The school is part of of a Spud in a Bucket programme initiated by Tahuri Whenua, the National Maori Vegetable Growers Collective.
The programme was launched in Hawkes Bay in 2006 as a trial and, this year, 13 schools in Otago-Southland will take part, including Hampden, Totara and Kakanui.
Tahuri Whenua member Jim O'Gorman said it was being given a big push this year as it was the United Nations Year of the Potato.
Maori potatoes were being used for the project.
It was not a competition and it was not about the "biggest and best".
It was about the joy of growing something, achieving an outcome and sharing with others at the end of the process, Mr O'Gorman said.
The pupils, who were responsible for their own bucket, were learning how to grow vegetables, learning some Maori history and getting to do some science, he said.
On Monday, Bobb Burton, of Fenlands Organics, at Hampden, will talk about potatoes at the Oamaru Library from 12.30pm-1.30pm as part of Library Week celebrations.
