Papakura Normal School wins Big Little Sponsorship
Auckland – 13 August 2018 – The 676 pupils at Papakura Normal School discovered today they have received a major sporting boost from AA Insurance.
At a special assembly this morning, attended by representatives of AA Insurance, Eden Park and former All Black, Keven
Mealamu, the school was presented with $10,000 worth of sports equipment and a design plan for a sports turf upgrade
from the groundskeepers at Eden Park. A group of 20 lucky students from the winning school will also get a VIP tour of
Eden Park.
‘The Big Little Sponsorship – a Big Deal for Little Teams’ was created by AA Insurance with support from Eden Park
Trust. Over six weeks the programme received more than 852 nominations for 160 deserving primary schools all over
Auckland. Nominations came from a variety of people within the community, teachers, parents, and even a group of
students practising their persuasive writing skills by submitting nominations for their school.
The panel of judges had a tough job choosing a winner from the 10 finalists, but Papakura Normal School stood out for
the breadth of nominations – from the principal, board of trustees and parents at the school. And in a happy
coincidence, the pupils at Papakura Normal School had previously identified Keven as a role model in the community they
looked up to.
Principal Derek Linington says the school has just built a new PE shed, but had no money to buy equipment to fill it.
“Sport and fitness are important to the school community and the shortage of equipment and uniforms has not held the
kids back from performing incredibly well.”
Despite lacking a marked field or even goal posts, Papakura Normal’s rugby team trained for and won their Counties
Manukau competition and are now training for the Auckland championships.
Melodie Vickars, Sponsorship Manager at AA Insurance, says it was clear from the nominations that sport plays a really
important role in primary schools.
“Sport helps to keep kids active, learn to work in teams and builds confidence. Many schools noted how important sport
is in balancing the level of interaction kids have with technology. We hope this initiative will help the pupils at
Papakura Normal School continue to achieve their fullest potential, on and off the sports field.”
Over the coming months, Blair Christiansen and his team of groundskeepers from Eden Park will spend time at the school
aerating, fertilising and marking out the school’s sports field to complete the prize package.
Runner up, Owairaka Primary School, will receive a $3,000 grant towards sports equipment and resources.