Life at Te Uki Ou

Culture and Reo Māori

As a Cook Islands school our culture is our foundation. Aunty Sai is Api'i Te Uki Ou's Culture and Reo leader. She is supported by Aunty Nia. Together, they ensure our peu Māori (culture and custom) and reo (language) are taught across all year levels and that our tamariki are connected and to our island home.

Kia ʻākāra atu tātou ki mua, kia tāmou rai tātou i tō tātou peu Māori, tei tauturu ia tātou kia kite e ko'ai tātou, e nō'ea mai tātou, noātu te ngāʻi ka aere tātou i te ao nei. Ko tō tātou akamoeauʻanga te tūranga o tō tātou ʻāpiʻi.

As we look to the future, may we hold fast to our Cook Islands culture, which sustains us and helps us know who we are and where we come from, no matter where we go in the world. Our heritage is the foundation of our school.

Student Leadership

We believe in nurturing the next generation of changemakers by providing meaningful leadership opportunities, such as our house leaders and prefects, and we invite you to read an inspiring message below from this year's Head Prefects.

"We are proud and honored to stand as student leaders for Api’i Te Uki Ou. To us, being head prefects isn't about a title or a name tag. It is about being responsible, approachable leaders inside and out, wherever we are.
True leadership isn't about being 'the boss.' It is about representing, supporting and helping our friends, other students and staff maintain a safe, fun and positive learning environment. We love seeing our school vibrant and full of life. Our ultimate goal this year is to ensure Api’i Te Uki Ou is a place where every student feels at home, valued and part of a great school community."

Head Prefects 2026 - Inano Urirau and Tiana Bamber

Sports

Sports and physical activity are an essential part of school life, helping our tamariki build character, teamwork and resilience. Our physical education and health program is led by Coach Monga, who keeps our kids active and developing their skills, while Whaea Liz coordinates all of our sporting events throughout the year.

Thanks to their guidance and the dedication of our students, we proudly participate in a wide range of competitions:

Vaka Takitumu Rippa Rugby: Our teams enjoyed wonderful success recently, securing back-to-back championship titles in both 2025 and 2026.
Historic AIMS Games Journey: In 2025, Api'i Te Uki Ou made history as the first ever school from the Cook Islands to attend the prestigious Zespri AIMS Games in New Zealand. Our students competed in Rip Rugby and proudly shared our culture.

Whether playing at home or representing our nation abroad, our young athletes play with heart, fair play and school pride. We also acknowledge parents and our community members who come in to coach and help train and lead our sports team. We couldn't do it without the love and dedication of our amazing school community.

EOTC and Technology

Our Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) philosophy uses hands-on experiences to build understanding, resilience, creative and critical thinking and real-world skills with our students - and have fun. Through community collaboration, our students may learn directly alongside elders, artists, scientists and local businesses.

A great example of this is our Year 9 Biodiversity and Enterprise Project this year. Students researched endemic Cook Islands flora and fauna with community experts, designed traditional akairo (motif) prints of their chosen species, and hand carved them into lino blocks. They then printed these designs onto t-shirts as a real-world business project.

By combining technology, science and the arts, we show our tamariki how classroom learning connects directly to the vibrant opportunities in the world around them.