Learning

Quick Links: New Zealand Curriculum | Behaviour ABCs | Language of Learning | Collaborative Practice

At Reremoana School we approach learning and teaching in an innovative, collaborative way.

As our world evolves, education too is changing. For many of us, where our students learn, what they learn and how they learn is very different from what we experienced at school.

We need our young people to be confident, creative, connected and actively involved life-long learners as they navigate our ever-changing world. We need an education system that supports the development of values, knowledge and competencies, and sets them up to do well in the world.

New Zealand Curriculum

NZ has a national curriculum that guides what your child learns at school. Your child will develop a range of values and key competencies, or capabilities, that they need to succeed in life. These are all woven into the teaching of learning areas, or subjects. At Reremoana School students develop these competencies through our Language of Learning.

The 8 learning areas in the NZC are English, the arts, health and physical education, learning languages, mathematics and statistics, science, social sciences and technology. Where possible, curriculum areas are authentically integrated to enable our learners to connect and collaborate.

Digital technologies are an important part of your child's world. Your child uses them to connect with each other, to learn new skills and pursue their interests further than has ever been possible. They also offer new opportunities for teachers and leaders, and new ways for families to contribute to their child's learning.

At Reremoana we invite and encourage all Year 4 - 8 students, as part of our Bring Your Own Device programme, to purchase and bring a Chromebook to school.

Behaviour ABCs

School is a place for learning, growing and succeeding with behaviour and social skills.

Our Reremoana school Behaviour ABCs are how our behavioural curriculum is structured. We use the Ministry of Education Positive Behaviour 4 Learning framework to organise this curriculum and the evidence based strategies that are in the framework to respond to behavioural incidents.

PB4L takes the approach that opportunities for learning and achievement increase if:

the school environment is positive and supportive
expectations are consistently clear
students are consistently taught desired behaviours
students are consistently acknowledged for desired behaviours and undesirable behaviours are responded to in a fair and equitable way.

After consultation with the community the Reremoana School Behaviour ABC’s were developed:

Act safely
Be respectful
Consider your choices
Do good because good is good to do

Using these values teachers and students develop expectations for all the settings or areas in the school. We specifically teach lessons about each of these areas and how to behave in them. Each week we identify a focus for the school and for each team. These foci are chosen based on information from prior behaviour incidents Examples may be managing distractions or using kind words and manners.

Tokens are then given out by teachers to reinforce these focus areas - and any other behaviours that meet our expectations. The tokens are given out with specific praise that highlights what skill or behaviour the student was doing that was so awesome. These tokens are then added to our house points.

Language of Learning

Reremoana School’s unique Language of Learning guides our teaching of the competencies or capabilities that our students need to be successful at school and in life - Connect, Collaborate, Question, Reflect, Be Resilient and Be Creative.

Connect

When I connect I link new and existing knowledge together, and share my learning journey with others

Collaborate

When I collaborate I learn from and with others

Question

When I question I wonder about my learning, and clarify my thinking, to challenge my own thinking and that of others

Reflect

I grow as a learner when I reflect on my learning, celebrate my successes and take the next steps

Be Resilient

When I am being resilient I expect to be challenged, I show perseverance, and I push through even when things get tough

Be Creative

When I am being creative I think of new ideas and find ways of solving problems

Our Learning Model reflects the crucial relationship Learning to Learn (Understanding the process of learning and gaining knowledge; knowing what to do with this learning, and doing it!) and Learning Together (Learning with and from each other in a supportive and positive way in a range of contexts).

Collaborative Practice

At Reremoana School we are organised into hubs rather than single teacher classrooms which supports teachers and students to learn and teach collaboratively. Having teachers teaching collaboratively means we can be more flexible in order to teach more specifically to each student’s needs. Each hub has two teachers who work together to meet the learning, social and emotional needs of the students in hub.

Within the hub, each student is allocated a kaitiaki (guardian) teacher. Sometimes students learn together as a hub, sometimes in a kaitiaki group and other times in smaller groups based on need, ability or interest. Your child’s kaitiaki teacher is your first contact person for any questions or concerns about your child.