One of our charter statements says: We believe in our families/ whanau. One of our school values is WHAKAWHANAUNGATANGA.

Everything we do in our school is about whanau/ family.

An African whakatauki or proverb helped to inspire this theme:

It reminds us that in all that we do, if we want to get to where we need to go, we have to be united in both vision and action. Sustaining what we’ve achieved and seeking to improve on our practices, takes everyone doing their bit- our Roscommon Whanau: Go Together.

It’s the Commonwealth Games in July. We could consider NZ’s ‘family’ links or how we belong to the Commonwealth, royalty and links to the Kingitanga movement in Aotearoa.

Go together- relates to what we’ve identified for our student learning needs, i.e. Helping students to make connections in their learning (scaffolding, big ideas & links), improving comprehension.

We have a number of new staff joining our Roscommon Whanau. We will welcome and orient them to our school, and rebuild our teams to be inclusive of our new whanau- who they are and what they bring to our school.

We want to build on our school Houses we’ve set up in the last couple of years- strengthening the connections or relationships with staff and students across the school. We also want to develop House leaders, and student leadership, to continue to capture student/ whanau voice when shaping our learning and organisation at school.

We will continue to begin our units of work focusing on Whakawhanaungatanga- getting to know one another, our families, our whakapapa, pepeha; as well as considering how we will work as a family/ whanau who learns together. A question for inquiry: What do children think whanau means?- encouraging student voice, whanau voice.

We will develop our ‘whanau’ or team areas to reflect the identity of that whanau/ team. This includes signage, gardens, landscaping and art works. The design team will support this development.

In science we will look at species/ animal families, and reflect on how our own family units are organised to help us grow and survive.

We are due to review our Charter/ Strategic Plans- which will involve extensive consultation. We will use this opportunity to also review our policies and practices to see how ‘Family Friendly’ they are.

We will build on our Family/ Parent education programmes and supports we have in our school, e.g. Reading Together Programme, Parenting Hub sessions, Pre-School Reading, Parent expos, Whanau Open Days, Family Maths.

We will continue to develop our ‘whanau’ pedagogy or approaches that are culturally responsive, e.g. building learning focused relationships, cooperative learning, developing cultural competencies- Tataiako, Pasifika cultural competencies, Inclusive education.

Roscommon School Strategic Direction 2012-2014 (Picture it Complete)

Ch

ildre

n’s

lea

rnin

g SCHOOL MOTTO

At the heart of all we do

WELL ROUNDED LEARNING or CURRICULUM

Academic achievement Literacy, Numeracy

Sciences, Arts, Sports Puawaitanga: Many

learning opportunities-

CULTURE VALUED

Culturally affirming

curriculum, approach Treaty of Waitangi Maori as Tangata

Whenua

GRADUATE PROFILE

Expectations- what would

students be like by the time they leave

Roscommon School?

EMPOWERMENT Helping our kids be

strong, resilient

*RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

[learning to self manage behaviour]

BILINGUAL PROGRAMMES

6-8 year bilingual pathway: bilingual

and biliterate

“HOME [WORK or HOME LEARNING]”

Home school

communication for learning- supporting

and enhancing learning in and beyond

classroom learning

REPORTING FOR LEARNING

informs & affirms learners

REPORTING TO PARENTS- knowing where children

should be at in their learning throughout all

their schooling

Learners and Leaders

SHARED SCHOOL VISION

Communicating vision,

plans, progress and achievements

EXCELLENT TEACHERS

Employment

processes, culture of inquiry, culture of

excellence= quality teaching/ leadership

CHILD CENTRED LEARNING

Facilitating independent and inquiring learners; Culturally responsive practice- affirming language, culture,

identity

ASSESSMENT CAPABILITY

Strengthening

Assessment capability of school leaders,

teachers, students and their families.

Assessment-capable students know: What they need to learn Where they are with that learning and What their next steps of learning are

STAFF DEVELOPMENT: RESPONSIVENESS TO DIVERSE LEARNERS

Includes: Maori, Pasifika, Students with special

learning needs and abilities, boys education, English language learners.

Safe

& H

ap

py

Pla

ce

SCHOOL CULTURE

Maintaining a WHANAU/ FAMILY FRIENDLY SCHOOL CULTURE- school is a great place to be...

PASTORAL CARE for students- looking after

their wellbeing

*RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

[learning to self manage behaviour]

MODERN LEARNING FACILITIES & RESOURCES

Up-to-date resources Multipurpose spaces

facilitate learning

MULTIPURPOSE LEARNING SPACES

WHANAU ROOM/ CENTRE

To include provision for parent education/ whanau hui and support

BEAUTIFUL SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

bright & colourful

learning environment

HEALTH PROMOTING/

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SCHOOL

FINANCE & ASSET MANAGEMENT

resourcing schools

plans and developments

HEALTH & SAFETY PROGRAMMES/

REVIEW

Families/ Whanau

REPORTING TO PARENTS- knowing where children

should be at in their learning throughout all

their schooling

TRANSITION to school supports

Transition supports for New Entrants, new families,

ECE links, transition points through school and on to intermediate

PARENT EDUCATION

HOME SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS

Parent education: NZC/ standards;

Numeracy, Literacy,

Information literacy

Parent directed

COMMUNITY LINKS & SUPPORTS

What’s out there to support my child’s/ whanau wellbeing and learning? How do I access this support?

Tangata  ako  ana  i  te  whare,  te  turanga  ki  te  marae,  tau  ana  A  person  who  is  taught  at  home,  will  stand  collected  on  the  Marae  (meeting  house  grounds)  

A  child  who  is  given  proper  values  at  home  and  cherished  within  his  family,  will  not  only  behave  well  amongst  the  family  but  also  within  society  and  throughout  his  life.  

We will gather and display whakatauki or proverbs about family/ whanau that will encourage, remind and inspire us in the work we do as a family, and with our families.

We will further develop our Student Learning Conferences- to include a focus on our Student Graduate Profile/ Student Kete of Learning, shared goal setting and tracking progress.

What would the STUDENTS be like?

I am a good person As people they’d be friendly, confident, relaxed, enjoying school, respectful, kind, trustworthy, caring and enthusiastic

I’m an active learner As learners they’d be active and involved in their learning and they’d know how to learn, so they can eventually do this for themselves as they grow up.

I am achieving academically

I am strong in my culture They would be strong in their own cultural identity, and have an appreciation of others culture and heritage.

I am a leader Students would be involved in leadership opportunities, where they can serve their own school community.

I’m happy at school. I’m proud of my school.

Students would be happy, playing and working together well and love coming to school. They’d be proud of their school.

I am becoming bilingual and biliterate

Many of our students following a bilingual pathway of learning, would leave our school being both bilingual and biliterate [able to read and write using both languages].

Our major school cultural event may include either a School Production or Film Festival- students using ipads, imovie etc, related to this theme. We will also continue to celebrate ‘family’/ cultural traditions and celebrations, including our Language Weeks.

Information Literacy and the use of digital technologies (computers, ipads, etc) to support our learning is an area for development in our school. We will look at how we use ICT to strengthen family connections, e.g. class blogs, students emails, class web page, video blogs.

We want to continue to strengthen the transitions for our students and their families. This includes from Early Childhood/ preschool, within the school, and to Intermediate.

In social studies we could look at the lives of other families around the world, particularly those who struggle with poverty or hardship. We could sponsor a child in a country like Africa or the Phillipines, and learn about the impact their environment has had on the lives of families. It will help us to also appreciate what we take for granted in the wellbeing of our own whanau, including our school family.

We want to continue to improve our Maths learning and teaching. This includes- Family of Facts (basic facts programme), and Family Maths- parent education.