Our First Emergency Evacuation Hīkoi to St Catherine's College

This week we held our very first emergency evacuation hīkoi up to St Catherine’s College, a big milestone for our centre!

This hīkoi wasn’t a response to an emergency, but rather a planned opportunity to walk the route together with tamariki and whānau, so everyone becomes familiar with where we’ll go in the event of a real evacuation. It was really special to have whānau join us for this first walk, helping build confidence and a sense of calm around what to do if something unexpected ever happens.

St Catherine’s College is our designated evacuation point, and this hīkoi gave us the chance to talk with tamariki about safety, practice walking together in an organised way, and answer any pātai our whānau had. Everyone did so well, and it was lovely to see tamariki taking it seriously but also enjoying the experience.

We’ll be holding another evacuation hīkoi in August, and we look forward to having more whānau join us as we continue supporting our tamariki to feel prepared and empowered.

Ngā mihi to all the families who came along, your presence made all the difference.