Hapori
A Hapori course is a non-curricular focused learning experience driven by student passion. Rooted in the concept of "hapori" or community, these courses empower students to explore diverse topics outside the traditional curriculum, fostering collaboration and a sense of ownership over their learning. With a focus on self-directed exploration, Hapori courses encourage students to pursue their interests, ranging from creative arts to technology and social issues. This initiative reflects our commitment to cultivating well-rounded individuals who are not only academically proficient but also deeply connected to their passions and the broader community.
Come and join this great project based class if you have some ideas around how we can turn waste in to wonders! We have loads or ideas too so you just need to come with a desire and the will to have a go.
Some examples of projects students have been working on include:
- Food rescue - cooking and preserving excess food
- Fabric rescue - using unwanted clothes and fabrics and making them into bags, bean bags, punching bags, fidget tools etc
- Animal enrichment toys - making cat toys through to enrichment toys for Lions
- Upcycling furniture - Painting, fixing and reinventing pieces of furniture.
- Art from Art - upcycling unwanted pieces of art and canvases
- Street art - upcycling unwanted pieces by adding our own art to them
- Art from Vinyl records - clocks, frames and art pieces from old vinyl records
- Fidget toys - using anything to make a fidget
- Recycling Centre - managing and making recycling centres around school
- Squishies from fabric scraps
- Embroidery and crochet - adding interest and value to unwanted fabrics by adding embroidery and keychains
Feel free to have a look at our website that has some of our work and some Youtube videos we have used.
This hands-on, project-based course challenges students to see waste not as an ending, but as a beginning. Moving beyond traditional recycling, students will engage in the principles of upcycling and creative reuse to transform unwanted materials—commonly known as "trash"—into valuable, functional, or artistic products.
This course will ask students to both work independently and collaboratively on projects. We will need to help each other out and respond quickly to recover and reuse what otherwise might be waste.
We will all take part in trying to find resources to use as well as what to do with these. Students would have heaps of opportunity to work on their own ideas and projects as well as helping others out.
The course could involve:
- Upcycling clothes
- Upcycling furniture
- Cooking
- Building and making things
- A sculpture from waste for the sensory garden at the CAC
- Markets and selling products
- Recycling within our Kura
Course Focus
- Waste Auditing: Learn to identify and classify different types of common waste materials (e.g., plastics, textiles, wood, paper, metal) and understand their environmental impact.
- Design & Innovation: Apply the design thinking process to conceptualize, prototype, and construct new items from salvaged materials. Projects will emphasize problem-solving and practicality.
- Upcycling Techniques: Master various techniques for cleaning, preparing, modifying, and fixing.
- Sustainability & Entrepreneurship: Explore the environmental and economic benefits of a circular economy. Students may have the opportunity to develop a small-scale product line or exhibit their creations.