Facilities
Bream Bay is an embayment and area south-east of Whangārei, on the east coast of New Zealand. The bay runs from Bream Head, at the mouth of Whangārei Harbour, 22 kilometres south to the headland of Bream Tail, east of Langs Beach and north of Mangawhai. It was named by Captain James Cook. The Bream Bay area includes the towns of Ruakākā, One Tree Point and Waipu. Bream Bay is an area of incredibly beautiful walks, excellent fishing and diving, stunning beaches for bird watching, kayaking, swimming, surfing and kite boarding and a fantastic playground for boaties. Captain Cook anchored in the Bay in 1769 and, catching a large haul of Bream Snapper, named the area Bream Bay. This area is still pristine and full of great fishing, diving and snorkelling. Bream Bay is circled by the majestic peaks of Manaia, Te Whara (Bream Head), Sail Rock and Marotiri and Taranga (The Hen and Chicken Islands). These extinct volcanoes, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, all offer wonderful snorkelling, fishing and diving locations.
Bream Bay College provides a main sports field for athletics, soccer, rugby, rugby league and cricket. We have 2 asphalt netball/tennis courts with lights, a turf area set up for 4 tennis courts, 4 netball courts or hockey turf with lights and a outdoor Basket Ball court. A Swimming complex comprising of a 25 metre pool with 2 changing blocks including toilets and a gear storage room. Our gymnasium has 3 PE gear rooms, a climbing wall and a PE office. In 2017 we added exercise stations in various areas of the Feild | Playground. Our Sports Equipment includes kayaks, surfboards, spin bikes, gym equipment and a dedicated Weights Room.
Our spaces include a Performing Arts Complex, Music Suite, Library, Te Rerenga Kotuku Whare with Bilingual classrooms, Year 13 Common room, Auditorium seating 600, a full range of school classrooms : 2 Art rooms, Technology rooms with a laser cutter and 3D Printer; Hard Materials, Food, Fabrics, Graphics and ICT, 3 Science Labs, prefabs, general purpose classrooms, a student center and a learning support building. All classrooms have projectors, tvs, sound systems and computer pods. In 2023 we opened our new Year 7|8 Te Wao Nui ā Tane & Science Block Ngā Kaitiaki o te Moana.
Te Wao Nui ā Tane (Yr 7|8): The forest was vital to life. As Māori explored and learnt about the forests, Tāne, the god of the forest, found an important place in tribal consciousness and Traditions. People developed a reverence for and knowledge of te waonui-a-Tāne – The great forest of Tāne. Trees in the forest are seen as Tāne-mahuta, rising to separate earth and sky. Tāne, the tree, holds the sky aloft, bringing light into the world. The word ‘tika’ means erect, upright and correct – as a tree is upright and erect. It informs the concepts of tikanga – correct behavior or action – and whakatika, which means to arise. Correct behaviors arise from within a person, as a tree rises from the ground. The name ‘Te Wao Nui ā Tane’ exemplifies our Mana Values by promoting a learning space that is ‘Tika’ in demonstrating the Tikanga of our Kura.
Ngā Kaitiaki o te Moana (Science) Kaitiakitanga means guardianship and protection. It is a way of managing the environment, based on the Māori world view. It is seen as a vehicle for applying ideas about reservation, conservation, repair and utilisation of environments for the present and future generations. Kaitiakitanga invites people to form and maintain relationships with the environment in which we live. Our people are closely connected to the sea with this amazing resource right at our doorstep. The name Ngā Kaitiaki o te Moana suggests a responsibility to our moana environment by celebrating the sea life that thrive within it. Each of our Science classes have expressed a desire to name classes after sea creatures and have sea life adorn their pathways and walls. Future opportunities to collaborate with local Iwi on Kaitiaki Moana projects have also been made possible adding Mana to the name in an authentic context.
