Our School

Macraes Moonlight School

Macraes Moonlight School, in partnership with the community, provides educational opportunities to meet the needs of our children, in preparation for lifelong learning. The school is a Decile 10, full primary school (Year 0-8) located in the small village of Macraes, in East Otago. The school provides a focal point for the community, which incorporates the areas of Macraes, Moonlight, Nenthorn and Horse Flat. Traditionally a farming community, considerable change has occurred over the past 25-30 years with Oceana Gold Ltd establishing a large mining operation in the area. Macraes is located inland from Palmerston, at the gateway to Maniototo and Central Otago, and is a similar distance from Oamaru as it is from Dunedin.

The current roll is 17 students, with nine students in the senior room (Year 3-6) and eight in the junior room (Year 0-2). We are well resourced with two equivalent full time teachers, one being funded by the BOT and community. This is guaranteed for 2017, and we are committed to seeing it continue beyond this date. Buildings consist of two adjoining classrooms, a small library and office. Plans for an upgrade of our buildings and facilities are in place and we are expecting the first step in this development to happen before the beginning of 2017. The school has a covered, heated swimming pool on site, an adventure playground, tennis courts, basketball court and large grounds within and adjacent to the school property. The community pavilion, also adjacent to the school, hosts a weekly Playgroup session, which currently has a strong roll to feed into the school in the near future.