Curriculum Document The what?, why?, and how? - Updated 2021
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KIWITAHI SCHOOL Curriculum Document The what?, why?, and how? Updated 2021
Kiwitahi School 2 Chepmell Road RD 1 Morrinsville 3371 w. www.kiwitahi.school.nz e. administrator@kiwitahi.school.nz p. 07 887 4823 Principal: Mr Nicholas Jensen MEd
Introduction
The aim of this document is to give you an idea of what
learning looks like at Kiwitahi School.
We believe that every child should have the strongest
start to life, and we work hard to develop children who are
knowledgeable, enquiring, willing, interacting and can self-
manage. We work together to achieve this: as a teaching
body, a Board of Trustees, a parental community and as a
pupil body. Everyone has a responsibility.
We are proud of the small, rural nature of our school. We
have a family feel to our environment, and we are proud of
this. We believe that it contributes enormously to the
development of our pupils, academically and emotionally.
We are also privileged to have such a diverse area around
our school into which we can tap to deliver interesting,
relevant and rigorous learning experiences for our pupils.
We hope that you will get a avour of this in reading this
document.
Ultimately, we think we’ve coined what we are pretty
well in our social media posts: #SmallButStrong
flOur Vision
O
ur vision is very simple:
We work together to develop children who are
Knowledgeable, Inquiring, Willing, Interacting and able to
Self-manage (KIWIS).
Our mission is to work together to help our pupils to:
1. Set their own goals that will enable them to have a
satisfying life
2. Relate well with others and respect all cultures
3. Develop con dence in facing challenges and take risks
with their learning
How do we achieve this?
The journey to achieving this vision and mission starts by
employing, retaining and developing a quality teaching
sta . We take seriously the employment of all of our sta ,
ensuring that each person is thoroughly checked in order
to secure the highest possible standard of educational
outcomes for our pupils. We are privileged to have a sta
that cares for and knows each pupil, collaborates with each
other in planning for learning experiences, has a depth of
knowledge and experience, is passionate about educating
young people, and o ers a diversity of experiences that can
be brought to the classroom.
ff
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ffAn important piece of the jigsaw puzzle when seeking to
provide a successful educational programme is to consider
the interests of the children. Every year, the interests of
each group of children changes. This is due to age (growing
up), changes in the make-up of the classes, and heavily
in uenced by family activities and the media. This is
important to recognise because it highlights the importance
of exibility and change in a school’s curriculum, such as
ours. We constantly review what we are teaching, how we
are teaching, and why we are teaching it, in order to ensure
that we are meeting the needs and the interests of the
children, wherever possible.
We seek to recognise and encourage cultural
understanding. The Kiwitahi community has changed a lot
over recent years, and with the change in community has
come a change in cultural in uence and interest. We are
pleased to work alongside the Morrinsville Community of
Learning (Kāhui Ako) and our local iwi, Ngāti Hauā, to
strengthen our ability to reach and teach Māori pupils.
How Does Learning Happen?
We believe that learning happens when pupils are
engaged and happy. We want them to understand what
they are learning and why they are learning it. We want
them to be interested and motivated to learn. Pupils’ ideas,
opinions and values are welcome here, and we work hard
to allow children to have a voice in our school. While not
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flevery request will be granted, every pupil has the
opportunity to voice their thoughts and interests.
We want pupils to be able to have an idea of their own
leaning progression. For example, we have worked to
develop a learning progression within writing that gives
teachers clear steps for developing opportunities for
children to write and strengthen their skills in this subject,
but also to mark and assess accurately for reporting and
tracking purposes. We will continue to develop this across
the curriculum.
Finally, and this is important that children and families
understand this: learning is the child’s responsibility. Our
teachers work hard to develop individualised learning that
can cater for the needs of every child, we plan interesting
and relevant learning experiences, but ultimately, each
child must make the conscious decision to learn. They must
think, ask questions, read, respond, write, speak, share and
try.
New Zealand Curriculum Key
Competencies
The New Zealand Curriculum document outlines ve Key
Competencies that all children in New Zealand should
develop:
1. Managing self
2. Relating to others
3. Participating and contributing
4. Thinking
5. Using language, symbols and text
fiKiwitahi School Values
Kiwitahi School has used the Key Competencies as a base
for developing its own, relevant values that relate
particularly to our own community. We currently have six
values that are elaborated in the following table:
Value This means…
Compassion / Ngākau Considering others’ feelings
Aroha Showing empathy, caring for others
“Putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes”
Cooperation / Mahi Tahi Taking turns
Working together to solve a problem
“Can I help you?"
Friendship / Hoahoa Being kind to one another
Looking after your mates
Offering to play with one another
Sharing and trusting each other
Perseverance / Manawanui Showing resilience
Keeping on going when it’s tough
Not giving up
“Bounceback-ability”
Being a problem solver
Respect / Whakaute Thinking of others as more important than yourself
It’s OK when we disagree - we can still be friends
Considering other peoples’ wishes, rights, cultures and
beliefs
Good manners - please, thank you
Caring for the environment
Looking after myself
Responsibility / Haepapa Being accountable when you’ve done wrong
Doing the little things well to be trusted with the big
things
I’m sorry, it’s my fault
Doing the right thing - even when nobody is lookingIt is our expectation that all pupils at Kiwitahi School will
show these values. We reward pupils for showing them by
awarding house points. Each week, we hold a Mascot
Assembly where one pupil from each house gets to take
their mascot (a soft toy) home for the week and write a
diary of adventures. This award is very sought after and
provides incentive for good behaviour and demonstration
of the school values.
Our Own Curriculum
The unique design of the New Zealand Curriculum is the
fact that this is a guiding document. It is created to give a
compass direction for schools. However, each school can
travel its own direction and create its own curriculum that
re ects its own community and pupil body.
So, what does the Kiwitahi Curriculum look like?
We believe that each of the learning areas are of equal
importance, but that English and Mathematics are ‘ rst
among equals’ in terms of the importance of developing a
strong foundation for learning and future-proo ng life.
English (reading, writing, spelling, grammar, oral and
visual language)
At the junior levels, there is an emphasis on oral
language. Being able to speak well and to share ideas is key
to being able to develop good reading and writing skills.
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fiAlongside this is a strong foundation in essential words:
sight words that must be learned by heart. Lots of
repetition in saying letters and words, as well as reading
them and writing them helps children to place them in
their long-term memory. Children read and write daily,
with 1:1 teacher support, group support and independence
which are all features of a good programme.
It is important to highlight to parents the importance of
the phonic approach to spelling that we use at Kiwitahi
School. This starts on each child’s rst day of school. We
teach children the letter sounds, not the letter names (for
example, we teach children “a-” for apple, “b-” for banana,
“c-“ for cat” as opposed to the letter names, “aye, bee,
see…”). The phonics alphabet is also ordered di erently to
the traditional alphabet, so children will not necessarily
learn the letters in the order with which parents are
familiar.
In the senior levels, we mix our approach to teaching
English skills. We understand that there is still a need to
teach reading and writing, but that, also, reading and
writing will become tools for learning.
Reading and writing groups are still o ered, but there is
some whole-class learning, too, which allows for a di erent
context and approach to learning, much more in keeping
with the style our pupils will encounter as they move o to
their future schools. We see this as an important step in
preparing them for this change. Like in our junior room, we
still believe in the importance of learning a strong
foundation of spelling words. We use quality resources
from Jolly Phonics to deliver this. In 2021, we are rolling out
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ffa school-wide expectation that children will start their
phonics programme in the junior room, and that this will
be continued in the middle room and the senior room,
until each child has nished the programme in its entirety
(not simply when they move from one room to another).
More information can be found in our English Teaching
and Learning Policy on our school website under
>Information >Policies >Resources
Mathematics
Our mathematics curriculum is delivered using a variety
of di erent approaches, but founded in the PR1ME
Mathematics programme. This programme has been
developed from other successful nations into a New
Zealand context. The strength of PR1ME is the progression
of coverage across every year level so that pupils don’t get
left behind, having missed important learning areas that
may have been missed otherwise. PR1ME o ers excellent
assessment and monitoring so that teachers can easily
monitor pupil progress.
However, we also recognise the importance of
transferring pupils’ maths skills with other learning areas.
We are strong believers in the teachable moment, where
something relevant springs up. It is encouraged to leave the
textbooks or classroom for the lesson and focus on
something di erent, something, perhaps, more meaningful
for the children. The strength in our mathematics
curriculum is that we have the ability to do both.
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ffWe are believers that a strong mathematics curriculum is
reinforced by regular practice of basic facts (similar to our
approach with early phonics). Children are expected to
undertake weekly practice of their addition and subtraction
facts (in the junior years) and their multiplication and
division tables (in the middle and senior years). This
practice is done daily in class and encouraged at home, too.
More information can be found in our Mathematics
Teaching and Learning Policy on our school website under
>Information >Policies >Resources
Topics (Social Sciences, Technolo y and Science)
As mentioned earlier, we are a small school. Thus, we are
able to spend time together learning through topics as a
whole school. We use the social sciences and science
curriculum for the majority of this combined learning.
Parents often comment on the positive ways that Kiwitahi
children demonstrate tuakana/teina: the learning
relationship between an older child and a younger child.
We are excited that New Zealand is taking a forward step in
developing a learning plan about the history of our nation.
We will be developing this curriculum within our social
sciences over the course of the next year.
gWe are pleased that Kiwitahi children currently have access
to 1:1 iPads which allow them to explore technological
concepts in a variety of different ways and to connect this
learning with English and Mathematics. As well as this, we
teach speci ic digital skills and responsibilities. In 2021, we
will be working towards teaching children and parents a
greater sense of digital responsibility and a better awareness
of the risks of online browsing.
We believe that science is an important subject for pupils
to learn as it is one that allows pupils the opportunity to
experiment, observe and explore in a safe, controlled way.
We also acknowledge that, currently, there is a lack of
quali ied scientists in New Zealand which is leading to a gap
in this area of employment. We hope that, through exciting
and engaging science learning, pupils may consider this as a
future career path. We are pleased to work alongside the
Science Department at Morrinsville College who allow us
access to resources and quali ied science teachers.
Please see 2021 Topics appendix at the end of this
document for coverage of our topic studies this year.
Health and Physical Education
Pupils at Kiwitahi School regularly participate in physical
activity. We acknowledge the importance of movement and
encourage all pupils to engage with sport.
We are continuing to develop an exciting HPE curriculum
that interests and excites the children. There are numerous
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fsports events over the course of the year during which time
each child is able to try something new, or extend their
skills in a particular area. We also have a heated swimming
pool which is used during Terms 1 and 4. Our Parent and
School Committee fundraise for a swimming coach who
gives small-group lessons to the children during Term 1.
Pupils regularly participate in inter-school sporting
events with other rural and town schools. This provides
great context and reason for learning sport, even if not
involved in club sport.
We also acknowledge the importance of a strong health
curriculum that supports the emotional needs of our
children. We encourage an open dialogue where children
feel safe to ask questions that they want answered. This is
another instance where the small nature of our school
allows each child to have their questions answered and to
have their voice heard. We are welcoming and tolerant of
people of any ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion and
believe we o er an environment where all children are
welcomed and valued.
The Arts
We weave our arts curriculum into our learning at
Kiwitahi School. Where possible, we try to connect the
current topics of study with the four strands of the Arts:
dance, drama, music, visual art. This means that we can
o er further ways for children to connect with the topic of
study. Some children nd it hard to express themselves
through the written or spoken work, but expression
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fithrough the arts curriculum can allow some children this
opportunity.
On top of our integrated curriculum, we also encourage a
balance of stand-alone arts lessons which allow our
children to understand particular concepts that need to be
addressed.
Te Reo Māori
Te Reo and Tikanga Māori are woven into the tapestry of
Kiwitahi School. This has been acknowledged by our local
iwi, Ngāti Hauā, who are supportive of our reo and tikanga
teaching. The Ministry of Education will expect, in the next
1 2 years, that explicit Te Reo Māori language lessons will be
taught at Kiwitahi School. This is something that we are
working towards and will roll out in the near future.
Learning Languages
We believe that giving children the opportunity to learn
another language carries many bene ts. Scientists
acknowledge that language learning is bene cial for the
brain and for memory retention. There is even research to
suggest that knowing a second language can delay the onset
of dementia in elderly people.
We acknowledge that Te Reo Māori holds a special place
in New Zealand’s culture. As an indigenous language, it
carries great meaning and history. We understand that we
have a responsibility to protect the Māori language, and we,
therefore, aim to use it as much as possible with children in
and around school (as mentioned above).
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fiLearning a second language also allows children to
explore other cultures. From here, children can learn about
other places in the world, other cultures, cuisines,
traditions and celebrations, as well as learning to
understand that people from di erent places can have
di erent opinions. We hope that by allowing children to
explore a foreign language at a simple foundational level,
they will be inspired to continue their future journey in
language learning. We focus on speaking and listening
(rather than reading and writing) in order to develop
enjoyment and a positive attitude to language learning at
this young age.
All children have the opportunity to learn a second
modern language at Kiwitahi School. Children receive
language instruction in French once per week for 40
minutes. As mentioned, the learning is kept to a focus on
speaking and listening as opposed to reading and writing.
Like many other learning areas, the key to success in
language learning is repetition and memory. Lots of games,
songs and activities form the core of our French lessons.
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ff2021 Topics
Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4
Jobs Materials Around the Farming
World
Annual Assessment Schedule
Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4
PASS (Pupils PASS (Pupils PASS (Pupils PASS (Pupils
Attitudes to Attitudes to Attitudes to Attitudes to
Self and Self and Self and Self and
School) School) School) School)
NGRT (New NGRT
Group reading
Test)
• 5-year-old pupils complete a school entry assessment when they
start school
• At the end of their rst year at school, pupils then complete a 6-
year net which ensures they have the foundational skills required
moving forward in their schooling
• Kiwitahi School uses a Dyslexia Screener that can be conducted in-
house if we suspect that pupils may be showing signs of dyslexia
• Teachers periodically carry out reading running records and maths
GloSS/JAM tests during the year when required
• Spelling tests are carried out weekly
• School reports are sent home biannually and followed up with
teacher interviews
fiYou can also read
