Year 8 Puawai Award 2025 Recipients Recognised

Mt Pleasant Primary School recipients: Portia Healey and Yusuf Wahadzadah

Redcliffs Primary School recipients LtoR: Harper Johns-Simpson, Riley Somogyvari, Eli Gordon, Dexter Smit

Heathcote Primary School recipients LtoR: Amelia Adams, Hunter Stokes, Emma Beaumont, Samantha Pooley

Sumner Primary School recipients LtoR: Layla Duke, Indie Clark, Milla Smith, Ocean Treskon (absent Lola Seipp)

With the new school year fast approaching, last year’s year 8 students and their parents are starting to prepare for the transition from primary school to high school. Whilst there may be excitement or even some apprehension amongst the students, parents are thinking about the costs they will incur when their son or daughter starts their secondary education; new uniforms, computers, stationery…. To assist with these costs the Sumner Ferrymead Foundation introduced the Puawai Award in 2020. The award recognises students who have flourished in their final year of primary school. Each school in the Sumner Ferrymead Foundation’s catchment area – from Taylors Mistake through to Heathcote and around to Brookhaven - determines their own criteria for the award, and the number of recipients they wish to recognise.

Redcliffs Primary School teacher Monique Stevenson commented “It’s an expensive time for the parents of our year 8 students; we so appreciate the generosity of the Sumner Ferrymead Foundation as the kids start on a new adventure.” So, it wasn’t surprising that within days of the students receiving their awards, Max Mathias, the Foundation Treasurer was receiving messages from parents saying with the current economic climate how much they appreciated the support of the Foundation. Perhaps it’s best summed up by the student who commented “this is so much better than a trophy.

This year the 15 students who received the Puawai Award are a diverse group. They are heading to high school in a myriad of directions – from Rolleston to Burnside and from Cashmere to Avonside Girls/Shirley Boys, along with Boys High, Girls High, Hagley, and St Margaret’s too. They are a sporty group – skiing, surfing, ball sports, karate, horse riding, and dance to name a few – but there is also a strong creative bent: cooking, drawing, 3D models, and animation.

The Puawai Awards are just one community initiative of the Sumner Ferrymead Foundation. In February applications will open for the 2026 Community Grants programme for groups, clubs, and organisations in the Foundation’s catchment area. There are grants for sport, arts & culture, the environment, and education. More information is available at www.sumnerferrymeadfoundation.co.nz