There was a major remodel of the school between December 1994 and June 1995 which at the time was the most significant changes on the school site for 25 years. Architects from Palmerston North and builders from Waipukurau redesigned the reception area of the school, modernised the staffroom, doubled the storage space, incorporated extra teaching spaces, built a new toilet block and medical room, added hot water, sink benches, carpet and display boards in classrooms and added a full length verandah to the front of the main block of classrooms. |
The school bell still used to signal break times has its own history: Originally the bell was erected over the Lutheran Church in South Norsewood circa 1900s. When the Lutheran Church was demolished in 1949, the bell was donated to St. Stephen’s Anglican Church and hung in a free standing belfry.
In 1968 the Anglican Church was destroyed by fire and the bell was stored until donated to St. Ansker’s Catholic Church. The bell was erected beside the church in the belfry from the empty Methodist Church. After the closure of St. Ansker’s in 1993, the bell and belfry were erected on the school site in June 1995, to be held in trust for the Norsewood Pioneer Cottage Museum. |