21 February 2020
Post date: Mar 03, 2020 9:40:10 PM
Each year we set student achievement targets in Reading, Writing and Maths and also in other areas that we are wanting to focus on. This year, Wellbeing/Positive Education, Te Ao Māori and Sustainability. These are the key aspects of our Strategic Plan.
This doesn’t mean that all of the other learning areas are not valued or taught! The Arts, Social Sciences, Science and Technology, PE all feature strongly. It’s a balance in Primary Schools between integrating subjects and also having them as discrete entities. It’s interesting how many Secondary Schools are now adopting more of a Primary approach to make learning more meaningful. More and more, the Secondary timetable has become more flexible, integrated and students are getting more of a chance to delve more deeply into their learning rather than the bell ringing every 50 mins and rushing to the other side of the school to take part in a totally unrelated lesson. It’s far more real.
As educators, we need to think like nutritionists and ensure there is a good balance of protein, carbs, fats, fibre, vitamins, minerals and water! Not to mention a colourful palette!
There are always new expectations - Computational Thinking, Financial Literacy, NZ History…... and, very recently, a big concern that “Arts Education is in a crisis in NZ”.
So, here’s to a little bit of everything and also why we need to set the targets to also ensure there are key areas of focus where there are extra spoonfuls on the plate!
View the NZ Curriculum which is the Umbrella document.