Our Programmes
Adding Value to Students at Pakuranga Heights School
Values
Our BeeValued (BeeV) programme supports the learning environment and the way we care for each other. It is based on the Cornerstone Values programme and our senior students are expected to model these values to the younger ones. All children are expected to adhere to these.
Our values at Pakuranga Heights School centre on:
- Honesty & Truthfulness
- Kindness
- Responsibility
- Respect
- Consideration
- Obedience
- Compassion
- Duty
The Bee Mascot
At Pakuranga Heights School the bee mascot is used to signify our commitment to the cornerstone values approach. The Bee statements are used to focus our behaviour towards:
"Bee-ing the very Bee-st we can Bee!"
Pakuranga Heights Bee Mascot
Pakuranga Heights has a new Bee mascot called BEE-atrice. Bee-atrice will be play a significant part in any important school events. The school ran a naming competition to name our bee, and children were introduced to Bee-atrice at a school assembly. Her first public appearance was on Friday 22 June 2007 at the Pakuranga Heights Bee Fit Day.
Catering for Individual Needs
SPECIAL NEEDS
We closely monitor the progress of all students. Where children are identified as having learning difficulties and are achieving below age level norms, they are included in our Special needs Register.
These students will receive a variety of extra support. This may be via:
Grouping in the mainstream classrooms,
Inclusive programmes (individual or small groups with Teacher Aide),
Support from outside agencies.
Teacher Aides contribute to every class daily to assist the classroom teacher cater for special needs within the classroom. Four aides were employed and trained by the Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour at the beginning of the year.
READING RECOVERY
Reading Recovery is a structured programme which teaches reading, writing and phonics daily for half an hour in a one on one situation. Students remain on the programme for approximately 20 weeks during which time their reading level will be accelerated back to the age level norm. Students are selected from reading level checks carried out on all children when they turn six.
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
We employ two part time teachers and two English Language Assistants to cater for the needs of new immigrant and international students. Both groups are closely monitored and receive withdrawal group support.
Gifted & Talented
Gifted and Talented learners are those with exceptional abilities compared to most other people of the same age. They have learning characteristics that give them the potential to achieve outstanding performance. The school uses a range of both formal and informal methods to identify and subsequently monitoring students once part of our programme. These include:- Use of Test Data
- Information from teachers (current and former), parents, other professionals
and the students themselves
Programmes involve enrichment (stretching understandings wider), extension (going deeper) and acceleration (going faster). They occur in the following settings:
- Within the Classroom involving learning centres, flexible grouping, independent / small group studies, online programmes and individual education plans
- Within the School involving Specialist teachers (music, ICT, environmental education, phys ed), cross-class grouping (usually in maths or reading), withdrawal programmes, competitions / exams, clubs / electives
- Beyond the School which may involve private tuition, mentor programmes, concurrent enrolment (usually via the Correspondence School), inter-school networking, extra-curricular activities, One Day School programmes (limited numbers). These will usually incur a financial cost to parents.
Culture & The Arts
The Pakuranga Heights community is diverse and multicultural. All children have the opportunity throughout the year to share aspects of their own culture with others – this is an integral part of our learning programme.Our Kapa Haka Maori Group participates in the local Koanga Festival and is a source of pride for those involved and the school. Pacific Island dance and song and Indian dance are also strong in the school. The children have made banners to represent the many cultures represented in our school and these are displayed on special occasions.
Our Korean families play an active role in the school and our links to the Korean community are strong. We have a sister-school relationship with Minan Elementary School in Busan, Korea.
We have a specialist music suite which all classes use. All children learn to play the recorder from Year 3 onwards and we also provide opportunities for children to participate in a ukelele group. We have a strong choir that performs in local and area-wide choir festivals each year.
Each year we participate in the Pakuranga Summer Festival held at the local shopping plaza and the Dance Festival with other schools in our area.
Sport & Fitness
Pakuranga Heights School participates in all the interschool sporting activities for all major codes in the Howick/Pakuranga area including swimming, athletics, softball, cross country running, gymnastics, hockey, netball, and rugby.In addition we encourage healthy participation in fun physical activities such as our annual Fun Run, and tabloid sports events from time to time as part of the curriculum.
We have a pleasant and well kept swimming pool as part of our facilities and all children are expected to participate in swimming and water confidence activities in the summer months.
Environmental Education
Pakuranga Heights has been awarded the Bronze Award for the Enviro Schools Programme. Each year group has a focus to ensure sustainability of our environment.Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
The students help maintain the gardens under the watchful eye of Mrs Louisson and our part time gardener Mrs Copas.