Class Whanau
Harakeke: Y0 - 1
Harakeke is made up of Year 1 students who start their school year with us between January and June 2023, and then Year 0 students who start their school year between July and December 2023.
Xandra Boswell teaches in Harakeke for four days per week and Kura Firth works for one day per week.
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In 2023 we are looking forward to implementing the Ministry of Education’s ‘Better Start Literacy’ reading programme.
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During writing we love to have shared experiences that feed into our programme - our passion is to encourage students to develop their personal voice - what do they think and how do they feel?
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For our numeracy programme we use the University of Oxford’s Numicon programme and resources, which we find gives students a fantastic foundation in maths.
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Celebrating and learning about our classroom community’s cultural diversity is always a highlight and priority, which we explore through drama, history, art, oral language and storytelling.
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We also love science inquiries and are big fans of the ‘House of Science’ kits because they enable all our students to have hands-on experiences. Learning how to carefully notice by using all their senses, helps students become more curious. We then explore their great questions together.
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Brain-breaks and fitness is always a fun time involving physical games and dance. Our classroom is incredibly well resourced for imaginative play and developing fine and gross motor skills in a practical and engaging way.
Pohutukawa: Y1-2
Our Pohutukawa whanau is made up of Year 1 and 2 students. In our learning space this year we have 4 experienced teachers in our team: Janessa, Zeenat, Mel and Kura. There will be 2 teachers in class throughout the day with your tamariki | children.
Our mornings start with Play based learning activities where you will see students working on gross motor skill activities in our outside space as well as having plenty of indoor options to choose from like craft, puzzles, games and reading. This is a wonderful time for students to gently settle into school and reconnect with their peers. Provocations are set up in response to children's interests as well as providing opportunities to explore new activities.
Students move between our two learning spaces and work with both teachers. Teachers plan and teach collaboratively which enables us to draw on our individual strengths to provide an exciting programme for our tamariki.
This year we introduced a new literacy programme called Better Start Literacy Approach. This is a structured approach to literacy for Year 0 to Year 2 students, to support early reading, writing and oral language successes.
Numeracy is explicitly taught and explored through the Numicon programme. Numicon has a cyclical approach where mathematical ideas and concepts are revisited.
This year we have implemented the new History Curriculum and are exploring our local history. We also love the House of Science kits. Throughout the year we explore our CQS Values where we unpack active learning; other people, ourselves and our community.
Karaka: Y3 - 4
Karaka is a Year 3 and 4 class with our fabulous teachers Anne Gordon and Jayne Ruiter.
Our school values are a major focus. We support children developing independence and self management skills. As teachers, we provide the children lots of opportunities to work in a range of ways such as whole class, in groups, pairs or independently to build upon these values.
Karaka is organised into home classes to foster a sense of whanaungatanga (community). We spend the first part of the year exclusively with our home class teachers, developing relationships and getting to know each other so we can provide support and extend students. The home classes are a first point of contact for parents and whānau. When they are ready, students will work across the spaces in Karaka and with any teacher.
As teachers, we plan and teach cooperatively and collaboratively to access the strengths of our team. Between us we have skills and interests in a range of learning areas such as P.E., music, art, drama, dance, te reo Māori and digital technology.
Ngaio: Y5 - 6
Anya and Joseph are keen to provide an engaging and challenging learning environment for all learners. We teach students strategies to become more active and focused in their learning.
We plan and teach collaboratively to access the strengths of our team, ensuring we provide rich learning experiences for everyone! Your child/children will have learning experiences with all teachers during the year.
Students and teachers work together to identify next learning steps using assessment and reflections. We run workshops based on learning needs, which allow students to access teacher and peer input. Our workshops are mixed ability; this allows students to learn from others and to build leadership through explaining their thinking.
Rimu: Y7- 8
Leon and Keith will be teaching the Year 7/8 students in 2023. Over the year, students will work collaboratively with a range of other Year 7/8 students. They will learn in both class spaces at different times and will work with both Sandy and Leon at different times.
Students in Rimu are supported to direct their own learning. They identify their learning goals, next steps and how to plan their time to meet these goals. Workshops are offered based on learning needs, allowing students to access the learning they need from a teacher. Students will also have a range of follow up activities to consolidate their new learning.
Over the year, students will be offered leadership and extension activities. They attend Mount Cook Tech where they learn cooking, sewing, robotics, dseign and woodwork. As well as our maths and literacy programme, our students inquire into the areas of science, ICT, art and history.