Our Vision

To be an Inquiring School developing our students to be effective . . .

• Innovators
• Navigators
• Connectors
• Collaborators

We work on these four elements, through our vision of the Whakarongo Kid...
                                   
 
The aim of our School Curriculum is to employ the four dimensions of the Whakarongo Kid to provide our students with the competencies (skills, knowledge and attitudes and values) to be successful citizens of the World in the 21st Century. 

Our vision supports the national vision of developing Confident, Connected, Actively Involved and Lifelong Learners, and is underpinned and consistent with the principles, as stated in the New Zealand Curriculum.

We see our school as a developing Learning Community based on a shared vision - that of an Inquiring School.  We want our students to be excited by their learning, with their talents developed and motivated to become lifelong learners, able to take full advantage of the next stage in their learning journey.

To see examples of how we work to develop the four dimensions of the Whakarongo Kid, click on the link below:

www.whakarongo.school.nz/our-vision-0 
 
Whakarongo School cherishes student’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and their desire to cooperate with others in work and play.  The learning is structured to tap into the children’s inquisitiveness, and use their interests as a starting point to lead them to the joys of exploration and discovery.  By fostering self-motivation in this way, children become inventive and independent thinkers who are confident in their ability to learn and master challenges.  We will strive to provide students with real life experiences that further their knowledge and understanding of basic skills and key concepts.

Students will be engaged in trans-disciplinary units of study that require an understanding of key concepts in specific learning areas and the interrelationship among the learning areas. This will take place through individual study, small group and whole group inquiry units, strategy lessons that focus on skill development and direct instruction.  Topics will be authentic and relevant to our students.

1.    Generate new knowledge and understanding
In an Inquiring School knowledge is seen as tentative, often arbitrary, and always constructed by the learner.  Knowledge is also seen as an “energy” to do things with, rather than a “thing” you just have.  That knowledge is tentative implies that the quest for new understanding is continuous and that the generation of new knowledge and understanding is always possible.  The arbitrary nature of knowledge requires us to take an accumulation of chaotic information and organise it in a coherent way.  The assumption that all learning is constructed amplifies the importance of the prior knowledge that students bring to learning situations, for new understandings are shaped by the learners’ preconceptions. The initiatives based upon these assumptions conspire to create an environment where the quest for new knowledge and understanding is commonplace.

2.    Development of inquiring attitude in students
In the centre of Inquiry, students, teachers and the community all engage in the continuing dialogue that is the impetus for what is learned, why it is learned, and how it is learned.  The inquiring student must know that knowledge is more than just the accumulation of facts. However, content is important for new knowledge is constructed when the learner interacts with new information.   An inquiring student can make the connections between prior knowledge and new content by probing beyond the obvious and making constructive suggestions.

3.    Growing capabilities of the staff and school
As the teachers in an Inquiring School evaluate their teaching and share that knowledge with other teachers they create a forum for ongoing pedagogical dialogue.  It is this ongoing conversation that creates the atmosphere where inquiry is normal and the school supports continuous, collegial inquiry.  Inquiring teachers are obligated to keep abreast of current pedagogy, continually assess their own practices and take risks in trying new teaching strategies

In our inquiring school you will see:

*  Learning experiences consisting out of a number of connected activities designed by teachers using a variety of resources that support learning

*  Classrooms filled with a 'learning hum'

*  A variety of groupings for learning:  small groups, buddies, whole class and individual

*  Student-centered classrooms with high levels of student self-direction

*  Transdisciplinary work with connections made between learning areas

*  Learning focussed on developing knowledge and understanding