Introduction

Glenbrook School has a long and proud history of serving families in the Franklin District, a history where the former school motto of “faith and work” resonated in our families and community, forming the backbone of our school heritage.

Glenbrook School is bound strongly to our rural community and we are very passionate about our school.

Our purpose: We are realising potential as learners through learning as an action.

Our learners are friendly, aspirational and engaged. They love coming to school and they love learning.  

•    At Glenbrook School we develop the whole learner.
•    We aim for excellence in English, Mathematics and Science.
•    We provide a range of opportunities and experiences for all our students across all curriculum areas- including in sport, outdoor education, culture, STEAM community events and the Arts.

Effective learning practice is curriculum is driven through our Spiral of Inquiry and balanced within our Glenbrook Model of Inquiry. Senior learners are able to discover pathways within our Careers Education programme whilst our younger learners explore the importance of play and discovery within learning.

High expectations are held for every learner and we love to celebrate success. We use Qualities of Learning to describe our thinking and learning as an action.

We are respectful and show this through our respect for others, learning, environment and self (ROLES). Glenbrook School is an inclusive school where the well-being of all is key, and contributes towards our aspirations.

 

Our Vision : Realising Potential

At Glenbrook School we want everyone to be able to realise their own potential.                                        

This means we provide the environment and opportunities where all our learners can achieve to the best of their potential. We believe that through learning as an action, our learners have the tools to articulate their needs, wants, goals, successes and failures. When learners can identify how, what and why they learn, then they are able to realise their potential in every environment and moment in time.

This includes Maori being able to achieve as Maori, Pasifika, gifted and talented, and students who need additional learning support.

Our vision of Realising Potential was first developed in 2012. After extensive consultation with our community in 2015 it was identified that Realising Potential still encapsulates our vision for Glenbrook School.  Throughout 2017, our community, Board and staff worked collaboratively to create our Strategic Plan 2018 – 2021 to identify how Realising Potential is developed in action within the learning environment.

 

Glenbrook Primary School Values

Glenbrook School has four values of Manaakitanga, Whakawhanaungatanga, Mana and Ako.

Our values underpin our teaching, learning and wellbeing. Our values are……

Whakawhanaungatanga:       We work as a community together.

Manaakitanga:                          We care for and value people and the world.

Mana:                                          We are respectful, strong and resilient.

Ako:                                             We are all learners.

 

Values at Glenbrook Primary School are closely linked to those of the NZC and are modelled and implemented by staff and students:

•  Excellence, by aiming high, by persevering in the face of difficulties and by celebrating progress and achievement.
• Innovation, inquiry and curiosity, by thinking critically and by learning creatively and reflectively.
• Diversity, as found and valued in our different cultures, languages and heritage.
• Equity, through fairness and social justice.
• Community and participation leading to a strong sense of Ako.
• Ecological sustainability, which includes care for the environment.
• Integrity, which involves being honest, responsible, and accountable and acting ethically.

NZC pg 10

 

Glenbrook Primary School Principles

NZC – High Expectations

The Glenbrook School curriculum supports and empowers all students to learn and achieve personal excellence, regardless of their individual circumstances.

• The student is celebrated and acknowledged.
• We are realising potential as learners.
• Learning is learner centred where planning, teaching and assessment supports the explicit needs of the learner at that time.
• Teachers, whanau and students are partners in learning, a partnership that co-constructs challenging and aspirational goals based upon student progress, the kaupapa and hauora of the student and the whanau and whakapapa of the student.
• We have high expectations of ourselves where we are open to continuous learning, collaboration and are future focused.

 

NZC – Treaty of Waitangi

At Glenbrook School we acknowledge the partnerships, protection and participation of Te Tiriti O Waitangi.  The Glenbrook School curriculum acknowledges the principles of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand. We recognise Ngati Te Ata, who are mana whenua and we ensure that Maori are succeeding as Maori.

Each year we ask our Maori whanau what we do well and what we can do better. As a result:

•    Every student and teacher shares their mihi.
•    Each day students and staff begin the day with a non-denominational karakia.
•    We provide Kapa Haka and waiata weekly for our whole school.
•    Tikanga me ona reo are planned for and taught weekly.
•    Staff are developed professionally in the kaupapa of Ka Hikitia, Ta Tataiako and Te Tiriti of Waitangi to continuously build capability and understanding.
•    School Evaluation Indicators concepts of Whanaungatanga, Manaakitanga, Ako and Mahi Tahi are identified in all action plans that evaluate the learning and wellbeing of Glenbrook School.
•    Board of Trustees review the cultural responsiveness of Glenbrook School annually.
•    Consultation and whakawhanaungatanga occur through hui, kanohi ki te kanohi and korero.
•    Our Glenbrook Values- Whakawhanaungatanga, Manaakitanga, Mana and Ako – are deliberately planned for and delivered in our lessons.
•    Each year we participate in Cultural Exchanges with other schools.
•    Each year we participate and are represented at the Franklin Cultural Festival.
•    The learning data of Maori students is shared with Whanau and steps are taken to ensure Maori student outcomes are accelerated as priority learners and tangata whenua.

The relationship between Glenbrook School and Maori can be further explained through the carving that sits above the entrance to the Glenbrook School hall.

It was carved by local kaumatua George Flavell from Ngati Te Ata,  as the gateway to our hall where we all come to meet as a school, as a community and as a whanau.

The story within this carving describes our connections to Te Ao Maori and the development of the whole learner.

The kete of knowledge relates to fostering the attitudes, skills and knowledge of each child upon which life-long learning is built.  This reflects our value of Ako – we are all learners

The koru locked together reflect our partnerships, partnerships with our students, staff, whanau, community and others. This is our value of Whakawhanaungatanga. – at Glenbrook School we work as a community together.

Finally, nga-hau-e-wha or the four winds,  depicts the four corners of the earth and the different nationalities attending Glenbrook School. It reflects our values of Manaakitanga and Mana.

The ends of the “cross” reflects our commitment to hauora, wellbeing. For Maori they are;

Taha Whanau: Family Health                                        Taha Tinana: Physical Health

Taha Wairua: Spiritual Health                              Taha Hinengaro: Mental Health

At Glenbrook School we develop the whole learner to Realise Potential.

 

 NZC – Cultural Diversity

The Glenbrook School curriculum reflects New Zealand’s cultural diversity and it values the language, culture and heritage, whilst acknowledging our traditions and histories of all of its people in our local and global community.

• Teachers know each student in their personal lives as learners.
• Learning programmes offer opportunities for students to connect to their own and others cultures, identities and experiences.
• Cultural diversity influences curriculum and Inquiry design.
• Whanau and school partnerships are culturally reciprocal in supporting learning.
• Our Glenbrook School values are our foundation for cultural diversity : Whakawhanaungatanga, Manaakitanga, Mana, Ako.

NZC – Future Focused

The Glenbrook School curriculum encourages students to look to the future by exploring such significant future focused issues as sustainability, citizenship, enterprise and globalisation.

• Future focused concepts of sustainability, citizenship, enterprise and globalisation underpin curriculum design.
• Students are actively responsible for the care of their school, their community, their country and the planet throughout their lives. Manaakitanga: At Glenbrook we care for and value people and the world.

NZC – Inclusion

The Glenbrook School curriculum is non-sexist, non-racist, and non-discriminatory; it ensures that students’ identities, languages, abilities and talents are recognised and affirmed and that their learning needs are addressed. (Pg.9 NZC)

We are an inclusive school who provides educational access to ensure the full participation and achievement of all learners. This includes tracking and monitoring student learning, progress and acceleration. Students with special needs, who are identified as gifted and talented or priority learners are planned for, taught and supported through differentiation and explicit teaching in their Teams and classes. Flexible grouping through workshops, enriched tasks and socialisation are incorporated into classroom experiences.

 

NZC – Learning to Learn

The Glenbrook School curriculum encourages students to reflect on their own learning processes and to learn how to learn.

The Spiral of Inquiry model drives learner agency as the pedagogy that underpins learning at Glenbrook School. Our students are actively engaged and able to verbalise their learning and have ownership of their learning with their teachers. All learners know what they are learning, why they are learning it, how they learned it and are active in their own learning journey. A playful STEAM curriculum that transfers, is measurable and accountable. (Strat Plan)

The Inquiry learning model empowers students to learn through integrated concepts and contexts across the New Zealand curriculum. Summative and formative assessment, progressions and classroom evidence are used to inform specific planning, Student Progress Plans and build teacher capability in accelerating learning.  Digital learning approaches are used to activate and capture learning.

 

NZC – Community Engagement

The Glenbrook School curriculum has meaning for students, connects with their wider lives and engages the support of their families, whanau and communities.

Glenbrook School engages learning communities of action. We promote our framework and tools for effective reciprocal learning centred relationships.

We are developing whanau capability through reciprocal learning partnerships. We implement feedback strategies with whanau which maximise student learning, opportunities and hauora. We build educationally powerful relationships, networks and connections through learning as an action. 

Glenbrook regularly celebrates the success of all our learners and communicates with our community.

 

NZC – Coherence

The Glenbrook School curriculum offers all students a broad education that makes links within and across learning areas, provides for coherent transitions and opens pathways to further learning.

Glenbrook Korowai of Learning is completed collaboratively and collectively. (Curriculum, Progressions, Glossary, Assessment, Reporting, Review). 

Explicit opportunities to connect purpose, skills and knowledge across learning areas are provided through a cross curricular approach.      

Planning for learning and analysis of data is a collective responsibility and collaboratively sustains coherence across all areas of the school.

 

Glenbrook Primary School Essence Statements

English:

Glenbrook learners will be effective oral, written and visual communicators. They will develop the capacity to think critically and reflectively while exploring and understanding how language works. Glenbrook students will be able to communicate their learning purpose and pathway in a collaborative environment. They will make connections then apply their learning to generate creative and innovative responses. Literacy skills will be used with confidence when making appropriate language choices and applying them across a range of authentic learning purposes, contexts, tasks and audiences.

 

Mathematics and Statistics:

Glenbrook learners will think creatively, critically, strategically and logically when exploring relationships in quantities, space and data. They will be active participants and collaborate with others while applying their skills and knowledge in authentic contexts. Learners will purposefully evaluate, reflect on and explain their learning strategies. Glenbrook students will develop the capacity to investigate, interpret, analyse and explain mathematical relationships in ways that help them connect to and make sense of the world around them.

 

Physical Education and Health:

Glenbrook students will develop an awareness of their own well being and the well being of others in society. They will be challenged to engage, take responsible risks, reflect and support others in health-related, cultural and movement contexts. Through the holistic approach of Hauora students will be active participants who develop resilience, enhance their interactions and relationships and share their learning to build healthy communities and environments within and beyond the classroom. This includes a responsibility in taking opportunities in our local and wider community with Mana and Manaakitanga.

The Arts:

Glenbrook students will celebrate artistic expressions of self, community and culture while developing the capacity to work independently, collaboratively and to respect others’ contributions. They will learn in, through, and about the Arts to stimulate creative action and response by engaging and connecting their thinking, imagination, senses and feelings. The cultural capital Glenbrook students bring to school combined with their creative and innovative ideas will be nurtured, explored, celebrated and shared with others.

Science:

Glenbrook students will investigate, explore and understand the world around them. This includes identifying and recalling scientific knowledge. They will gather and interpret data, use and critique evidence, interpret representations and engage with science in real life contexts. Science opportunities will allow learners to collaborate and develop the capacity to problem solve, make decisions and gather evidence on which to make informed judgements.

Technology:

Glenbrook learners are active contributors who will design and develop models, products and systems that address needs and realise opportunities. They will explore how things work and use innovation to make informed adaptations that are critical and creative.

Digital Technologies is a strand in the Technology Curriculum. Learners will explore the theory of how technology works, and how they can use that knowledge to solve problems creatively and innovatively. In a collaborative, future focused and thinking environment, learners explore and problem solve through computational thinking, and designing and developing digital outcomes.

Social Sciences:

Glenbrook students will develop the knowledge and skills to enable them to understand, contribute to and make connections with local, national and global communities. They will investigate how societies are shaped by different perspectives, values and viewpoints. As they explore how others see themselves, they will make links to their own identities in relation to their particular heritage and context. They will examine the bicultural nature of New Zealand society that derives from the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the multicultural perspective of the world in which they live. Glenbrook learners will participate as critical, active, informed and responsible citizens.

Learning Languages:

Glenbrook students will develop the capacity to learn and communicate with others in an additional language. They will explore different and diverse world views in relation to their own. Te Reo Maori me nga ona tikanga is taught throughout the school with opportunities for other languages such as Mandarin and French.  

Glenbrook Primary School Qualities of Learning

Everyone in the Glenbrook School community has a voice. All are partners in learning where connections and relationships are important. At the centre of our partnership is learning.

Learning is central to our school purpose. We are focused on learning as an action, where our qualities of learning give us the key competencies for a connected, life-long successful future whilst retaining our rural heritage.

  At Glenbrook School our learners work towards possessing the following qualities of learning…..

• Collaboration – We work together

• Thinkers – We use metacognition and we problem solve.

• Self Managing – We are responsible for our learning, ourselves and others.

• Communicators – We are confident and effective communicators.
• Future Focused  – We are preparing for our successful future selves