Today I am going to talk about the Glen innes school short story.
Glen Innes School was opened in 1955 to serve the growing community that was mainly at the time populated by returning servicemen and their families, market gardeners and a general workforce that enjoyed its proximity to Auckland central and a link to the developing southern suburbs.
As the suburb grew additional schools were established, but GIS remained central and developed a strong family feel even with the substantial change in demographic over the years.
A visual history of past students is on display through the senior corridor and is regularly viewed by visitors especially if they have or had a connection to the school. The current logo was designed by a student some 30+ years ago.
In 2019 the BOT was advised that due to the housing intensification programme being put in place, the school had been allocated funding in the 2019 budget for either a rebuild or a number of extra classrooms. Due to the C19 pandemic all these plans were put on hold as well as the instruction for the school to adopt a home zone.
By April 2021 the MOE had decided on the outcome for both programmes. The MOE would be responsible for the introduction of a home zone - a significant change in that the BOT would not have to do all the consulting as per the previous regime.
On the building front, the school would be getting a 10 - 15 year master plan starting with a six classroom unit placement location based on the master plan. The new builds in the area are significantly different to the older style of homes of the 1950’s. Just looking at the rebuild of our neighbouring school should give an indication of what our new build could look like.
With this in mind and looking forward, while simultaneously acknowledging the present and past,we started to explore what a new logo could look like as representing us both in the digital and printed world.
Our in-school consultation with the maori staff on our initial ideas has contributed to this design. They further elaborated and aligned meaning to the elements built within our design and is directly linked to the school charter.
The design encompasses four main fields being our name, the surrounding ellipse, the three koru and the stars.
The Ellipse
GIS values are strongly influenced by family. Family looks after each other, covering / sheltering, holding each other within the shelter. This is what the outer ellipse signifies - Protection, care, cover, shelter. It describes and includes all values in relation to Tikanga Maori as described in our school charter.
The Koru
In the current logo, the interpretation of the multiple koru is adapted in a more modern style - yet is easily recognisable in our NZ context and more specifically ours through the concept of whanaungatanga.
This use of the koru is also our way of acknowledging the past logo and taking parts of that with us into the future. Based on the unfurling fern frond of the native New Zealand silver fern, the circular shape of the koru conveys the idea of perpetual movement, as well as it symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. In our context we see the growth through the three identities of the individual learner, home and school.
Cluster of Stars
The final piece of the proposed new logo is a representation of the Matariki cluster. This cluster of stars is and has been used by all seafarers and is called by a variety of names based on one's geographical location. Both Greek and Maori have nine stars in the cluster - though not all may be seen at any one time. Matariki is visible in many locations so has lots of names across different cultures. The Greek name is the Pleiades, in Japan it is called Subaru and in China it is Mao.
While all the preceding is important we also wanted to acknowledge Ngati Paoa who recently signed their settlement agreement with the crown in March 2021 - on whose historical land our school sits. Ngati Paoa were a strong trading community using the waters of the Waitemata and more specifically Wai O Taiki as the entry point to Ukutoia, their productive land. Seafaring navigation using the stars was clearly a skill for the Ngati Paoa community and we want to acknowledge that as tangata whenua in the use of the Matariki representation in our redesigned logo.
The proposed revised logo includes components which are easy for a child to recall and draw - an important aspect if the design is to be owned by all.
Which logo look better?
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