Taught at Horoera

Te Ao Hou, December 1963, Page 35

Taught at Horoera In 1946 she and her husband were appointed to the Horoera Maori School, a small two-teacher school situated between Te Araroa and the East Cape. Mrs McConnell was the head teacher of the school, which had a roll of 45 and was then one of the most isolated schools in the East Cape district. In 1950, when Mr McConnell had completed his training at Ardmore College with the first intake of special teacher trainees, he and Mrs McConnell were appointed to the Paparore Maori School, north of Kaitaia. Today this is Mrs Marewa McConnell, the head teacher at Ahipara Maori School. a grade four school of 82 Maori and European pupils. Other members of the staff are Mr E. J. Thompson, the Maori All Black, and Miss M. Henry. Mrs McConnell is a member of the Kaitaia College Board of Governors. She is known throughout New Zealand as an arts and crafts specialist, along with Mrs M. Isaacs, of Orouta Maori School. They work with Maori arts specialists wherever courses are held. With her appointment to the Ahipara Maori School, which has a pre-school department of 25 four-year-olds, Mrs McConnell will be extremely busy. Her new staff consists of Mrs P. Nathan, Miss Abbott, Miss Cave, Miss F. Berghan, Miss P. Subritsky, Mr D. Albert, and Mrs M. Dawson. She has three children, the eldest of whom is Riri, 26, a corporal in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Her daughter Hui-a-re, 20, recently married Mr Peter Wilkinson, jr., of Kaitaia. She is a teacher at Kaitaia Primary School. Her youngest son, Terence, 17, is a pupil at Kaitaia College. Mrs McConnell is also an excellent dance pianist, and for years has been a leading figure in orchestras and social musical occasions.