New School Brand · Waiheke Island
Three concepts for a small school on Waiheke Island
A brand-new, one-room school for fewer than ten children of different ages, [Steiner-based], on Waiheke.
Working titles. Grounded, Connected and Tideline are names we are testing, not names the school has chosen. They have had a preliminary screen only. Nothing here is registered, cleared or published, and details marked as placeholders are still to be confirmed.
Choose a concept to explore
Each concept page shows everything: the idea, the words, the identity, a poster and a homepage. The three sit side by side in no particular order of preference.
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Concept AWorking title
Ground first.
Feels first: Steady. Learning stands on something real.
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Concept BWorking title
Joined by hand.
Feels first: Together. Older teaches younger, at one table.
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Concept CWorking title
What the tide brings.
Feels first: Wonder. Out and back, and something to show for it.
How we got here
Five steps, in this order, before anything was shown to parents.
- BenchmarksWe compared 46 schools. The land is the category’s common hero, so on its own it is not what sets a school apart. What no one else on the island can claim is scale: one room, fewer than ten children.
- StrategyOne shared idea, “the whole school at one table”, and three routes built on it. Each promise is rewritten as something a parent can check on a visit.
- Naming screenA preliminary knockout screen of the three names. It is not legal clearance. Nothing is registered, and every name is a working title.
- Claims checkEvery factual line was checked. Vetoed lines were replaced, and lines that need evidence (“OK once”) keep their placeholders until it is on file.
- Creative CouncilAn outside read from philosophy, anthropology, sociology, biology, visual art and composition. It is advisory. Two factual corrections were made to Tideline’s copy.