These values underpin our practice as teachers, they define, inspire and guide us.
Whanaungatanga: engaging in positive and collaborative relationships with our learners, their families and whanau, our colleagues and the wider community.
At our place, and in our practice, this is visible in our continued focus on respectful relationships, including our relationships with the families and whanau of our students. These relationships are underpinned by our school values and inherent in the things that we value. At our school all students are our students, a classroom teacher is never left to cope alone with a challenging student in their class.
Laingholm is a unique community and our school naturally forms an essential hub for this extended community with the wider community actively involved in the school, and the school actively involved in the wider community.
We work hard to involve our direct parent community through a variety of communication mediums and school based events. Our local curriculum tries to deliver at least two products, performances or presentations that can be shared with parents and the wider community.
Pono: Showing integrity by acting in ways that are fair, honest, ethical and just.
At our place, and in our practice, this is visible in our practice of matching consequences to actions and focussing on the choices a student makes rather than the student themselves. We respect the student but acknowledge that students, and adults, occasionally make poor choices.
Our behaviour management focuses on helping the student understand the choices they have made, what they could have done differently and what they need to do to ‘put right’ the consequences of their actions.
Our school values of Honesty, Excellence, Aroha, Respect and Trust underpins this approach.
Manaakitanga: creating a welcoming, caring and creative learning environment that treats everyone with respect and dignity.
At our place, and in our practice, this is visible in our continued focus on respectful relationships, relationships that are underpinned by our school values. Collectively we acknowledge that respectful relationships, valuing and embracing every student’s culture, identity and individuality are key to understanding and therefore empowering every student to reach their highest potential. Our strong inclusive practices support this approach, as does our focus on trying to make learning, and life, fun.
In addition to our school values we have four things that we value, Creativity, Curiosity, Community and Sustainability. Our focus on these enhances the learning environment.
Whakamana: empowering all learners to reach their highest potential by providing high-quality teaching and leadership.
At our place, and in our practice, this is visible in our continued focus on engaging students within a broad and relevant curriculum. Collectively we acknowledge that respectful relationships, valuing and embracing every student’s culture, identity and individuality are key to understanding and therefore empowering every student to reach their highest potential. Our strong inclusive practices support this approach, as does our focus on trying to make learning, and life, fun.
Our school values of Honesty, Excellence, Aroha, Respect and Trust underpin these respectful relationships.
There is an awareness that nationally prescribed standards and arbitrary timeframes are incompatible, with empowering all students, and good teaching practice. Our Laingholm Expectations by comparison are signposts that every learner should pass on their learning journey. For some the journey past these signposts will be quick, for others the journey will take more time, particularly for those that need significant assistance to make the journey.
Ensuring that students reach their highest potential is encompassed in our school value of excellence. It is also visible in the ‘high achievement’ target included in our Charter. As a school we have a continued focus on a broad, engaging and relevant curriculum with an increasing focus on student agency – student voice and student choice. This broad curriculum is essential as a student’s highest potential may not be in reading, writing or mathematics.
The strong focus within the school on professional learning and development, including professional reading, coupled with strong reflective practice, will ensure that we continue to provide high-quality teaching and leadership.