Sumner School 150
Description
In 2026, Sumner School / Te Kura o Matuku Takotako turns 150.
From Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 October we are opening the gates for a week of celebrations, and we want every single person with a Sumner connection there.
Past students. Parents and grandparents. Teachers, principals, board members, PTA volunteers, caretakers, office staff. Whether you left in 1958 or you are dropping your kids off tomorrow morning, this is yours.
How to book
Click 'Get Tickets' and select a ticket for every event you are coming to, then check out. It takes two minutes.
Most of the week is free to attend but the only way we know how many chairs to put out, how much kai to order and how many name tags to prepare is if you select the options. Coming to three events? Select three tickets.
One ticket per person, including tamariki.
Not sure yet? Book now and let us know if your plans change. Far easier for us than finding a hundred extra chairs on the day.
Coming from out of town?
Six generations of Sumner families are now scattered from Christchurch to London, Sydney to Vancouver. If you are travelling, book flights and accommodation early. October is a busy month in Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Know someone who should be here?
Forward this on. The best way we find people is through the people who already know them. If you have old photos, class lists or a story worth keeping, bring them or get in touch.
Come back. Reconnect. Share your story.
Sumner School / Te Kura o Matuku Takotako · Est. 1876 People · Learning · Place
Agenda
- 11:00 am
Tuesday 13 October | Sumner School in Action: 150 Years of Learning
Sumner School in Action: 150 Years of Learning A walk through the school on an ordinary school day. Nothing staged and nothing put on for visitors: classrooms mid lesson, kids at work, the school doing what it does every Tuesday morning. Walk the grounds, find your old classroom, and see what has changed and what has not. Some of it will be exactly as you left it. Some of it will not be there at all. Teaching has moved a long way in 150 years, and the best way to see that is to stand in a classroom and watch it happen. Around an hour. Free, but please book. We pace groups through the classrooms so the kids can keep working.
- 3:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Thursday 15 October | An Afternoon at the Laz, St Leonards Square
Community mixed touch tournament, and a drink on the sideline for everyone else. The club is as much a part of Sumner's story as the school is, and for most families it is the same story. More details to be sent separately including info if you would like to create and enter a team!
- 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Friday 16 October | 150 Stories: Ka Mua, Ka Muri (Official Welcome)
The official welcome, and the start of the 150th. You do not need to have gone to Sumner School to come to this. Whether you are back after thirty years away or you just live down the road, this afternoon is yours. The school has been part of this village for 150 years, and plenty of the story belongs to people who never sat in a classroom here. The official welcome. If you are coming back for the 150th, this is where it starts. 1.00pm. The welcome back. We open with a mihi whakatau, a formal welcome onto the school grounds, and we welcome you home properly. Ka mua, ka muri: we look to the past to guide what comes next. Nothing is asked of you except to be there. Arrive by 12.45pm so we can start together. From 1.30pm. The living museum. The school becomes an exhibition for the afternoon. Photographs, class lists, uniforms, objects and the stories behind them, room by room, across 150 years. Alongside it all, the work our tamariki have made this term. Walk through at your own pace, find your year, find your class, find yourself. If you have a memory worth keeping, someone will be there to write it down. 3.00pm to 5.00pm. He kōrero, he kai. Afternoon tea. Stay as long as you like and talk to people you have not seen in thirty years. Free. Book one ticket per person. Tamariki welcome.
- 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Saturday 17 October AM | The Homecoming Morning: He Huihuinga
The Homecoming: He Huihuinga The reunion morning. Past students, staff, whānau, PTA and board members, and anyone who has been part of this school. 10.00am. Welcome. A short welcome to open the morning. Then the school is yours for three hours. From 10.30am. Morning tea. Tea, coffee and something to eat, and a couple of hours to find people. Name tags include the years you were here, so nobody has to do the "sorry, remind me" dance. Walk the Story. The school laid out across 150 years, room by room. Follow it from 1876 to now, or go straight to your own decade and start there. Era and whānau photographs. Group photos by era, so everyone who was here in the 1960s stands together, then the 1970s, the 1980s and on. If your family has two or three generations who went to Sumner, we want that photo too. All photographs shared afterwards. Free, and bring the kids. We finish at 1.00pm, which leaves the afternoon clear before the gala.
- 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Saturday 17 October 6PM - 11PM | 150th Anniversary Gala
One room, 150 years of Sumner connection. The night the whole week has been building to. Doors at 6.00pm with a welcome drink on arrival. Hearty finger food throughout the evening, a cash bar, speeches kept short, and music you can dance to without having to shout over the top of it. It is a standing event with plenty of seating for anyone who wants it, so wear something you can move in. Around you: the people who were taught here, the families who raised them, the teachers who taught them, and the people who kept the school running behind the scenes. Some of them you will not have seen since primary school. Some you will see at pick-up on Monday. R18. Early bird tickets from $99, and the hall only holds so many. Tickets are priced to break even, and any surplus goes to the PTA.
FAQs
- Do I really need a ticket for the free events?
Yes please. It is the only way we know how many chairs, how much kai and how many name tags to have ready. It costs nothing and takes a minute.
- Can I come to just one thing?
Of course. Select whichever events you are coming to and leave the rest.
- Do I have to have gone to Sumner School?
No. Past students, families, staff, neighbours, local businesses, anyone who has been part of this school or this village. The gala is the only R18 event. Everything else is open to all ages.
- Can I bring my kids?
Yes, to everything except the gala, which is R18. Book them a ticket too so the numbers are right.
- What should I wear to the gala?
We are saying cocktail but make it something you can move in. It is a standing event with dancing, and plenty of seating for when you need it.
- I would rather not book online.
Email admin@sumner.school.nz or ring the school office and we will book you in. Nobody misses out because of a website.
- Will there be photos taken?
Yes, at all events, and they will be shared afterwards. If you would rather not be photographed, tell us on the day and we will make sure of it.
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