OUR CURRICULUM

What is Literacy about?

Literacy is about learning to use, create and enjoy the Literacy language in all its forms – oral, written and visual communication.

How is Literacy structured in the New Zealand Curriculum?

Literacy is structured into two interconnected strands:

Making Meaning  |  listening, reading and viewing.

Creating Meaning  |  speaking, writing and presenting.

Students need to practice making meaning and creating meaning at each level of the curriculum.

How is Literacy taught at our school.

We believe that our students need to practice making and creating meaning for the following purposes:

• To Entertain

• To Inform

• To Instruct

• To Persuade

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. 

It means being able to add two or three numbers in your head, being able to measure an item and decide how to use that measurement, and being able to problem solve using key mathematical skills. 

What is mathematics and statistics about?

Kei hopu tōu ringa ki te aka tāepa,

engari kia mau ki te aka matua.

Mathematics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in quantities, space, and time.

 
Statistics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in data. These two disciplines are related but different ways of thinking and of solving problems. Both equip students with effective means for investigating, interpreting, explaining, and making sense of the world in which they live.

Mathematicians and statisticians use symbols, graphs, and diagrams to help them find and communicate patterns and relationships, and they create models to represent both real-life and hypothetical situations. These situations are drawn from a wide range of social, cultural, scientific, technological, health, environmental, and economic contexts.

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

Te reo Maori is delivered in a natural way at Waiharara School and kapa haka is part of our daily routine.  Please let us know if your child is coming from a bilingual or total immersion environment so we can work out a plan that meets your expectations.

Most children will learn greetings, simple instructions and phrases, waiata and poems during pre-entry if they haven’t already got these skills.

Support at home helps students to progress well in this area.  If you want advice or help or simply want to clarify what you can help with discuss this with your child’s teacher.

There are also other events (swimming, x country, athletics, cultural festivals etc.) where participation is expected as part of the learning intentions for each child.

For more ideas about ways to help your child with their learning we highly recommend that you visit the website –  parents.education.govt.nz

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.

STEM - Hangarau Matihiko

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education.
Technology is an integral part of our students future, so it is vital that our students get taught it so they are well prepared for their futures.

We will develop core skills, knowledge, and understanding in specific areas (Electronics, Science, Coding and Robotics) through a structured programme.
Over the next year we will be developing our Digital Technologies curriculum which covers two key areas, computational thinking and designing and developing digital outcomes. We have made a significant investment in our STEM programme and children have access to innovation equipment.

Hard Materials - Hangarau mārō

Hard Materials focuses on the development of practical skills as well as developing products that are fit for a purpose. Students learn to think through problems and engage with others (stakeholders) to find solutions.

Food - Hangarau kai

Children develop real life practical skills in the food technology suite. This includes safety, hygiene, budgeting, planning, creating and preparing foods. Children learn to cook practical everyday foods on a budget to more creative and innovative experimentation.

Visual Arts - Toi Ataata

The Visual Arts programme focuses on the development of skills and knowledge in preparation for future creative studies. Students engage in tasks that are diverse in context and media. Self expression is encouraged through student agency and class collaboration.

Fabric - Hangarau papahune

A creative space where students learn skills to design and make products that are fit for a purpose. Working through the technology process, encouraging independence and problem solving.

Why are digital technologies being used for learning?

Education is changing. For many of us, where our children learn, what they learn and how they learn is very different from what we experienced at school.

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

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 you, your whānau, iwi and community to contribute to your child's learning.

Digital technologies can enable:

• learning to happen anywhere and any at any time, not just in the classroom

• your child to connect and collaborate with other students and teachers outside their school and even across the world

• your child to understand challenging concepts in virtual worlds that would not otherwise be possible

• easy access to the huge range of resources available on the internet to support learning (websites, apps and more)

• you, your family, whānau and community to become more involved and contribute to your child's education, for example  through school Facebook pages and student blogs, and

• your child to follow personal interests and talents and access experts not available to them locally.

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.