Our school charter

We are a Year 1 – 6 state school in Point Chevalier, Auckland with a focus on educational achievement for our students in an environment of respect. At Point Chevalier School we see our most important resources as the people – students, staff and community.

After repeated community demands for a local school, Pt. Chevalier School was officially opened in June 1925. The school catered for students from Primer classes to Standard 6. By 1927 the school was using the local church hall for the overflow from its standards’ classes. A new infant block was opened in September 1927 to ease the pressure of a roll of 680. But by the end of 1929, with porches being used as classrooms, temporary buildings were brought on site to cater for the number of students at the school. Another new infant block was built at the Walford Road end of the school in 1941. 

Roll growth in the area led to the opening of Pasadena Intermediate in 1942 to cater for the Standard 5 and 6 students. Despite this ‘decapitation’ of the school, by the end of 1945, the school’s roll was 900 students. In a desire to improve the school environs, on Arbour Day 1927, thirty native trees were planted by students, staff and members of the School committee. These trees were designated as a war memorial to commemorate the contribution of local servicemen in World War 1. In September 1928 on the occasion of the first flight from Australia to New Zealand, SquadronLeader Charles Kingsford Smith and some of his crew visited the school and planted five trees on the Te Ra Road frontage in memory of this flight. They planted three Australian Red Gums (blown down in a storm in 1932), a Puriri and a Totara, both of which still flourish here. As a result of these plantings and many more subsequently, the school has its own small urban forest, providing a much loved backdrop for teaching, learning and recreation for the local community.

In 2016 the school’s ethnic makeup is approximately 76% NZ European, 6% Maori, 6% Pasifika and the remainder from a variety of ethnicities (including Indian, Chinese, Afghani, Serbian, African).

Over the past eighteen years, the school has moved from a decile one to a decile ten classification, reflecting changes in the community. The school’s roll has more than doubled over this period as younger families have moved into the community and sections have been subdivided.

The roll increase over time has led to major changes in the school’s infrastructure. Many more permanent classrooms have been built and the school has a twenty five metre swimming pool, a new library, a two storey administration block, a Teacher Resource Centre and an auditorium accommodating seven hundred students. Old relocatables housing much of the junior school were replaced six years ago by a permanent ten classroom block. In 2012/2013 six new Modern Learning Environments (classrooms) were added to the school’s facilities along with a bigger library and a bigger staff room.

In 2013 a fire destroyed the downstairs of the administration block. A rebuild took place in 2014 creating a new fit for purpose administration block including a new accessible bathroom facility and a meeting space. Upstairs was turned into a teacher work area.

The school has quality staff and facilities, enabling it to deliver in all areas of the New Zealand curriculum. Expectations are high for all students. Programmes are available to provide support and extension as needed.

The school has strong teaching and learning in all learning areas. In Education for Sustainability, it has “Silver” status as an Enviroschool and was given a Gold Travelwise Award. Both of these reflect the attention given to matters of sustainability within the school and its programmes.

The school also has a focus on Performing Arts, employing a specialist teacher to lead in this area. This provides expert teaching in music, dance and drama for all students. Students have many opportunities to perform – in choirs, bands and school productions.

The school employs a part-time specialist in Te Reo and tikanga Māori. This teacher works with all classes and all teachers to increase knowledge and confidence in this area of our curriculum, as well as leading both a junior and a senior kapa haka. A specialist P.E. teacher supports students to develop their skills in this area and promotes greater involvement in a wide variety of sports and events.

Students participate in a variety of Education Outside the Classroom opportunities. The school’s central location allows ready access to the local beach and streams, mangrove forests, Meola reef, Auckland Zoo, M.O.T.A.T. and Western Springs. Classes also visit Auckland’s museum, art gallery, Stardome, Botanical Gardens, Regional Parks and theatres in conjunction with teaching and learning programmes.

Students have opportunities to represent the school in many sporting codes, in speech making and in national events such as the Panasonic Kid Witness News documentary competition which our school won in 2010. We were one of six Global finalists presenting at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles in July 2011. Also in 2011, our Mindbenders group were selected to curate an exhibition at the Torpedo Bay Naval Museum – the first school ever to do so. Students participate in Otago Maths and The International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) and have recently displayed sculptures at the NZ Shore Exhibition. Our Tournament of Minds team won a merit award at the National finals in Wellington at the end of 2015. Sports teams have won the zone finals in Tag and Rugby League.

Reflecting its ethos of respect and of quality, the school’s overarching teaching pedagogy is “Assessment for Learning”. Students must be involved in their learning able to set their own goals, articulate where they are in their learning and what their next steps are to achieve the goals. As part of the reporting process, students lead conferences with their parents where they share their progress and achievement across a range of learning areas.

School Motto and Mission Statement

“PROGRESS WITH HONOUR TUPU WHAKAHONORE”

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

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 Pt. Chevalier School will be educated to meet the vision of the NZ 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

Pt. Chevalier School’s principles align with the NZ 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 & tikanga Māori instruction and cultural EOTC involvement. The school encompasses the notion of inclusiveness for Maori 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, “ Students benefit from the relationships teachers and school leaders forge with their parents, whānau and the wider community.”

Learning for Sustainability

This means allowing our students to make responsible choices and act in ways that contribute to the future wellbeing of people and the planet. The Pt. 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.