"To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world."

Awahono School is a place where voices, hands, and hearts speak in unison as we embrace the three official languages of New Zealand: English, Te Reo Māori, and NZ Sign Language (NZSL).

From the very first day our New Entrants step into the classroom through to our Year 8 leaders, every student at Awahono is exposed and encouraged to communicate in all three languages. Our dream is simple yet powerful: for every student to leave our school confident and capable of communicating across these three diverse and unique languages.

It is a true delight to look across the classroom or out into the playground and see our students signing to one another.

The impact of this learning doesn’t stop at the school gate. One of our greatest highlights has been hearing from parents and caregivers about the "ripple effect" at home—sharing stories of children teaching their families how to sign.