Post on 04-Apr-2018
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2013 Prospectus
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WelcomeSt Andrews Middle School is a well respected Year 7
to 10 learning provider. Our special character of small
class sizes, homeroom learning experiences and high
expectations, makes us the school of choice for Year
7 to 10 students in Hamilton.
Quality teaching and learning is at the heart of
everything we do.
We progress student learning levels significantly from
the time they begin their education with us as a Year
7 student to when they leave us at the end of Year 10, fully equipped with a strong
foundation in literacy and numeracy to become successful with NCEA in Year 11.
Our school is a warm, dynamic and caring place in which students develop skills and
attributes they will need for their future.
We have high expectations for our students that enable them to show respect for
themselves and others, to develop a can do attitude, and to participate in all areas
of school life.
Your child will experience high quality teaching from our highly skilled and committed
teaching team as they prepare your child for a future of success.
We look forward to welcoming your family into our learning community.
Warm regards
Tanya Thompson
Principal
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OurMiddleSchool
Our Middle SchoolSt Andrews is a middle school which caters for Year 7 to 10 students. Our programme is engaging and dynamic
to hook emerging adolescents into learning. Our programmes develop well rounded and collaborative learners
through engaging and motivating students to meet their academic, social, physical and emotional needs.
Our delivery focuses on students maintaining a close learning relationship with their teacher and having students
needs recognised and met through an individualised approach.
Year 7-10 is a time of rapid personal development. We pride ourselves on providing a safe and secure environment
for our students. We see our school as a family school providing opportunities for the development of respectful
relationships.
Our four year teaching programme means that we have a much better opportunity to get to know our students
as learners and that we have a much greater opportunity to meet their learning needs whilst they are with us.
Students are organised into composite classes to ensure stability for learning.
We have Year 7/8 homeroom classes and Year 9/10 homeroom classes. Classes are organised into teams with
a Team Leader responsible for each. Each component of our school works together with others to provide
a motivating and positive learning community for our students. The school climate is warm, friendly and welcoming.
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Together We Learn
Every member of SAMS is a learner. Teachers, students and the wider community
engage in learning together, not only in subject content but also in the process of
learning about ourselves as learners.
The SAMS Learner
Our Vision
Learning for Life
Our Mission Statement
SAMS will enable and enhance resilient and intellectual learners by providing learningthat is personally meaningful, challenging and vital. We promote self direction in life long
learning and the desire to contribute positively to society.
We develop these through the
SAMS Learner
Respect for Ourselves, for Others and Our World
SAMS Self Manager SAMS Contributor SAMS Communicator
Are resilient
Are resourceful
Set and achieve goals
Make informed choices
Use their initiative
Actively participate
locally, nationally
Contribute purposefully
Connect with others and
their ideas
Are collaborative
Listen actively
Discuss, debate, explain, share their
knowledge, ideas and opinions /
points of view clearly
Use a range of communication tools
Articulate their thoughts,
experiences, needs
SAMS Explorer SAMS Thinker
Use a range of tools
and strategies to access
information
Takes learning risks
Find and solve problems
Seek new solutions
Think about thinking
Think critically
Think creatively
Are intellectually curious
Apply and use their knowledge skills and understandings
Understand the power of advertising and media ontheir and others lives
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Dive
rseLearningEnv
ironmentsDiverse Learning Environments
Our Beliefs about Teaching and Learning
We believe
Everyone is a learner and a teacher staff students, parents and whanau
Everyone will learn to their personal best Everyone will be supported and nurtured as individuals
Everyone will have the opportunity to experience and acknowledge the bicultural nature of Aotearoa
Everyone will have the opportunity to experience and acknowledge their cultural diversity within our school
community
Everyone will demonstrate the attributes of the SAMS Learner
Students will be encouraged to take responsibility to think globally and act locally
That the SAMS curriculum will have meaning for everyone, connect with their wider lives and engage the
support of their families, whanau and communities
Expectations of our Students
It is expected that all students at St Andrews Middle School will demonstrate commitment of the following:
To develop the attributes of a SAMS learner
Attend school every day please note we have 92% minimum attendance
Arrive well prepared for learning and all classroom programmes
Demonstrate mana and respect towards students and staff
Expectations of our Parents and Whanau / Families
To help students to succeed the school needs the help of those at home. Basic requirements that you can assist with
include the following:
Help students attend school everyday on time
Ensure that they get sufficient food and sleep to help them learn effectively
Take an interest in their school work by looking at their books and supervising home learning every night
Encourage your child to meet their potential
Keep in touch with the school by
- text and email
- writing notes
- phoning the school when necessary
- coming to meetings
- helping with sports and other school activities
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The Homeroom Learning Environment
A strong component of our learning community are our small class sizes and the
commitment of our staff to build strong, positive learning relationships with our
students and their families. Our average class size in Year 7/8 is around 25, and in
Year 9/10 is around 18. Our technology and the arts classes are around 15 students
per class.
Our students experience a mixture of specialised and generalised teaching situations
throughout the school. All students (Year 7-10) work for a large part of the day in
a homeroom environment. This means that students have one teacher for general
curriculum areas which proves to be a major strength to our learning community
environment. Our students also cover the Technology and Arts Curriculum by learning
in our specially equipped teaching spaces.
Our curriculum delivery focuses on identifying and meeting individual students
learning needs within the classroom. This provides exciting opportunities for students
to make good progress within a supportive learning community.
Meeting Students Individual Learning Needs
We offer special challenges for gifted and talented students who excel and need
extension through our GATE classes. Diverse learning experiences are provided to
extend every students thinking.
We offer students who have learning difficulties in literacy and numeracy additional
in-class support. As well as this we offer withdrawal booster programmes designed
to assist students in general classrooms with learning difficulties. This is designed to
support and nurture the classroom programmes.
Our learning community here at SAMS promotes positive achievement at a personal
level. We believe every student can learn and achieve success.
Effective eLearning Tools for Learning
We believe that students need access to a range of tools when and as the need arises,
therefore we provide digital tools in all classrooms. These tools range from computers,
laptops, netbooks, data projectors and interactive boards. Our eLearning tools will
enhance your childs achievement and motivate them to succeed at our school.
All students have the opportunity to Bring their own device (BYOD) to support
their learning. A digital approach to learning supports our dynamic programme and
makes learning motivating, collaborative, engaging, challenging and exciting for our
learners.
At St Andrews Middle School we use an online learning environment which provides:
Engaging virtual classrooms
Integrated parent portal
Dynamic ePortfolios
Safe social networking
Students and parents can access our website from both school and home to support
their childs learning.
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rseLearningEnv
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International Students
Each year we welcome applications for enrolment from International students. We provide specialised programmes
including ESOL and we have an experienced International Student Manager who oversees their transition into the
school as well as their on-going pastoral care. This person is also able to assist with home stay requirements.
Please contact the school for her contact details.
A Safe and Nurturing Learning Community
We believe that all students have the right to learn in an environment where they feel safe and valued. We encourage
our students to take responsibility for their learning and behaviour through the attributes of the SAMS Learner.
As a community we place daily importance on responsible thinking practices which allow students to think through
choices and to consider the impact their decisions have on others.
SAMS Kotahitanga Unity
Show respect Manaakitanga(to yourself and others)
Awhinatia Caring(act with kindness, support others)
Mana Dignity(pride, behaviour, uniform, language)
Sustainability Kaitiakitanga(environment grounds, buildings,
equipment)
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Our Staff / Team Work
Our Staff Quality Practitioners
At St Andrews Middle School, we believe firmly that the learner sits at the centre of
our teaching and learning model. Accordingly, we provide vigorous and continuous
Professional Development for our staff as learners themselves to ensure that theyare up to date with current educational theory and practices. Over the past several
years our staff have been involved with Professional Development in Best Teaching
Practice, How Students Learn Best, ICT to Enhance Learning, the Numeracy Project,
Restorative Relationship Building and the Career Education Project. We strive for
educational excellence for both our staff and students. Consequently we have a
dynamic and highly skilled group of teachers and support staff who will help your
child reach their potential.
Team Work
While students are at SAMS they are a part of a House culture. We have four different
House teams which each student will belong to for the time that they are at SAMS.Each House has representatives from each year level and they compete against each
other in many sporting and cultural events throughout the year. House competitions
take place during all major school sporting events such as Swimming Sports, Athletics
and Cross Country. House competitions also run during lunch times and cover a range
of cultural, academic, arts and sporting activities.
Student Leadership
We offer many opportunities for students to lead within our school. Alongside these
roles we also provide training programmes to ensure our student leaders are well
supported in their roles.
Students can gain positions for the following:
Head Girl Year 8, Year 10
Head Boy Year 8, Year 10
Sports Captains
Cultural Captains
Learning Captains
Class councillors learning, cultural and sports
Digitech ICT experts
House Captains
Peer Mediators Librarians
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OurStaff/TeamWork
Student Opportunities
Interschool
Sport
Academic
Teams
Cultural
Teams
Other
Opportunities
Swimming Literature Quiz Kapa Haka Head Girl / Boy
Athletics Waimaths Choir Learning Council
Touch Speech Team Rockband House Captains
Tennis Science Fair Envirogroup Librarian
CricketInternational Academic
CompetitionsJapanese Club Music Tuition
Cross Country Otago Problem Solving Chess Club
Netball Primary Research Project Photography Club
Rugby Science OnlineChallenge DigiTech ComputerClub
Hockey Seasonal Sports Teams
Soccer School Camps
Basketball School Productions
Volleyball Drama Group
Sports Camp Young Leaders
Golf
Table Tennis
Badminton
Gymnastics
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A Thinking Curriculum
Here at St Andrews Middle School we believe in enabling our learners to become
successful SAMS Learners. As a key component of this we have designed a Thinking
Curriculum which places huge focus on developing successful lifelong learners.
Alongside the SAMS learner attributes there are eight essential learning areas.
Year 7-10 students learn across the eight essential learning areas as a part of our
curriculum delivery. Our Year 9 and 10 students have access to a diverse range of
additional options to ensure they are ready for NCEA in Year 11.
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OurStaff/TeamWork
The Technology Learning Programme
The Technology Curriculum is a special feature of the learning programme at St Andrews Middle School. Students
learn through hard materials (wood, metal and electronics), textiles technology, biotechnology and food technology,
each taught by a different specialist teacher.
We have newly designed rooms for technology and the arts which will be opened in 2013. We have specialist
teachers teaching in these rooms who have extensive expertise in their field.
The programme provides our students with the opportunity to acquire new skills in the process of design and
construction and to further appreciate the ways in which technology impacts on their lives.
The Arts Learning Programme
The arts programme offers both music, dance, drama and art, each taught by a different specialist teacher and
emphasising creativity and expression.
Our specialist teachers in music, dance, drama and art, bring with them a wealth of expertise and experience.
Student art work is well promoted across our school and performance is also popular, offering a combination
of music / dance and drama.
Technology The Arts Year 9 and 10 Options
Biotechnology
Technology
Becoming a Performer
Music, Drama and Dance The Arts
Te Reo and Tikanga Mori
Maori Language
Toys and Games
Hard Materials Technology
Viva SAMS Learner
Visual Arts and SAMS Learner
Vive la France! Vive le franais!
French
Things that go Bump in
the Night
Textiles Technology
Art Workshop
The Arts
Konnichi Wa!!!
Japanese
Sustainable Architect
Science and Technology
Mori Performing Arts-Toi
Whakaari
Whose Line Was it Anyway?
History
Where in the World Are We?
Geography
Show Me the $$$
Financial Literacy
Enterprise Studies
Ever thought about making a product
and then selling it, making money,
being rich?
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The Sporting Arena
We actively encourage students to take part in sporting activity and our school provides
a wealth of opportunities to take part in both individual and team sports. These include
teams in netball, rugby, hockey, cricket and indoor basketball. Students in Year 7/8
and Year 9/10 are given opportunities to take part in a comprehensive programme of
sporting events as part of the inter-intermediate and middle school programme.
Further Options
We actively encourage our students to experiment with a variety of curriculum areas
during their time at SAMS. Our Music tuition is a way that students can branch out
and try something different. Instruments on offer depend on the students requiring
lessons registration of interest in lessons occurs at the beginning of each year.
Instruments available for tuition are:
Guitar
Bass Guitar
Drums
Violin
Keyboard
Piano
Saxophone
Flute
Clarinet
Our languages programme is another way that students can branch out and explore
other cultures and languages. The languages we offer at SAMS is dependant on staff,
but generally they are:
Te Reo
Spanish
French
Chinese
Japanese
Another exciting component of our curriculum is delivered by the experts we invite
into our school to enrich and diversify the eight essential learning areas. These people
perform, entertain and present demonstrations for our students. We will also take our
students out to these experts or facilities should they not be able to be accessed at
school. These include:
Rhythm Interactive drumming shows where each child gets a bongo drum for
the entire show (Music)
Stand Up Be Heard Speech making techniques from experts (English Speeches)
Technology Roadshow (Technology)
Science Roadshow (Science)
Disability Awareness
Waikato Museum a variety of exhibitions
Careers Expo
Local Libraries
International Acts which travel through our region
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OurStaff/TeamWork
Cultural Exchange Programme
The school has established links with schools in Japan
and we host students from these schools each year
in Home Stay arrangements. We appreciate offers of
assistance from our school community and usually
require Home Stay arrangements for 5-10 days.
If you are interested in being a Home Stay Host
family please contact the school.
Our Wider Learning Community
As a learning community, we aspire to engage our
staff, students and families within a culture of learning.
Our staff hold strong beliefs around the importance of
building strong, positive learning relationships with
our students and their families. We believe in keepingparents regularly informed.
To ensure this we encourage regular communication
between home and school and vice versa. Whilst we
have specified times in the year when we share student
learning with parents and families, we also operate an
open door policy. We feel it is important that you can
come into school at times when it is convenient to
find out about your childs learning and how they are
getting on at school. We also believe that the student
is central in this process and we encourage student
lead conferences. This also encourages students to
take more responsibility for their own learning andsuccessfully tracking their progress and achievement.
Teachers and students report to parents / caregivers
about learning through:
eportfolios samples of student work across all
curriculum areas
Conferencing and Goal Setting interviews
Set in late February and July
Written feedback and feed forward of student
work
Formal Mid Year (July) and End Year
(December) reports
In addition to this we encourage parents to:
Pop in during the day to see learning in action
(via our School office)
Keep channels of communication open
Contact the classroom teacher when concerns
arise
Contact senior staff when concerns arise
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Facilities
At SAMS we have:
Sporting Facilities
Gymnasium with Basketball markings and equipment
Courts with Netball, Tennis and Basketball markings and equipment
2 Soccer Fields
Rugby Field
Adventure Playground
Asphalt areas for small ball games
Many grass areas with BBQ tables
Learning Facilities
Library
Multi Purpose Room (MPR) for shows, assemblies etc
TV and Radio Station
Science Laboratory
Music Room for band practice, individual music tuition
We have a school mini-van which make class outings more manageable
Newly upgraded Technology and Art Facility
School Uniform
We have a uniform which students are expected to wear with pride. Our uniform
details can be found in the additional information insert with our prospectus.
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O
urSchool
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Our School
Learning for Life
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Should you require more information, simply contact us at:
St Andrews Middle SchoolHeath Street, St Andrews
Hamilton 3200
Ph: 07 849 2819 Fax: 07 849 3760Email: office@sams.school.nz
www.sams.school.nz
Learning for Life
Learning for Life
Te Kura Nga Tai Tamariki O Hato Anaru