Cultivating Magnificent Citizens Liz Hawes
Editor
Kia tupu ai ēnei kākano hei rakau nui. May these tender seedlings grow into mighty trees
Māori metaphors are such elegant expressions. They are sharp and discerning and provoke thinking and imagery at many levels. They also project the values and aspirations of the people who adopt them, thus communicating who they are and what they believe in. The Thames South School impressum, ‘May these tender seedlings grow into mighty trees’ is a splendid example. Children arrive at school as young five-year-olds (tender seedlings) and all being well, leave as life-long, self-directed and reflective learners (mighty trees). The imagery of the seedlings is apparent in the school’s seed growing shade house and throughout the gardens, whilst the ‘mighty trees’ are represented by the ancient twin oaks at the entrance to the school. During their time at school, children are fed and nurtured with knowledge, ideas and information through ‘Inquiry Learning’ and offered a wide range of experiences both inside and outside of the school. They are empowered with a strong sense of their own culture, language and identity and learn how to contribute as thoughtful, local and global citizens who are connected to their environment. It’s a big ask, but according to principal Kim Nikora, or Whaea Kim, as the children call her, and deputy principal Jeannie Apthorp, these are realistic, relevant and achievable aspirations. The close connections the school has to its own natural
environs is evidenced in the scrupulous attention paid to growing and maintaining the school’s flower, vegetable and herb gardens, developing the orchard, planting trees and tending the grass areas. The twin oaks stand guard at the school’s entrance, like kaitiaki offering protection to all who walk through the school gate. The grounds are a picture of beauty not just for the colour, design and landscaping but for the care the children and staff take to ensure their environment is fed, nurtured and sustained. ‘We are an ‘enviro’ school,’ says Kim, ‘and fulfil all the expectations of ‘silver level’, but while it has been great to access resources for establishing our gardens and worm farm, we are not ambitious to continue on to gold level,’ she said. The reason is that at Thames South School, the students are encouraged to have a voice and to do the questioning. It is therefore preferable to have the children’s ideas driving further development of the school’s environment rather than a prescribed programme. Connections with the environment extend beyond the school gate. The school’s philosophy for learning embraces the whole community and is stated as care for oneself, for others, for property and for the environment. It is as much about service to the community as it is about acquiring academic skills. One tradition at Thames South School is completing a daily
A section of the original Kauri classroom block used by Parawai School which became Thames South School in 1915
Total Immersion students are assessed on both the mainstream and Māori national standards with pleasing results. Whaea Kim and the Immersion teacher check that the assessments are in order
Kim Nikora, Principal Thames South School
fitness circuit. This activity includes scaling a nearby staircase, locally known as ‘Jacob’s ladder’. In the course of running up and down the stairs, the children observed that people were littering the areas at both the top and bottom of the stair case. They determined to clean up the area and were quickly collecting more than a bag of rubbish every week. Their efforts on behalf of the 130 year old ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ did not stop with the rubbish. They devised a plan to paint the 135 steps in rainbow colours, number the steps in both Māori and English and write motivating messages at intervals urging people to make it to the top. They presented their plans to the Thames Coromandel District Council, whose members embraced the children’s efforts and are working with them to complete the project. ‘The children did their own sales pitch to the Council,’ said a proud Whaea Kim, ‘and had to present a fully itemised budget to support their plan,’ she said. The school reaches out to the community in other ways too. ‘The local garden centre gives us vegetable seeds to raise in our seed house and plant in our gardens,’ said Kim,’ and when the vegetables are ready anyone from the community can harvest and use them for their families,’ she said. Whilst connections to the environment are strong so also are the children’s connections to their own cultural identities. The school’s Māori population is sixty-five percent of the school roll of 169 children. Kim extols the vision of former principal Mike Lander, who had set up a Māori Immersion Rūmaki and a dual language unit. ‘It was the strong foundation that Mike had already established that drew me to apply for the principal’s position when Mike retired,’ she said, ‘because I was looking for a school with things I believed in.’
Mike’s drive to develop a bi-cultural approach for the school led him to become a facilitator for the Te Akatea/NZPF initiative the Māori Achievement Collaborations (MAC) PLD programme. Kim has continued the MAC PLD for her school and after their last ERO visit the review team wrote that ‘the students are strongly affirmed in their culture, language and identity [including through] Kapa Haka, waiata, whaikorero and karanga [which strengthen the connections].’ ‘They participate and celebrate cultural, sporting and academic achievements [and] teachers, parents and whānau are involved in regular Te Reo Māori classes and other initiatives.’ ‘The school actively promotes Māori ways of being.’ Kim’s biggest challenge is finding the teachers to fulfil the bi-cultural dream. Networking with
The children enthusiastically show off their first aid kits and explain to Whaea Kim what they have learned from their St John’s class
the MAC and accessing quality PLD that supports the Rūmaki and the dual language unit is paying off though, with Māori students’ achievement data lifting across the school. Not only is it lifting, but for the ten – twelve students in the Rūmaki, their success is strong against Ngā Whanaketanga Māori. Clearly being bi-lingual has advantages in both languages. ‘We can have it all,’ says Kim. ‘We can have educational success and success as Māori. We go for the lot!’ None of this is achieved in a vacuum. Local iwi groups are deeply involved with the school and frequently come in to share local stories, myths and legends with the children. Shortly Thames will be celebrating its first 150 years. It is important that the children learn about the contributions Māori have made to shaping the history of Thames and not just focus on the gold mining. It is this richness that gives the children feelings of pride
‘We need both the old and the new,’ says Kim. Thames South has four beginning teachers (BTs) who are very ably mentored by the more experienced teachers. ‘The BTs love the inquiry approach and have all the tools and technology to get ready for registration,’ she said. All the teachers at Thames South School are offered PLD opportunities to advance their repertoire of teaching responses. ‘I encourage them to think about their own careers and their own teaching approaches,’ says Kim. ‘It is important to have time to link teaching theory with the practical experience and reflect on how theory can inform practice,’ she said. ‘They also take time to visit other schools and see how other teachers are applying their ideas in different learning contexts,’ she said. Fridays are flexible at Thames South School. This is the time that small groups will be out biking the new cycle track recently completed, participating in duathlons and some will be in small
Sometimes former students return to the school to touch base with teachers and younger students, to share their news
In the total immersion classes only Te Reo is spoken
in who they are and where they are from. It also gives non-Māori children an understanding of a different world view, a world that is just as real and relevant as their own. Not all of the children are from the Thames area but all are encouraged to research and express their own journey, their own whakapapa. ‘At our leavers’ ceremony, we had one year eight student who was from the South Island and he got up and performed a rap about his own life journey and time at Thames South School,’ said Kim proudly. Empowering the children through inquiry learning is one thing but just as important are the teaching staff. They too inquire into their own practice and are all on their own learning journeys.
arts groups creating things. The purpose of flexible Fridays is to identify what the children are passionate about and good at so that teachers can build on those strengths. ‘If we can build on the emotional, physical and intellectual strengths of our children we will be more successful in our teaching,’ says Kim. The local Thames schools are geographically close and have always nurtured strong supportive relationships. For example the Thames South School has a swimming pool which they have long shared with the local Catholic School so that all the children can benefit from learning to swim and acquiring water safety skills. Forming healthy, trusting relationships between the schools, in Kim’s view, is the key to enabling maximum opportunities for all Thames students. Having already established these connections meant that when the notion of establishing a Community of Learning (CoL) was raised, Thames was well placed. ‘Thames is a strong community,’ says Kim, ‘and as principals [of Thames schools] we each bring unique strengths and have trust in each other,’ she said. Principals from the seven primary schools and the local High School together with the Early Childhood Education leaders met to begin their journey together as a CoL. We first set out to create a plan for our Thames schools.’ Only after the plans were developed was Kim chosen to lead the CoL. The next step was to submit the achievement challenges which the Thames schools agreed they could work on collaboratively. There has been some further discussion on details and changes have been made. The plan has yet to be accepted but Kim says, ‘I am looking forward to [pursuing] the direction we are taking as a community.
The School cycle track weaves its way about the perimeter of the playing field
Learning about sea life the total immersion way
Jeannie Alpthorp, Deputy Principal (left) and Kim Nikora, Principal (right) of Thames South School shelter from the sun in their beautiful school gardens
There is another challenge for Kim, and possibly all principals and that is having the time to reflect. ‘I think sabbaticals should be compulsory for all principals because they need breaks for thinking and reflecting,’ she said. ‘Often breaks come too late,’ she said. ‘Colleagues everywhere are talking about ‘hauora’ and the need to manage stress. Systems, structures, rules and regulations do not have to control us,’ she said, ‘especially if the cost is our health. We don’t want to feel like a crayfish in a pot where without realising it, one day we might be cooked!’ she said. With her new role leading the local CoL, Kim is well aware that her time for reading, researching and reflecting will be even more limited and she is determined that the children in her school
will not suffer from her dual roles. To this end she has devised a plan whereby she will share her principal’s responsibilities with her Deputy Principal. ‘Jeannie and I will become co-principals of Thames South School,’ said Kim, ‘so that the children will not miss out and I won’t burn out!’ Jeannie Apthorp is as committed to the bi-cultural drive as Kim. She fully supports what the school is trying to achieve and the changes that they must implement to develop strong and empowered children. She, like Kim, subscribes to the position of renowned researcher Russel Bishop who says, ‘What is good for Māori is good for everyone.’ Together the co-principals believe that the whole country will benefit culturally, economically,
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socially and educationally if we fully embrace bi-culturalism now. That means making changes first at the school level, then the community and ultimately for the nation. Thames South School is located in a low decile area and many of the children come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Kim is determined that her school will be an ‘equity space’ where every child will have fruit every day, with the support of the ‘Fruit in schools’ programme, every child will have breakfast every day with the support of parents and whānau and every child can have music lessons. The business community is generous to the school, supporting the cycling programme and providing every child with a bike helmet, supporting the environmental programme and the outdoor education activities. The school also
Every child is supplied with a cycle helmet for biking at school
accesses social agencies such as KidsCan to ensure every child has appropriate clothing for school. ‘We do not have a school uniform here,’ says Kim. ‘I believe uniforms are ‘systemic’ things that belong to another era! We celebrate diversity and it is our point of difference as a school.’ The connections the children make and the relationships they develop with their teachers during their time at Thames South School are often very strong and it is not unusual for groups of former students to visit the school to tell their teachers how they are getting on at secondary school and to catch up with younger children they befriended whilst at the school. Jeannie Alpthorp observed that it is quite normal for the older children to look out for the younger ones and include them if they are a bit shy or lost. It is the ‘whānau’ way to be inclusive and care about others and older children will often be seen playing with the younger children or organising games for them. For the visitor Thames South School presents more like a great big family home than a school. Everyone in the ‘household’ has their say. Everyone is listened to, everyone is cared for, everyone contributes and everyone is welcome, whether they are a student, parent, from the local iwi, an expert or a community member. As in any family, there are differences, discussions, arguments even and decisions are made which will not please everyone all of the time. But what is certain is that no decision will be made that is contrary to the bicultural vision of the school and every decision will be intended to progress the learning of the Thames South School children.
DOC’s ‘in the environment’ education resources A series of investigation tools for primary and intermediate schools throughout New Zealand.
EXPLORING YOUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENT
EXPERIENCING BIRDS IN YOUR GREEN SPACE
Education resource
Education resource
The resources encourage students to go outdoors, explore local green spaces, and collect robust scientific data that leads to action for local conservation. The first three resources in the series are available online.
EXPERIENCING INVERTEBRATES IN YOUR GREEN SPACE Education resource
The series, underpinned by DOC’s actionorientated inquiry learning process, encourages students to participate in citizen science projects and includes Science, English, Maths and Social Sciences learning objectives.
Find all our Conservation Education resources at doc.govt.nz/education plus information about our programmes
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