Education Review Office Consistently listed amongst our strengths are pastoral care systems – that is, the systems and school culture we have created for looking after children’s physical and emotional well-being. High student engagement in learning has also received ERO acknowledgement. Curriculum assessment and reporting to the board parents is an acknowledged area of strength in our latest report.
Composite Classes: All rooms are composite Year Seven and Year Eight classes (i.e. there are children from each year level in every classroom). Trialled in 2006, this innovative move has resulted in significant social and academic advantages.
Preparing for secondary schooling through Interchange: Pupils have their own base classroom but leave their room when doing Technology (Hard materials, Electronics, Food, and Bio-technology) and Art. At times classes will interchange groups of children for some core classroom subjects.
All classes have two “Art Days” per term with our specialist art teacher. Having whole days of art provides scope for longer periods of concentration and attention to detail.
Te Tahu Rua Reo: Children in the TTRR class will have the curriculum presented in Maori for at least 80% of the time. The TTRR are aslso our competitive kapahaka group and are regularly the top performing mainstream school at Canterbury kapahaka competitions. In 2010 they earned the opportunity to travel to Whangarei in 2011 for national kapahaka competitions.
Extension class: We currently have one “extension” class in which some children of high ability receive a speciailised curriculum. This is another group which achieves regular success at a national level. In 2010 a mathematics team achieved the top place for New Zealand schools in the Australasian Mathematics Olympiad. In recent years children have won scholarships to Christ College and St Margarets.
High Literacy Needs class: This class has a specialist literacy teacher, a teacher aide, and a reduced size compared to other classes at SIS. It primarily caters for children with high needs in literacy. Some of these children are English Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL), others – for a variety of reasons – are considered to be likely to benefit from the intensive literacy input in this classroom. A high degree of analysis, formal language English learning and goalsetting is a feature of this room. We are very proud of our achievement record through this classroom. The expertise of the teacher, and the depth and accuracy of the teaching in this room has received frequent praise from the Education Review Office.
Choir: Our school choir takes part in local school choir events as well as the Christchurch Primary Schools Music Festival
Band, Orchestra and Music Tuition: Our children can learn a range of instruments through the Shirley District School – which is based at our school. Through this Ministry of Education-funded scheme children can get tuition for a little over $100 per year. Enrolments are always popular so make enquiries early.