Educational Philosophy



The following principles underpin our programmes…

The belief that a positive attitude is the key to success in all that we do.

That education should have, as its primary aim, independent, self managed learners who take responsibility for their learning and behaviour.

That education is both an end in itself and a preparation for life beyond school.

That values instruction is integral to school life.

That learning is enhanced when there is a partnership between home and school.



In more specific terms ...

We are committed to providing a balanced education (which incorporates both basic skills and opportunities for extension in areas of personal ability and interest.). We work hard to insure this occurs in an environment in which children feel safe and where every individual child is valued for their unique disposition and talents.



LEARNER CONTRACT - MATARAU SCHOOL


 



Values


 

Your Rights


 

Your Responsibilities


 

To Feel Valued


 

You have a right to feel appreciated for the talents you bring, for the work you do, and for the things you say.


 

You have a responsibility to appreciate the character, talents and contributions of others (including your teacher).


 

To Know Your Worth


 

You have a right to know what you are good at and how you learn best.


 

To use your talents well.


 

To Make Choices


 

You have a right to make your own learning and behaviour choices.


 

To make choices which bring the best out of self and others.


 

To Have Fun


 

You have a right to enjoy learning and play.


 

To know that real enjoyment comes from a positive attitude and a job well done.


 



Your teacher will do his / her very best to ensure you have real opportunities to experience and practice these rights and responsibilities. You need to help here!

If you feel that your rights are not being met, or you would like support to meet your responsibilities, please see your teacher. DON’T DELAY!

Monitoring Achievement

A guide to reporting and assessment at Matarau School.

At Matarau School we believe that parents have an entitlement to high quality information on the progress and attainment of their children.

This information should ….

• Enable parents to track performance over time
• Clearly identify areas of strength and weakness
• Be backed by evidence from a variety of sources
• Enable parents to see how their child’s performance compares with other children their age
• Enable learners, teachers and parents to identify next learning steps
• Enable children to be co-participants in analysing their own achievement data

When interpreting information it is useful to remember the following

• No assessment should ever be allowed to stand alone but should be viewed in the context of other assessment tasks. If concern emerges in one assessment area take the time to see if these concerns are reflected in other assessment areas.
• That progress is rarely constant. Children frequently have periods of acceleration and then periods of plateau
• That few individuals are equally strong in all learning areas. It’s natural for a child to have areas of strength and areas of weakness.
• Any assessment task is simply a snapshot of that child at a particular point in time. For this reason trends are more important than isolated occurrences
• ALL assessments have their limitations. Be careful not to draw conclusions which fall outside the scope of the assessment in question
• Best judgements are those based on information from a variety of sources.

REPORTING ON ACHIEVEMENT

At Matarau School we report on progress and achievement in two primary and inter-connected ways.

For individual children ….

• Indicator Reports
• Initial interviews / 3 way conferences
• Learner Journey Sheets
• Portfolios (sent home at the end of term 2 & prior to interviews)
• Mid-year data report
• Mid year interviews
• Written reports at the end of term 4
• At other times by appointment

For the school as a whole ….

• Presentation of achievement data in term 1 (targets set school and class)
• Presentation of moderated material in terms 2 and 3
• Presentation of achievement data term four (evaluation of school and class targets)

Final Notes

1. Achievement information is only really useful when it aids in identifying next steps in learning. When children are co-participants in this process the value of this information is further enhanced.

2. At Matarau School we analyse and present achievement information in a variety of ways. Parents are encouraged to use all of the information available to them so that impressions from one source of information can be confirmed by reference to other sources. Over emphasis on any one method of reporting will provide a very partial picture of a child’s achievement – a bit like starting a jigsaw puzzle knowing from the outset that you only have a half of the necessary pieces. We encourage you to see these varied assessment and reporting measures as inter-related and to persevere if understanding these methods takes a little time.

3. Staff are highly available to discuss achievement information with you and to explain how to use this information for best effect.




Please visit http://matarauschool.wikispaces.com/Prospectus for more information.