A significant emphasis of the junior school is oral language, phonics, literacy and maths to provide authentic and meaningful learning situations which are attached to experiences and life within the community. For our younger students, this may mean involvement in our kitchen and garden, taking advantage of our local resources like Kuranui Bay for environmental, science and art projects or using their skills in the arts to present their perspective.
Our school values are a crucial part of the ‘Moanataiari Way’ in our junior school. We use the NZ curriculum, underpinned with Te Whariki which are interwoven throughout with our school values of Whakawhanaungatanga - connecting and including, Whakaute - respect, Ako - teaching and learning, Tino Pai Rawa - doing our best, Manaakitanga - caring and Manawaroa - grit and determination.
We start our school day with daily fitness and continue with a comprehensive and in-depth maths programme (Pr1me Maths). Our junior classes have a rich and integrated literacy programme, using word works, ‘Early Words’ and the Yolanda Soryl Phonics programme in which all our junior teachers have been trained.
Our junior students enjoy the ‘Early Words’ programme, as they are partnered with a senior buddy student until completion of the programme. This is a daily event in our junior classes and is a great demonstration of tuakana-teina. The junior classes all have their own gardens to care for and grow plants which they can take home or cook with, in our whare kai.
Te Reo and Tikanga Māori is another focus of our school and continues to grow with us as we expand our knowledge. Our students also enjoy summer swimming in our school pool, junior competitions in cross country and athletics. Local and environmental resources are also an important part of our school programme.