An Auckland principal is urging locals to keep an eye out for "anything untoward" after vandals broke into the school over the Easter weekend, covering the walls in explicit graffiti and stealing property.
Kris Hughes, the principal of Riverhead School in the region's north-west, said the offenders "covered the walls" in graphic drawings and phrases as part of a crime spree that saw speakers stolen and furniture removed and placed on top of the playground.
The vandals also ran off with eggs from the school's chicken coop - a devastating blow for older students, who had been selling them to Riverhead residents as part of a project designed to teach them about entrepreneurship.
Hughes said the vandalism and thefts were reported by a staff member who'd gone to check on the eggs on Easter Saturday.
"It's really, really unusual for our school," Hughes told Newshub. "We're not used to vandalism; we have a tight community that are proud of our school."
Hughes said the school's caretaker came in on his day off on Saturday to clean off about 150 "explicit drawings and inappropriate phrases" that had been emblazoned on the walls, so students wouldn't have to see them.
Staffers aren't sure who's behind the vandalism, but at this stage the school is opting not to involve police, preferring to deal with the issue in-house.
Hughes said they will be looking at CCTV footage.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, the school urged Riverhead residents to keep on the lookout for anything suspicious.
"We are so disappointed that we have had a case of extreme vandalism at our school over the Easter break," it read.
"The graffiti, furniture removal and theft of the chicken eggs (which also puts our chickens at risk) is extremely disheartening especially due to the extent of the damage done to our school.
"Please keep an eye and an ear open over the break times and let us know (and the police) if you see anything untoward."
