The school’s 108 pupils, whānau, the wider Waihemo community and special guests gathered on Monday morning for a blessing, dedication and ribbon cutting.
Principal Kerry Forse paid tribute to her teaching staff and a board whose unstinting effort represented more than two years’ work.
"It began as a complete refurbishment and an accessibility toilet but as it all started, and funds became an issue, the board has actually put in considerable amounts of money," she said.
Now, the junior school had a teaching environment designed to be "a very calm, natural learning space".
While a few final touches to be done next term, the project was all but complete.
Underlying utility aspects of the building had been futureproofed to allow for the addition of other accessibility services, without the need to pull everything apart again.
In the project, an old toilet block was also gutted to install a mobility shower alongside a new special toilet area.
Internal painting in a calm neutral tone gave the whole junior block a calm feel, complemented by natural furnishings and homely breakout spaces.
Installation of wool carpet, not Ministry of Education-funded, had been integral and possible after the board gained a $17,000 grant from the Kiwi Gaming Foundation.
Whaea Kerry said the individual "breakout" spaces in each classroom area would be of particular benefit to enable the school to use specialised teaching resources where tailored approaches were used for individual pupils, particularly literacy, learning capacity and wellbeing.
