Aotearoa Infinite Academy has officially begun classes, welcoming over 300 students into live learning with expert teachers, following an intensive orientation week for our amazing students, whanau and faculty.
For many families choosing a new school and for teachers too beginning with new students, orientation has allowed us to smooth the pathway ahead for quality learning. Our priority was to ensure students and parents felt confident, connected and set up for successful learning.
Welcoming Our First Cohort
On Tuesday 27 February, Aotearoa Infinite Academy officially welcomed its first cohort of students in Years 9–12 to our virtual campus. Students logged in from across the country, stepping into a learning environment designed to be flexible, personalised and friendly, without the limits of physical walls.
For parents, this marked the beginning of a new rhythm: one where learning happens online, but relationships, structure, and high expectations remain firmly in place.
Orientation Week: Setting Students Up for Success
Orientation week was designed with one clear goal in mind: to ensure students and families felt confident, supported, and excited before formal classes began.
The week opened with a school-wide virtual assembly, giving families the opportunity to explore the online learning environment together. From there, students moved into smaller group sessions that focused on:
Throughout the week, students were guided by their teachers as they learned how to navigate the platform, connect with peers, and settle into the rhythms of online schooling.
A Virtual Social Across Infinite’s Campus
Some of the most popular moments of orientation were those that allowed students to simply be themselves.
To close out the week, we hosted a virtual social, attended by over 200 students alongside their teachers. What stood out most wasn’t just the hundreds of smiling faces on screen, it was the engagement and the energy.
Students jumped into ice-breaker games, scavenger hunts, and shared reflections through interactive activities like word clouds. From the very first week, students demonstrated a genuine willingness to form positive connections, reflect on their learning, and grow together as a community.
For a school that exists online, these moments mattered — they showed that connection doesn’t depend on a physical classroom.
As a finale to orientation week, we released a talent quest showreel from our amazing students and teachers, showcasing creativity, confidence, and courage. These submissions spanned sports like equestrian, gymnastics, dance, figure skating, motocross, artistry including illustration, mural-painting and nail design, classical music performances and poetry among many others.
With orientation complete and relationships already forming, classes officially began this week, and the momentum has been infectious.
Students are now settling into live lessons, meeting regularly with their teachers, and beginning the academic journey they’ll continue throughout the year.
On Monday 2 February, national TV program Seven Sharp aired a feature on Infinite Academy family, the “Timaru triplets” Mila, Luca and Anton, joined by Principal Saira Boyle.
Teen Anton says: “The timetable is suited for teenagers. A couple of days you might start later and then a couple of days, start earlier but with a lot of gaps between subjects so it gives us a big opportunity to do whatever really.”
At 15, Luca revealed how he has the flexibility to run his barber shop business from home, while Mila announced her successful black belt achievement (alongside her brothers) and among them, there is also a pilot-in-training.
Father Anton shares, “Our choice was not a failure of the system, to be clear. It was to choose something else. Something that suited our children better. They have different learning styles, they have different learning speeds.”
They did not want to have to consider a 2-hr from home boarding school, or to leave Anton’s GP practice in a rural area with a chronic GP shortage.
“One of the things I do see as a GP. I see how young people become disengaged from the system. How stress and anxiety allows them not to perform,” Anton said.
For parents, this first week offers reassurance:
We are so grateful to the families who have placed their trust in Aotearoa Infinite Academy. Thank you for partnering with us as we reimagine what school can look like - flexible, inclusive, and designed around students.
The government has since given the go-ahead for our school to add additional seats to enrol 450 students for Term 1 this year. We cannot wait to see our school continue to grow.
Here’s to a strong start, a connected community, and an exciting year ahead. 🌿