LEARNING AT SCHOOL
Learning at School
Our local curriculum is developed by taking into consideration three key elements:
The New Zealand Curriculum
Our local context
Our school context
The New Zealand Curriculum
The NZ Curriculum covers eight learning areas:
English | Mathematics and Statistics | the Arts | Learning Languages | Health and Physical Education | Science | Social Sciences | Technology
Teachers plan appropriate learning experiences at the curriculum level that best suits the learning needs of the students in their guardian group or learning groups. Generally speaking, the levels are:
Level 1 - Year 1 and Year 2 Learners
Level 2 - Year 3 and Year 4 Learners
Level 3 - Year 5 and Year 6 Learners
Read more about the NZ Curriculum.
Read more about the PE and Health programme at Warkworth School
Our local context
Our local context provides us with opportunities to make learning real and meaningful by connecting it to experiences that are within the experiences of our learners. These experiences are based on their world which is situated in the Rodney District within Auckland City, and connected to mana whenua - Ngāti Manuhiri, then radiates beyond this to our country, Aotearoa | New Zealand, and into our global community.
Using the Rodney District and Ngāti Manuhiri as a starting point means including local resources and resource personnel to anchor new learning.
Some examples include:
Matariki and The Planet Earth and Beyond
Understanding Matariki requires an understanding of some science concepts about the planet earth, the solar system and the constellations.
It also requires an understanding of te ao Māori and the impact of the celestial bodies on the horticultural activities of tangata whenua. Our teachers linked to this learning, in the first instance with Dr Ihirangi Heke, Ngāti Manuhiri, and then to Star Lab, to strengthen their understanding of these important concepts.
Exploring Marine Reserves
A programme of learning about the Leigh Marine Reserve (which includes snorkelling tuition) so that learners can see for themselves the impact on marine life of having a reserve, thus triggering their commitment to becoming thoughtful kaitiaki (guardians) of our marine environments, wherever they may live in the future.
Auckland Council
Concern about the state of their local playground led to a collaborative planning project to upgrade the playground on Shoesmith Reserve.
The perspective of our student users was embraced by the Council planning team and the development, currently in progress, incorporated a range of their ideas.
The experience reinforced their self-belief as empowered learners who can make a difference to their lives and the lives of others.
The Men’s Shed
Wanting to build a ‘Little Library’, a group of young learners in Year 2 sought the help of The Men’s Shed in Warkworth to build three little libraries to place in community locations as a means of gifting books to homes and encouraging home reading.
This collaborative project was the culmination to learning in the social sciences strand of the curriculum.
Our school context
Our school context includes utilising innovative learning practice and making the best use of our innovative learning environments. Each learning environment has different types of spaces with different types of furniture to support a variety of styles of learning.
Small breakout spaces for quiet, contemplative individual work.
Wet areas for creative, construction projects and visual artworks.
Larger spaces with collaboration tables for collaborative learning.
Tiered seating spaces for demonstrations and celebrations of learning.
