CURRICULUM

What is English about?

In the English learning area, students study, use and engage with language and texts. 

Literacy in English is critical for students to be able to engage succesfully with all curriculum learning areas. Being literate and mastering foundations of oral and written language enable students to be confident and competent learners across the curriculum.

Numeracy is defined as: the bridge between mathematics and daily life. It includes the knowledge and skills needed to apply mathematics to everyday family and financial matters, learning, work and community tasks, social and leisure activities. 

Numeracy is basically numerical literacy. 

To have good numeracy skills means you have an ability to reason and work with numbers and be able to use and understand other mathematical concepts. 

Mathematics

Classroom programmes incorporate a strong focus on number, while other mathematics strands will be taught  throughout the year.

Mathematics is taught daily. Students at risk are identified and appropriate programmes are put in place for them.

Pūtaiao / Science education aims to equip all ākonga with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to become responsible and informed members of, and consequently positive and productive contributors to New Zealand’s economy and future.

The NZ curriculum provides the framework for planning and making decisions about a school’s science programme. However, to keep the learning authentic and meaningful, our school community is charged with ensuring their science scheme is local and specific to the needs of all ākonga.

Science is both a process of enquiry and a body of knowledge; it is an integrated discipline. Therefore the development of scientific skills and attitudes is inextricably linked to the development of ideas (knowledge) in science

The New Zealand Curriculum describes the purpose Social Science as follows:

Through the social sciences, students develop the knowledge and skills to enable them to: better understand, participate in, and contribute to the local, national, and global communities in which they live and work; engage critically with societal issues; and evaluate the sustainability of alternative social, economic, political, and environmental practices.

Our goal at our school is to ensure that students understand who they are, and how they fit into the world around them. 

We honour the Treaty of Waitangi and the bi-cultural foundation of Aotearoa, New Zealand, while exploring the multicultural nature of Aotearoa and our school. Our learning focuses on conceptual understanding using an inquiry process to explore the past present and future with an emphasis of sparking interest and engagement that leads to more personalised inquiry. 

Te Reo Māori me ona Tikanga

“The New Zealand curriculum acknowledges the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand. All students have the opportunity to acquire knowledge of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga”.

At our school we have worked diligently, for a number of years, to ensure that Te Reo Māori me ona Tikanga are being acknowledged in appropriate ways and that our students have an appreciation and understanding of the importance of the bi-cultural nature of Aotearoa. 

Add further details of Te Reo teachings, Kapa Haka, Whānau consultation and support, Teaching pedagogies that support Māori Learners

What is health and physical education about?

He oranga ngākau, he pikinga waiora.

In health and physical education, the focus is on the well-being of the students themselves, of other people, and of society through learning in health-related and movement contexts.

Four underlying and interdependent concepts are at the heart of this learning area:

• Hauora1 – a Māori philosophy of well-being that includes the dimensions taha wairua, taha hinengaro, taha tinana, and taha whānau, each one influencing and supporting the others.

• Attitudes and values – a positive, responsible attitude on the part of students to their own well-being; respect, care, and concern for other people and the environment; and a sense of social justice.

• The socio-ecological perspective – a way of viewing and understanding the interrelationships that exist between the individual, others, and society.

• Health promotion – a process that helps to develop and maintain supportive physical and emotional environments and that involves students in personal and collective action.

Technology - Hangarau

Knowledge and skills in technology are learned in context together with other curriculum areas including Literacy and Numeracy. Graphics and other forms of visual representation offer important tools for exploration and communication. Adaptation and innovation are at the heart of the technological practice.

What are the arts about?

Te toi whakairo, ka ihiihi, ka wehiwehi, ka aweawe te ao katoa.

The arts are powerful forms of expression that recognise, value, and contribute to the unique bicultural and multicultural character of Aotearoa New Zealand, enriching the lives of all New Zealanders. 

The arts have their own distinct languages that use both verbal and non-verbal conventions, mediated by selected processes and technologies. Through movement, sound, and image, the arts transform people’s creative ideas into expressive works that communicate layered meanings.

The arts learning area comprises four disciplines: dance, drama, music – sound arts, and visual arts. 

Within each, students develop literacies as they build on skills, knowledge, attitudes, and understandings at each of the eight levels of the curriculum. Through arts practices and the use of traditional and new technologies, students’ artistic ideas are generated and refined through cycles of action and reflection.