way that the school, the Ministry, consultants, and local contractors worked together on the project.

The new school is located near the brand new Rolleston College and West Rolleston Primary School, which opened in January 2016.