Otumoetai College - Otumoetai College Motto

Otumoetai College Motto

The Otumoetai school motto is detailed within the school emblem which can be found not only on the uniform but within numerous places around the school. “It was designed by Mr F Graham and embodies three concepts” (Farthing, 2005, p1). The aphorism ‘Doctrina Vitam Illuminet’ means ‘let learning enlighten life’ and symbolises the idea that education is not only a process of gaining qualifications and going through your paces day by day in the effort to gain a job or career but “one which should bring us wisdom and so improve the quality of our lives and of the world in which we live” (Farthing, 2005, p1). The emblem entails three concepts or symbols; the torch with its red flame, the star beneath the torch and the silver waves on the dark blue background, each symbolising and holding its own meaning.

“The silver torch with its red flame standing on a forest green background, depicts the light of learning to be kept burning and handed on from generation to generation. The star beneath the torch is the heraldic recognition of Otumoetai as the third college in the community, and the silver waves on the dark blue background represent the quiet waters of the estuary near the college” (Farthing, 2005, p1).