Our school charter

School motto

Progress with Honour - Tupu Whakahonore

This is our school motto. It sums up our focus on the core business of schools. We aim for ‘progress with honour’ in everything we do.

PROGRESS is all about improving student achievement.

HONOUR is about the choices we make about how we treat others and ourselves whilst working on improving that achievement.

Vision statement

The vision for Point Chevalier School is that in striving for PROGRESS WITH HONOUR all members of the school community will contribute to our ethos of respect and quality.

Respect

We aim to see all of our students achieve to the best of their ability and for their school experience to be a positive one. We can foster this by all showing respect – to others, to our environment and, most importantly, to ourselves. This respect is a two way process and manifests itself in many different ways – between students, between students and teachers and between parents and teachers.

We talk to the students about the choices they make with regard to both their learning and their behaviour. In making these choices they represent themselves, their families and their school.

Our aim is that they feel proud of the good choices which they make and that, if they do make a poor choice, they are open to learning from it. We ask that parents support us in this aim.

Our school curriculum

Students at Point Chevalier School will be educated to meet the vision of the New Zeland Curriculum, its principles, values and competencies. They will be encouraged to value themselves and build capacity as learners.

In an "Assessment for Learning" school such as this, students must be involved in their learning.

Principles

Point Chevalier School's principles align with the New Zealand Curriculum and reflect what our teachers, parents and students believe is important in our decision making. The principles identified by our school community are:

• Excellence
  Teachers, children and parents believe in excellence. The school uses formative assessment practices to assist children to progress to the next steps in their learning. Learning to learn is paramount and a school priority. The culture of the school is one where excellence in all things is encouraged and valued.
• Treaty of Waitangi
  The special place of Māori in the community is recognised and valued through Kapa Haka, te reo and tikanga Māori instruction and cultural EOTC involvement. The school encompasses the notion of inclusiveness for Māori and Tauiwi.
• Promotion of learning for all
  Each child is treated as an individual with their own needs. The first thing our students need to understand is how to learn. The school has strong intervention programmes. Within each classroom, programmes will be differentiated according to need. Wherever possible, links will be made across learning areas to assist students to apply their learning in a range of contexts.
• Community
  The Education Review Office commented: "Point Chevalier School is at the heart of its community. Good avenues exist for parents to contribute and participate in the activities of the school. Staff welcomes and actively engages the local community in all aspects of school life".
• Learning for sustainability
  This means allowing our students to make responsible choices and act in ways that contribute to the future well-being of people and the planet. The Point Chevalier community is one with a passionate interest in the promotion of a sustainable future. The school has a responsibility to reflect this passion and to engage with the community to promote local solutions to local issues.
• Cultural Diversity
  All cultures within our school will be valued, accepted and celebrated through promotion of an inclusive school culture. Staff members will ensure that students from all cultures are treated with respect and dignity, and will expect and work to achieve high standards of achievement regardless of cultural background.

Values

Our values act as a guide to the behaviour and actions that our community and families desire in good citizens. The core values held and communicated to us by the parents, children and staff of the school are included in all the elements of the school’s curriculum. However, the six values determined as most important to encourage, model and explore were identified as:

• Respect
  Valuing other people, the environment and ourselves
• Honesty
  Owning your own behaviour and the effects of your actions
• Cooperation
  Supporting others to achieve their own goals
• Doing your best
  Setting realistic goals and persisting in whatever you need to do to achieve them
• Tolerance
  Accepting that other people are different and may have different beliefs
• Ecological Sustainability
  Utilising our surrounding community and promoting care for the environment.

Competencies

In addition to supporting our students to develop the key competencies from the New Zealand Curriculum, we will challenge and support students to develop the community-identified competencies below in a range of contexts:

• Participate and Contribute
  Students participate and contribute by being involved in the life of the school, by taking opportunities to lead, by taking risks and persevering to achieve, by working cooperatively and by listening to others.
• Communicate
  Students communicate through languages, symbols and texts by using communication in all its forms: (movement, voice, text, ICTs) to communicate ideas and thoughts to others and by developing an understanding of how to interpret others’ ideas.
• Manage Self
  Students need to develop independence, be well  organised for their learning, be able to meet their personal needs without infringing on the needs of others, show self-discipline, believe in themselves and persist in achieving their goals.
• Create
  Students show their creativity through using imagination and innovation in their learning and by using literacies, the arts and thinking to develop their own original ideas.
• Learn
  Students become responsible for their own learning through being reflective, setting goals, developing problem solving and thinking strategies and through taking risks and challenging themselves.
  

Tangata Whenua and Point Chevalier School

Treaty of Waitangi Policy

As an overarching policy, this statement applies to all other policies whether or not there is specific reference to it.

The Board of Trustees of Point Chevalier School are working towards recognising the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi by incorporating it into all aspects of the school including, but not limited to, governance, structure and practices. It is acknowledged that the Māori school community at Point Chevalier School is small but it is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees to work with the Māori school community to improve the relationship, understanding and involvement of both Treaty partners.

The Māori Text of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is the version upon which Point Chevalier School policy is based. In an education context the Board of Trustees accepts that the Treaty (as translated by Sir Hugh Kawharu) creates the following requirements:

Incorporating tikanga Māori into the curriculum

• The school will endeavour to maintain regular contact between its kaumatua, staff and students by having him visit the school when possible to speak with students.
• The classroom and school environment will reflect Māori culture through signage, use of waiata, murals and celebrations of events such as Matariki.

Instruction in Te Reo Māori for full-time students

• All requests will be given full and careful consideration by the Board of Trustees with regard to personnel with the necessary skills and qualifications; the overall school financial position; and availability of accommodation within the school.
• If the school is unable to provide such instruction, parents will be advised of alternative places in the nearby area which may meet their needs.
• A Te Reo programme will be delivered fortnightly in all classes by a specialist teacher with resources provided to support teachers to carry on with the new learning until the next fortnight’s session. This lesson also provides professional development to support teachers’ confidence in Te Reo. A specialist teacher will also lead fortnightly waiata sessions with the whole school.
• A specialist teacher (with parental support where available) will facilitate a school kapahaka group, with entry offered to all interested students. 

• Māori representation is sought for Board of Trustees and to assist with the review of the charter for 2015
• Opportunities for consultation with Māori parents will be provided through various avenues.
• Information on Māori achievement in various learning areas will be provided to Māori parents.
• Better cultural understanding will be promoted by providing Treaty of Waitangi workshops for staff, Board and the wider community.