Image supplied by Chisnallwood Intermediate
<h4><a href="https://www.chisnallwood.school.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chisnallwood Intermediate</a> stands deep in the eastern suburbs of Christchurch, just minutes from the banks of the Avon River | Ōtākaro. </h4>
<p>Around the corner, the rows of everyday suburban houses that surround the school abruptly give way to green fields, broken only by mature trees and towering powerlines. The trees rise in neat lines, tracing the ghosts of property boundaries and old driveways.</p>
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<p>This is Christchurch’s residential red zone, an area around the Avon that experienced severe damage from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. In 2006, the population of the Ōtākaro-Avon River Corridor, which encompasses most of the red zone, was over 10,000. Now, the population is estimated at less than a hundred. </p>
<p>Despite the gravity and impact of the Christchurch earthquakes on the community, Chisnallwood Intermediate’s story is not one of tragedy and loss, but rather one of endurance, determination and excellence. </p>
<p>Today, Chisnallwood Intermediate, known locally as “Chisssy”, has over 400 students despite efforts to enforce roll reductions. Around 50 percent of students are from out of zone, and the demographic makeup of the school is reflective of wider Christchurch&#8217;s diverse communities.</p>
<figure id="attachment_34230" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34230" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img class="wp-image-34230 size-medium" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SN70-EDU-Profile-Principal-Todd-Blake-HS-300x300.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-34230" class="wp-caption-text">Principal Todd Blake</figcaption></figure>
<p>Principal Todd Blake describes Chisnallwood’s situation as “unique” and says students continue to come to Chisnallwood because of its reputation as a school of choice and opportunities. </p>
<p>The school’s music program is particularly well known, and long-time music teacher Judith Bell has recently been recognised with a New Zealand Order of Merit. After decades of service, Ms Bell is now the jazz director at Chisnallwood, and Emma Jarman has taken over as music director. </p>
<h4>Thank you for the music </h4>
<p>Following the quakes, although the school lost its international students and many of its families were displaced, the roll fell only marginally. Ms Bell has been with the school since the turn of the century, and she remembers the post-quake period. </p>
<p>“A lot of people moved out of the area, and you think that would plummet our roll significantly&#8230; but we only lost a hundred because people came from miles away. </p>
<p>“They were displaced from their homes, but they still chose to come to Chisnallwood and travel past other schools because of what Chisnallwood was offering. </p>
<p>“From my perspective, some chose to go for the music, which surprised me because I thought that would be the first thing people stopped valuing after the earthquakes.” </p>
<p>Far from it. A paper co-authored by Ms Bell and Tim Bell shortly after the earthquakes shows that by the end of 2011, there were 65 <em>more</em> students on the music roll. Only one student discontinued their music lessons, with many expressing impatience to return to music post-quake(s). That year, the jazz group performed exceptionally on the local and national stage, winning more than usual awards against high school ensembles, reflecting students’ higher motivation and effort. </p>
<figure id="attachment_34231" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34231" style="width: 450px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-34231" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SN70-EDU-Profile-Judith-Bell-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="300" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-34231" class="wp-caption-text">Jazz Director Judith Bell</figcaption></figure>
<p>“Students had severe damage to their homes, the earthquake damage caused financial hardship, and the school itself was closed for several weeks&#8230; [but] It became apparent that participation in the music programs provided the students with routine and motivation in the midst of a lot of change and uncertainty in other aspects of their lives,” reads the paper. </p>
<p>Shortly after, John Key’s National Government proposed merging Chisnallwood Intermediate and four others into a “super-school”. Chisnallwood and one other school opposed the merger, but only Chisnallwood Intermediate was successful. When then education minister, Hekia Parata, announced in 2013 that Chisnallwood Intermediate would remain open, <em>The New Zealand Herald</em> reported “around 800 students, staff and parents clapped and cheered”. </p>
<p>Principal at the time, Richard Paton, said the school community was “over the moon. </p>
<p>“The support of everybody in the community has been overwhelming, and the nice thing is that they&#8217;ve got the result they wanted, and as a school, it&#8217;s up to us now to work with them and give them the best opportunities they could ever wish for.&#8221; </p>
<h4>A place of opportunity </h4>
<p>Opportunities is a word that comes up frequently when speaking to the staff of Chisnallwood Intermediate. Mr Blake, Ms Bell and Ms Jarman all emphasised how crucial it was for intermediate-aged children to be given opportunity. Opportunities, they explain, are crucial for building self-confidence, agency and motivation for this age-group, which enables them to excel at intermediate and beyond. It’s evident that each staff member at Chisnallwood Intermediate has a passion for working with pre-teens and meeting their specific needs.</p>
<p>“What sets Chisnallwood apart is that it’s more like a junior high than an upper primary because of the specialism,” says Ms Bell. </p>
<p>“When you&#8217;ve got specialism, you’ve got the chance for kids to meet other kindred spirits and form those bonds and encourage each other, to make friendships and build the confidence to grow in the passion they might not have realised they had.”</p>
<figure id="attachment_34232" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34232" style="width: 509px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-34232 " src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SN70-EDU-Profile-2-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="509" height="340" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-34232" class="wp-caption-text">Image supplied by Chisnallwood Intermediate</figcaption></figure>
<p>Mr Blake agrees. He began as a teacher at Chisnallwood in 2005, became Deputy Principal in 2015 and Principal this year. Mr Blake says when he first arrived, he was “blown away” by the opportunities Chisnallwood was able to offer students. The music program is one example, but the school also has two purpose-built science labs, and a dedicated offsite EOTC facility. </p>
<p>“Because it’s such an important time in their growth—socially, emotionally, developmentally, psychologically—an intermediate [school context] is the only way to be able to provide them what they need, in my opinion,” says Mr Blake. </p>
<p>Recently, the school has paused to reevaluate those needs, seeking feedback from the community. Now, the school’s strategic goals centre on cultural consciousness, and wellbeing and hauora. </p>
<p>Ms Jarman is relatively new to Chisnallwood, having started earlier this year. She believes opportunities for intermediate age students outside Chisnallwood to build confidence, and social skills can be relatively limited. </p>
<p>“We’re supporting students to be really resilient and develop confidence in themselves to put themselves out there and in front of people. </p>
<p>“It’s absolutely amazing how much development you see in a student at this level in the two years you have. I know there’s a lot of high schools that love getting Chissy kids because&#8230; they’ve got a really good, strong foundation, and they come as confident learners.” </p>
<p>Ms Jarman says one example is that Chisnallwood Intermediate encourages their students to take charge of their own learning, and therefore push themselves past old limits. The staff have high expectations of students, and many rise to meet them. </p>
<p>“One of the wonderful things I haven’t seen happen at any other school is that students get the opportunity to explore extension projects here, so they can come up with a proposal of something they’d really like to do, and given a chance to run with it. There’s no ‘oh, there won’t be time for that’&#8230;kids haven’t been shut down [and] kids aren’t afraid to make mistakes. </p>
<p>“The intermediate years are a really, really good opportunity to be exploring and finding out more about yourself and what you’re capable of.”</p>
<figure id="attachment_34233" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34233" style="width: 462px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-34233 " src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SN70-EDU-Profile-4-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="462" height="346" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-34233" class="wp-caption-text">Image supplied by Chisnallwood Intermediate</figcaption></figure>
<h4>More than just learning an instrument </h4>
<p>Ms Bell began teaching music at Chisnallwood in 1999 out of support for her son, who was attending at the time. She said almost immediately, she could see “what the needs were, and what the potential was; it was kind of glaringly obvious. </p>
<p>“[The students] had potential that hadn’t been unlocked, that’s all. They’re quite capable. That’s the cool thing about this age group. I discovered really quickly, like preschool years, they’re underestimated. I saw the value of giving them opportunities, and it really motivated me.” </p>
<p>The first year under Ms Bells’ guidance saw Chisnallwood’s rock band—its first ever—perform exceptionally well, placing in regional finals. From there, the music program grew exponentially.</p>
<p>Ms Bell sourced second-hand instruments and began a hire scheme to finance the program. With the growing success of the music program, Ms Bell was supported by the principal and board to design and construct a music suite in 2005. Though Ms Bell maintains the teaching is the most important aspect, she says the suite &#8220;changed everything”. More than additional space for lessons, students flourished given the space to develop their practice.</p>
<figure id="attachment_34234" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34234" style="width: 266px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img class=" wp-image-34234" src="https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SN70-EDU-Profile-3-239x300.jpg" alt="" width="266" height="334" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-34234" class="wp-caption-text">Image supplied by Chisnallwood Intermediate</figcaption></figure>
<p>Ms Jarman says the suite is so well designed, it has withstood the test of time. As well as space for breakout sessions, the music suite was designed with ample storage for the range of instruments held by the school for hire. That’s crucial to the program, says Ms Jarman, as it removes a significant barrier. </p>
<p>“The cost of living is not getting any cheaper, so it’s nice to make sure here, any child can do music, which I think is really important. And I love that it’s so well supported by the rest of the teachers here as well&#8230; they’re happy for you to ring and remind their student to come over. It’s really special because [teachers] understand the vision of this school, and everybody’s really supportive.” </p>
<p>Now, the music program has eleven itinerant teachers in addition to Ms Jarman and Ms Bell. Half the students take itinerant lessons, where they have the choice of 19 instruments for weekly lessons. Over the years, specialists have been brought in to meet student needs, from beatboxing to bagpipes.</p>
<p>In addition, there are 16 free music groups to participate in, ranging from all-comers orchestra, bands, songwriting and sound-tech, to taonga puoro, kapa haka and Pasifika groups, to the school’s high-performing jazz band and combo. Across the year, every student will have a chance to participate in music in some form, and there is a sponsorship fund to assist students with financial barriers. </p>
<p>At Chisnallwood Intermediate, the opportunity to learn music is about so much more than learning an instrument, says Ms Jarman. </p>
<p>“There’s countless amounts of research to show music helps with brain development, opens up different pathways, and it just makes students so much more resilient, disciplined, gives them a wider perspective, appreciation for other people, learning to compromise, all these other skills that we want young people to have. </p>
<p>“Being reliable, being accountable for their own mahi, we’re doing all those things all the time in music. It has wonderful impacts on their wellbeing as well—it&#8217;s an outlet for them. Not every student is going to be a concert pianist&#8230; but it’s hard to sum up just how incredibly valuable music is.” </p>

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