The Four Winds
United by the four winds, we grow stronger together.
Mā te kōtahitanga e ngā hau e whā, ka kaha whakatupu ngātahi tātau.
Our school was named after the road that we are situated on – Otonga Road. The name ‘Otonga’ has no actual meaning at all and is a European shortening of the name of our block of land, ‘Tihiotonga’.
Through consultation with our kaumatua, Dr. Ken Kennedy, we have learned that this block of land intersects 4 Māori land blocks. This is reflected in our logo of the four winds. We have named our schoolhouses after the four winds that bring children from all over the world to this place of the tangata whenua.
The more accurate name for our school is ‘Te Kura o Tihiōtonga”. Tihi means the highest point of a mountain. ‘O’ means towards and ‘Tonga’ means south.
Therefore Tihiōtonga means the highest peak towards the south (of Rotorua).
We are proud to acknowledge the people who have lived in this place before us and accept a dual name: Otonga Road School / Te Kura o Tihiōtonga.