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Students celebrate the opportunity to direct their own learning at the school’s Learning in the Making Conference. Photo: SUPPLIED

Learning in the making

Ngatea Primary School was transformed into a two-day, hands-on experience on September 16-17, as the school held its annual Learning in the Making Conference.

The event was structured in the style of a real conference, with all 300 students attending eight breakout sessions across the two days.

Each child built their own schedule from a choice of over 230 workshops. They included a vast array of topics such as arts-and-crafts sessions, baking, drone piloting, bicycle maintenance, mini-golf, touch, science experiments, board games and escape rooms, stop-motion filming, story-writing, and more.

To complete the full conference experience, students received a conference t-shirt and personalised lanyard.

The sessions were led by senior students, staff, whānau, and members of the community, and sponsorship from local businesses meant that every workshop was able to be offered free of charge.

Principal Neil Fraser said the annual conference, the largest of its kind in New Zealand, was always a highlight in the school’s calendar.

Students show off their Forever Flowers. Photo: SUPPLIED
The beaded keychain workshop. Photo: ALICE PARMINTER
Making Sharpie mosaic pictures. Photo: ALICE PARMINTER
A sensory squishy toy-making workshop. Photo: ALICE PARMINTER
Building bird houses. Photo: ALICE PARMINTER
Students practice their code-cracking skills. Photo: ALICE PARMINTER