Guiding Principles
Our Curriculum is centered around “Education for Life.”
We have 6 principles that bring that to life through our curriculum.
Inspires self-belief and confidence
We know that self-belief and confidence are an integral part of both the child’s learning and an education for life.
We provide a supportive environment where each child is valued for their individuality and what they bring to our community. We are passionate about creating a safe environment where children feel able to take risks and have the opportunity to become comfortable with making mistakes and the rich learning they can provide.
We do not follow reward or punishment systems but instead foster the intrinsic motivation that lies within every child given the right environment. We work with students to realise their own potential and set goals that are relevant and meaningful.
Fosters independence
We promote independence and the child’s ability to think and do things for themselves. When a child can do something without being dependent on others, the sense of confidence and pride that arises within themselves is invaluable.
We have self-correcting materials across all of our curriculum areas which often enable children to independently assess their work. Children are also encouraged to use the expertise of other tamariki for example another child might have a better way of explaining a maths problem than the teacher and the child is encouraged to use that knowledge!
Our children also take responsibility for organising part or all of their work day dependent on their ability to do so. Children actively participate in learning to care for our environment through classroom responsibilities and life skills experiences.
We give children the opportunity to discover their own solutions to problems that occur within the school environment through class meetings and organising their own activities e.g a child might want to host a drama club they would set a time for this club and then let other children know when it would meet and when.
Culturally responsive and community-focused
Our curriculum actively teaches about cultures, society, social justice, and peace. We create awareness and understanding of human values, social systems, and ideology (including different religions). Children grow to understand what it means to be empathetic, reflective, and active as people of change in Porirua.
We are responsive to the life experiences our tamariki and whānau have and ensure that children have opportunities to share their expertise, ideas and theories throughout their learning.
Te Tiriti
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is honoured as a symbol of nationhood and partnership. We live the Treaty by:
- promoting te reo Māori as a language of communication.
- promoting knowledge and understanding of Te Ao Māori including tikanga.
- promoting the values inherent in kaitiakitanga and environmental sustainability especially around our harbour
- teaching Te Tiriti, its principles, and New Zealand History.
- critically reflecting on traditional Montessori lessons and thinking how these can be reimagined to incorporate te ao māori
- learning about the history and current work of Ngāti Toa Rangatira
Inclusive
In a Montessori class, children learn from each other. Through all activities, it is our aim that children learn cooperation, tolerance, friendship, and respect. Children are explicitly taught skills to help them develop self-awareness, perspective taking, social problem solving, and relationship-building.
We openly talk about different brains, disabilities and neurotypes. We expect that as children are all different school days will look different for different children. Some children may need more breaks than others, some children may spend more time on emotional and social work than academic work.
We make adaptions to the classroom to allow for children to regulate their emotions through sensory toys, lego, duplo, puzzles, listening to audio books and physical activities.
Whanaungatanga (relationships and connectedness)
Whanaungatanga is how our community weaves it self together. Like a strong mat, or te whariki we rely on each other to help each person achieve their best.