Learning at KNS

Learning is at the heart of everything we do.

At Kelburn Normal, we have developed a framework for our teaching based on the requirements of the New Zealand curriculum.

The curriculum sets the direction, and individual schools use that to design teaching programmes. Schools and communities working in partnership can use this document as the starting point for creating exciting learning opportunities that take account of the different learning needs of their students.

Within the curriculum there are eight learning areas:

  • English
  • Mathematics and statistics
  • The arts
  • Science
  • Social sciences
  • Technology
  • Learning languages
  • Health and physical education

And five key competencies. The key competencies relate to how we all live, learn, work and contribute to society throughout their lives.

Thinking

Using language, symbols, and texts – different ways to communicate and understand information

Managing self – a "can-do" attitude

Relating to others – being able to listen, see different points of view, share ideas

Participating and contributing – being a good group member and including others

For more information on the national curriculum, go to http://www.teamup.co.nz/AllAges/Curriculum/SchoolCurriculum.aspx.

The curriculum has recently been revised and all schools will be working to the revised curriculum by 2010. The revision gives us more freedom to tailor our teaching programmes to the children of Kelburn Normal. So we have been working for some time on adapting to the revisions. This work was recently recognised by the Ministry of Education and we’ll tell you more about it soon.

To understand more about some of our programmes:

Kelburn Normal has a rich performing arts programme which provides learning opportunities for all students and also aims to nurture their diverse talents and needs find out more about Performing Arts

During the past decade the school has also developed an awareness of the local environment, primarily through the development of our native gully. Lots of interesting work has taken place as you can see here – find out more about Environment.

We also have a strong commitment to guided inquiry, helping children to develop a framework for their learning – link to Inquiry@Kelburn.pdf

At times during the year, junior classes participate in the Perceptual Motor Programme (PMP). This is a fun programme that aims to help children understand themselves better through movement – (paper to come)