Roslyn School - Our Curriculum

As with all public schools in Aotearoa New Zealand, we are required to follow the New Zealand Curriculum and we are committed to ensuring we deliver this curriculum effectively so that all our learners are successful and have a sense of mana in their learning.

In New Zealand, an important part of the curriculum is that each school identifies and develops what's important to their ākonga (students), whānau and hapori (community), and that we draw on this to support our curriculum through our vision, our values, and our approaches to delivering programmes of learning.

Below we unpack our school vision, our whakatauki that guides all that we do, our school values, and an overview of what the curriculum at Roslyn School looks like.

Empowering curiosity, resilience and innovation

Nurturing a diverse community of thriving creative problem solvers who are secure in their mana, strive for knowledge and understanding, and pursue excellence for themselves and others

To empower our students so they are equipped & prepared for anything
To equip students with resilience which will enable them to succeed in an uncertain future
To create a culture of innovation where we want our ākonga to take risks in their learning, developing future skills & values.

"Mā ngā huruhuru ka rere te manu."

"Adorn the bird with feathers so it may fly."

With support and the right tools, our ākonga will soar, being the best versions of themselves.

Ngā Uaratanga: Our Values

At Roslyn School, alongside our students, whānau, and community, we have identified the following values as central to all that we do and all we aspire to.:

Manaakitanga (Respect - Kindness - Honesty)
Kotahitanga (Collaborating - Working together - Unity)
Hauora (Wellbeing of Self & Others in our Hapori)
Whanaungatanga (Positive & Strong Relationships)
Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship - Caretakers of Roslyn School's values, environment and people)

These ngā uaratanga (values) reflect what we, collectively as a community, believe is important for our tamariki to grow and develop to ensure their success both now, and in the future.

At Roslyn School our curriculum reflects the evolving needs of our learners as they move through the school, from starting as New Entrants, right through to Year 8.

At the basis of our curriculum for all our ākonga, is Literacy (reading, writing and oral language through a structured literacy approach), and Mathematics. This is then supported by Rarangahia Ngā Whenu, which is our approach to an integrated curriculum and means "to weave our learning together".

In Years 0-3, we recognise the need to get important foundations formed for our tamariki so that they are able to use these to continue to strengthen their learning. A focus on learning to read, learning to write, and learning about mathematics forms the majority of their learning programme. Literacy is taught through a structured literacy approach (find out more here), with a clear scope and sequence for learning. Mathematics is also taught through a structured approach, using the "Just in Time" approach as a basis, and evidenced best practice (find out more here).

For our younger students, Rarangahia Ngā Whenu (our integrated curriculum approach) provides the context and focus for learning in the afternoons, linked through their literacy in the mornings through careful choice of picture book texts exploring the key learning concepts, which are then used to support meaningful reading and writing.

Other learning areas, such as health and physical education, and specific te reo Māori, are taught separately as part of our weekly learning programmes.

In our senior school, from approximately Year 4 onwards (depending on student learning needs), the balance and focus of our curriculum changes.

As our tamariki show they are capable readers and writers, we shift focus from learning to read and write, to reading and writing to learn. This is done primarily through the context of Rarangahia ngā Whenu so that this becomes the majority of the learning programme. Explicit daily teaching of reading, writing and mathematics still continues - but how it looks is different as much of this explicit teaching and learning is done simultaneously as they learn and develop knowledge about the key concepts for learning in this integrated curriculum approach (find out more here).

A premise of Rarangahia ngā Whenu is that it only integrates those learning areas that naturally fall within the learning journey around the key concept. As such, mathematics, health and physical education, te reo Māori and, at times, other learning areas, may still be taught separately to ensure that integral teaching and learning in these areas is maintained.