Makutu Kura Institution of Magic

**Makutu Kura Institution of Magic**, often shortened to **Makutu Kura**, is a wizarding school based in New Zealand.

## About

### Students

Makutu Kura has a mandatory school uniform, consisting of a red jumper with a wand embroidered onto its left breast, over a collared shirt of a plain light colour. Any other clothing choices are left to students.[?]

Students begin attending at the age of 13. There are approximately 16 students per year level.[?] Generic education at Makutu Kura normally lasts for five years — until the age of 18 — though of-age wixen can elect to drop out in fourth year if they wish. Students who stay on for sixth and seventh years at the school participate in a careers programme, earning them specialised qualifications for the wizarding career field of their choice.[?] As a result of the careers programme being optional, the student body is likelier to have a head count of ~88.

Aspiring students can run for prefect in fourth year. If they're elected by the rest of the student body, they are required to perform prefect duties for the remainder of their time at school, but are still eligible to graduate and, thus retire from the prefect position early, after their fifth year.[?] The school normally has around five prefects across the three eligible year levels.[?]

### Campus

The school's sprawling campus is hidden amongst the bush and spans a portion of Codfish Island, which it shares with muggle conservationists who oversee the recovery of the flightless *Kākāpō*. Specifically, it takes up the nor-east third; the Herbology Gardens are furthest west.[?] There is a large, old bell to the south which is rung to signify a change between classes.

Students arrive at and leave school via a bus. The school's bus stop is located on the north-east side of the campus, near a building housing administration, an owlery, the sick bay, and the principal's office.

The school is segregated from the rest of the island by a perimeter fence that may be enchanted.[?] Some muggle researchers are aware of the school's existence, and Principal Dole keeps them informed about notable goings-on during the year. Otherwise, the majority of muggles on the island are not aware of Makutu Kura.[?]

Student dormitories resemble campground cabins, with sometimes-absurd brick foundations. An L-shaped building will contain two rectangular dorms that house two students apiece. Each dormitory room is outfitted with a small bathroom at its end, to be maintained by its dorm's occupants (making two bathrooms per cabin).[?] Additionally, a small washing room joins the two dormitories in the L's corner, with magical washing machines that do not use soap.[?] More generic-use bathrooms can also be found around the school.[?]

Students are allowed to customise their living space, as they remain in the same dormitory for their time at school. This includes bringing furniture from home, which students can either leave at the school or take with them when they graduate. Though not officially acknowledged by the school, students barter furniture between dorms, because rooms inherited from predecessors often contain furniture not to the taste of their new owners. There exist a pair of students known as "the Beanbag Sisters", who are hoarding as many bean bags as they possibly can.[?]

Sometimes, graduating students leave their rooms laid out in a peculiar state, such as when Chester Hart's dorm's previous occupant left their bed stuck to the ceiling. It may also be the case that new students inherit worn-out furniture; in one case, this was to such a degree that the furniture item was disassembled after the use of *Finite*, as it had been held together entirely with magic.

Makutu Kura has a school library, just north of the classrooms and east of the dormitories. Originally this brick building is a single floor, with outside stairs onto a flat roof that had assorted chairs and tables. In 2011 it is renovated, swapping the reception desk out for a spiral staircase, and adding a tall second floor with two mezzanines for significantly more vertical space while preserving the lower floor and re-purposing it for senior students.[?]

### Curriculum

Makutu Kura has three types of classes: Core classes, Elective classes, and Careers classes.

**Core Classes** are mandatory for all students, and include subjects such as Herbology, Transfiguration, and Muggle Studies.[?] In some cases, a core class may no longer be taken by higher-years, as an advanced elective class covering the same subject will be made available. Any student who does not take the advanced elective will not be able to take the subject in any capacity.[?]

**Elective Classes** can be taken from third year onwards, and are more specific, designed to gear students towards a career path of their choice by taking the appropriate electives. Students must specify more electives than they can fit on their timetable, as the school only hires a teacher for an elective class when enough people sign up for it, so having a second option is necessary.[?]

Finally, **Careers Classes** are a step up, as while taking careers classes, one drops all of their core classes entirely. New careers classes exist to substitute for old core classes, such as *Advanced Herbology*, but students staying for career years are expected to take only the classes relevant to their stated target career.

### Schedule

Prior to the school year beginning, the school's campus has weather charms placed onto it, to maintain warmer and more consistent temperatures. These charms decay over the course of a semester, and in winter this can leave students feeling bitterly cold.[?] The charms do not affect phenomena such as precipitation beyond melting potential snowfall, and the island often sees a warm light rain.[?]

Makutu Kura begins its first term of the year on the Sunday closest to the end of January and the start of February; in 2010, this was **January 31st**.[?] Students are required to catch a bus in the morning in order to get to school. They attend a welcoming assembly, and then spend the day settling into dormitory cabins before classes begin on Monday.

Twice a year, the school holds parent-teacher conferences, which are not mandatory for parents to attend.

At some point through the year, the school hosts an annual *hāngī* (a Māori method for cooking food involving burying it with hot rocks in a ground oven, sometimes practised in gatherings). During her employment, Anahera Winiata tried to push for more frequent hāngī.[?]

At some point through the year, presumably in summer months, the school has an annual 'Fish and Chip day'. The majority of the student body moves to the beach in Sealers' Bay, and a select group of volunteers are sent to fish and chip shops to pick up large orders and then distribute them between beach-going groups.[?] Given the season, the beach day could be a celebratory post-exams event.[?]

All students will have ended their school year by, at the latest, **November 30th** of any given year.[?] Senior students leave school early, and graduating students even earlier, with the latter group receiving a dedicated fireworks display.

### Activities

The school has a student-run weekly newsletter, *Nga Korero*, which keeps readers informed about current events within the school. Until 2014, its head writer was Lalia Baldwin. Later, Isaac Fern stepped into the role.[?]

School alumni (students who graduate after their fifth, six, or seventh years) are welcome to visit students and faculty on most weekends.[?] They are somehow required to sign in,[?] which is done at Administration.

### Faculty

Several Herbology teachers have taught in a short space of time, this anomaly beginning in 2008 with the retirement of Professor Sparrow, and lasting until Professor Winiata was hired in 2012.[?] As well as a high turnover rate for Herbology (and to a lesser extent Potions), the school sees an infrequent cycle of teachers in most positions, especially teachers for elective classes.[?]

The school also 'employs' a ghost, who was an elderly grounds-keeper prior to his death. He does not speak or interact with people very much, only muttering in the presence of students he likes, and ignoring those he doesn't.[?] According to some students, the ghost is believed to be the one who rings the school bell.[?]

## History

In acknowledgement of the start of the 2010s, Principal Dole mentioned in the assembly at the start of the 2010 school year that the decade would be marked by change. Every year, Makutu Kura would try something new, as the school had remained largely the same for many years.

Main Article: 2010 School Year

Beginning in 2010, the principal officially endorsed school clubs, giving priority to significant club activities in the event of timetable conflicts. This came with the caveat of requiring clubs to propose such activities to the school and only perform them if accepted, as well as letting teachers sit in on club meetings as they see fit.

### Library Renovations

Main Article: 2011 School Year

The second of Principal Dole's yearly changes include an announced renovation to the school's very old library. While renovations are completed, the school's book trading is brought to a grinding halt, and students find themselves only able to take out books that are immediately relevant to their coursework.[?]

Indeed, for the first couple of weeks in, students are unable to interface with the library entirely: A severe storm toppled the building over during the holidays, and hired teams are still cleaning up debris. While students can eventually take out only those books relevant to their coursework, the storm throws doubt on the proposed building's stability, and for a while longer, no progress is made.

Other notable events of the year include new potions teacher Professor Sand suffering a stroke whilst supervising the Year 2 end-of-year potions exam.

### Study Groups and The Flying Kiwi

Main Article: 2012 School Year/See Also: Josef Thorson's Kiwi

In 2012, the school attempted to introduce mandatory study groups. By the end of the second week of implementation, the concept was disbanded entirely.[?]

Later that year, a dragon-kiwi hybrid got loose on Codfish Island and needed to be captured. The principal advised students to tell a teacher if they saw it, however many took it upon themselves to single-handedly attempt to catch it. Students' surprise at its appearance, and tendency to abandon whatever they were doing to chase after it, resulted in a series of chaotic accidents, such as January Hundley's cauldron exploding.

### School Spirit Competition

Main Article: School Spirit Competition/See Also: 2013 School Year

For 2013, Makutu Kura held a school-wide competition called the 'School Spirit Competition'. Every student was invited to participate, and the winner of the competition would be able to partake in a cultural exchange visit with a magical school from another country.[?] Students had the year to learn and perform a "fine display of magic". While not every student competed, the school faculty managed to drum up enough interest that the competition was talked about for most of the year.

Notably, Miller McArthur managed to permanently turn his hair red one day while coming up with a potential way to win the competition.

### Cold Month

Main Article: 2014 School Year

In 2014, the school allowed the use of non-magical pens, pencils, and paper as writing utensils in addition to quill and parchment. The change was initially received very poorly by traditionalists, though over the following years, a majority percentage of work would be submitted pen-and-paper.[?]

This year, the school's weather charms wore off a month early at the same time as Codfish Island saw unusual amounts of snowfall. Students, used to the warmer temperatures provided by the charms, were caught by surprise and experienced an unpleasant June.[?] For a time, a temporary internal Floo network was established around the school so students could get around.[?] On the last day of term, Students had warmed to the snow enough that a large snowball fight ensued.[?]

By the time students returned from holiday, the school was back to normal, if a little warmer thanks to doubly-cast weather charms.

### Houses

It is not known when, but one year Makutu Kura introduces a house system to its students. Students received patches representing their house, to be sewn onto their uniform. The houses do not have any significant effect as everybody forgets about them, and by the next year, new students are not placed into houses.[?]

### The Kakapo

It is not known when, but at some point, a student (currently known to be Dallas Hall) somehow hexes one of Codfish Island's Kakapo, presumably as it strays near to the school fence.[?] The student is immediately suspended and a school assembly is held, with Principal Dole stressing the fact that the endangered parrot is *endangered*, and promising extremely dire consequences should anyone else think about turning their wand on the wildlife.[?]

## Other

### Trivia

* It is not known when the school was built, but there exists a picture of its construction.[?]

### Etymology

In Māori, "Mākutu" is said to mean 'Witchcraft' or 'Magic' and "Kura" can refer to a school or place of education. This would make the full name of the school, "Witchcraft Education Institution of Magic". For reasons absolutely nobody can ascertain, some students have found the name to be nonsensical and wish for it to be changed.[?]

### References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1  "Chapter 3" - **The Gifted School**
2. ↑  "Chapter 1" - **The Gifted School**
3. ↑  "Chapter 4" - **The Gifted School**
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 20/08/2019 - "Joel Sand" - *Practice Fic*
5. ↑ 24/10/2020 - "Who Wrote the Coursework?" - *Practice Fic*
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 03/01/2020 - "Year 1 Day 1 Redux Again" - *Practice Fic*
7. ↑ 11/12/2020 - "Beach Day" - *Practice Fic*
8. ↑ 24/10/2020 - "The Very Dangerous Beast that's Currently Loose on the Grounds" - *Practice Fic*
9. ↑ Māori Dictionary Entry for "Mākutu" *(link)*
10. ↑ Māori Dictionary Entry for "kura" *(link)*

### Notes

1. ↑ 16 students per year level. 16 \* 5.5 = 88; using this value instead of 16 \* 7 = 112

 Other