Kia ora Parents and Whanau
An acknowledgment and thank you to students, staff and parents for ensuring our recent Year 8 camping programme experience at Finlay Park was such a success.
This Education Outside the Classroom programme provides opportunities for our teachers to develop in their students, confidence and resourcefulness, establish positive connections with peers and allows our students to try activities not usually available in a traditional school setting.
I acknowledge that camp is a huge personal commitment for our staff and parents, being away from their families and at times being out of comfort zones (especially out camps). This continued support and readiness from our teachers and parents, to fully partake in the 2023 programme is certainly a strength of our school, we absolutely appreciate your willingness to be fully engaged in the Education Outside the Classroom Curriculum, ultimately offering our students a deep and unique learning experience. We could not continue to offer our students this unique experience without your support. An acknowledgement of Christina England for her organisation and overseeing of the Finlay Park Experience, congratulations on an outstanding camp programme.
Thank you also to parents who donated their time to assist with the Year 7 students, ‘Challenger Series’. This programme promotes students working as a team, taking on personal challenges, supporting each other, building resilience and cultural awareness. Throughout Term 1, Year 7 classes have taken part in challenges that provide the above competencies through Marae visits, visiting the Auckland Museum, kite making, Barefoot Adventures (outdoor cooking, bush craft and survival skills), BigFoot Adventures (archery, wall climbing and mountain biking) Water Safety at the Millennium Centre and Blake VR (marine environment awareness).
This programme is designed to assist Year 7 students adjust in their transitions from the respective primary schools. An acknowledgment of Wendy Naidu for her planning and organisation of this programme.
What is Project Based Learning at Northcross.? Project Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional approach designed to give our students the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills through engaging in projects set around challenges and problems they may face in the real world.
Our current school project at Northcross is, ‘Mautohe.’ This project is designed to assist students to learn and understand how New Zealanders have spoken out against injustices throughout our history, looking at how individuals, groups, and organisations have exerted and contested power ultimately trying to improve the lives of people and communities, negating exclusion, injustice, and conflict (or not!). Students will make connections between present day injustices, and those of the past. They will learn about political activism and actively engage in the political process in their community. After identifying a problem or an issue of concern, students will write an issue statement about this challenge. They will then design and implement an action plan that raises awareness and/or provides a solution to the problem. Students will also craft a social justice poem or song that will be shared through their chosen medium.
Possible contexts – Anti-Vaccination Mandates, Parihaka, Suffrage, Springbok Tour, Bastion Point, Gender Pay Gap, Nuclear Free NZ, Nga Tamatoa, Dame Whina Cooper, School Strike for Climate; Dawn Raids; Ihumatao, Waikato Land Wars (Tainui), Hone Heke , Three Waters, Fore Shore and Seabed. Later on in Term 2, parents/whanau will be invited into school to hear our students discuss their learnings.
We would like to welcome Shane Vallender to our school. Mr Vallender will be starting second week of term 2, joining us from Belmont Intermediate where he has been teaching for the last 3 years. Mr Vallender will take over Ms Ruby Hallett’s class. Ms Hallett will continue as a relief teacher and also carrying on her dance programme until she leaves Northcross in week 7 Term 2.
It has been a full on first term and we now look forward to Term 2 which starts on Wednesday 26th of April. Teachers will be back on the 24th, which is a Teacher Only Day for our Kahui Ako (all schools in the Northern Bay Cluster). Northcross Teachers will be working on Positive behaviour for Learning (PB4L) a programme that helps school address behaviour, improve students wellbeing and increase educational achievement.
A huge thank you to our students for their commitment to learning, embracing the many challenges and options and making the best of every opportunity. Please enjoy your break
Nga mihi nui
Jonathon Tredray
Principal
