Dear Parents/Caregivers
Papakowhai School is a great school!
Education Minister, Hekia Parata, visited
Papakowhai School yesterday. The Minister had a brief window in her diary and asked Murray
Williams, Regional Director MOE, for a good school to visit in the Porirua
area.
We talked
together about the high levels of achievement at Papakowhai, the
transformational shift we have made with digital learning over the last 3 years
and the professional development we are doing in writing that is seeing
improvements in outcomes for our children. We also talked about the challenges
of roll growth from Aotea. The Minister was particularly interested to hear
about this and assured us that she would keep in touch and closely monitor how
this was being managed.
The Minister
also visited Kauri block and talked to children in our 3 BYOD classes. She was
very impressed with the high levels of student engagement, the focus on
learning and the confidence of the children to talk about what they were
learning. It was a very positive visit.
We have also just received our very positive
ERO report.
This will be online to view on the ERO website in about a week’s time. Some of
the headline quotes are:
·
Areas for
review and development identified in the 2011 review have been purposefully
progressed
·
Assessment
involves comprehensive collection of data
·
Priorities to
support achievement in 2014 have been identified
·
Most students
achieved at or above in relation to the National Standards in reading, writing
and mathematics
·
Maori students
made considerable progress in 2013. Pacific students achieve successful National
Standard outcomes.
·
Parents are well
informed about student progress and achievement
·
Students
experience positive outcomes through their participation in the Papakowhai
School curriculum
·
[There are]
supportive and affirming relationships between teachers, parents, students and
their peers
·
Students have a
strong sense of belonging to the school
·
Senior leaders
have a clear understanding of the effectiveness of teaching practice. Students
are suitably engaged in the classroom. Examples of effective teaching practice
clearly motivate student interest, match their assessed needs and demonstrate
the effective strategies contained in the school’s curriculum statements.
·
Positive actions
have occurred since the previous ERO report to support the inclusion of
culturally responsive practice for Maori learners
·
Papakowhai
School is well placed to strengthen its self-review and evaluation practice to
sustain and improve its practice
·
No issues of
compliance were identified
Kind regards
Mark Smith
