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My name is Peter Barker and I can proudly say that I am the Principal of our great school. We are a community-based school, located in the Rotorua suburb of Selwyn Heights. Our dual medium school offers classes in both English and total immersion Māori and is underpinned by our vision..... Together we are Responsible, Respectful and Right Into Learning. This drives our high expectations for learning and well-being!
We prioritise relationships and hauora and are proud of our partnerships with students whānau, community and iwi. The school’s vision, ‘Kia kotahi tātou Takohanga, Whakanuia, kia u ki te Ako – Together we are Responsible, Respectful and Right into Learning’ empowers high aspirations for the learning and the hauora of all learners.
Our existing six cultural competencies weave Māori Medium and English Medium classes as one, working alongside each other under a strong kaupapa of ako.
Whānau trust in us as a school - whanau and students are our clients and relationships are open, honest, supportive and nurturing…….. A culture of whānaungatange prevails in our kura - care and connectedness.
Such is the quality of our school and indeed our rumaki setting, the Ministry of Education has taken the unusual step of allowing us to welcome our first-ever Year 7 students in our Rumaki in 2024 and Year 8s in 2025.
High expectations for learning and relationships exist and we enjoy celebrating our student's successes. Our approaches to learning are a mixture of old and new. This, in simplistic terms, is about:
Our Māori Medium/Rumaki students learn in a culture of tuakana-teina at Level 1 immersion. This is a setting where students can learn to speak, and enhance their ability to speak, Te Reo Māori. Please note that 81-100% of teacher talk and instruction is in te reo, meaning that some talk is in English. No student will be left to flounder and not understand.....
Sport and kapahaka are important to us. Our students benefit from active participation in a variety of activities. Our sports coordinator ensures maximum opportunity in all interschool events. Haka and waiata feature for all students at all levels across the school.
Our school site is clean, tidy and attractive with lots of space for our students to learn and play. Extensive recent remodeling of 8 classrooms has recently been completed, with 2 more on the agenda for 2024. Our students ride bikes on our 405m bike track, climb trees, play bullrush and ride scooters!!
Our focus in 2023 is focussing on the action to improve learning outcomes - we aim to further strengthen our teaching practices to ensure the best results are achieved by our students.
The best place to get a grasp of the wairua that exists in our school and what we are all about, is to visit our school or our Facebook page - there is a link on the front page of our website.
Welcome to our kura, we look forward to meeting you……
Peter Barker MEd (UTas)
Principal
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