Waikuku School has tried to simplify the curriculum requirements so that we get on with our number one priority - quality teaching and learning. Our staff knew there was not enough time to cover or assess everything so our assessment is focused on our Achievement Targets and on Key Competencies. In the past too much time was being wasted assessing non relevant information, and this took time away from working with individual students at their point of need.

A key question for our staff to ask is: 'What do we want our students to be able to do when they leave our school? The answer was more than Literary and Numeracy, as important as they are.

1. We gave thought as to how our students' future will be different from their parents or grandparents or even our own?
2. We considered what are the values, attitudes, attributes, skills and knowledge that students will need to thrive in an uncertain future?
3. We looked at the values and teaching beliefs that will we need to share and implement to ensure students are able to thrive in what will be an unpredictable but potentially exciting future?
4. Finally how do we know that we are achieving what we set out to do?

The focus on the 'foundation skills' of Literacy and Numeracy is essential at our school. Our desire is also to develop innovative and ‘real life’ ways of delivering the remainder of the curriculum to give students success in a range of learning areas taking into account their 'special needs and talents' and the opportunities offered by our school’s wider environment.

There is a need to….

1. return the focus back to quality teaching and learning. As a staff we have spent time looking not just at the ‘what’ in the classroom, but have placed a great emphasis on the ‘how’ in the classroom. This ‘how’ has meant developing expectations for our teachers as well as our students.
2. focus assessment on feedback , feed forward and goal setting not simply coverage. Reporting to Parents and BOT needs to be in meaningful relevant contexts.
3. do fewer things well - in depth, not skimming across the surface. We do not want a curriculum that is ‘mile wide and inch deep’ (or the metric equivalent).
4. focus on quality engagement through relevant, authentic and challenging content. There is a major focus throughout the school in using real life contexts in the classroom – ‘learning for life using life to learn’.
5. be well grounded. Our ideas need to encompass the schools vision, our own experience and professional judgements, quality research and ideas.

 MORE INFO ON THIS IS DOWNLOADABLE ABOVE....
For more information on what is being taught in each class then please go to your childs class webpage.
If in doubt or need more information....email your teacher or Roger