This week's Bay of Plenty Times' School of the Week is Matua School
Matua School principal Craig Wallis has a to-do list which waits for completion on his desk.
Connecting with pupils and staff is more important to Wallis than crossing off tasks on the list.
"I try to stay connected to teaching and learning," he said. "I love teaching and learning. I am a strategic thinker. It allows me to think beyond the now."
The new senior high challenge playground is visible from the principal's office. Wallis tells us the playground is a new addition to the school to encourage pupils to take risks.
"We want kids to learn their limits now," Wallis said.
He said the Matua learner story was based on a Māori legend of Matua and had been made into a storybook which was given to every new pupil.
"It is unique to Matua. It represents who we are and where we are," Wallis said.
Matua School is represented by two birds: Kōtuku the white heron and Takahia the talking tūī.
The book is about the tūī and his journey to becoming a Matua learner.
Along the way, children learn about five qualities of a Matua learner which are: a connected learner, team player, self-manager, confident communicator, problem solver.
Wallis said pupils contributed to what Takahia the talking tūī would look like by submitting a piece of artwork to a local design company which created the final product.
"But the textures that sit underneath it is all done by the kids," he said.
Pupils use language from the storybook between the school bells, Wallis said.
"They will say, 'I was a confident communicator today because I did this ..' and they will give an example," he said. "They can identify some of those qualities."
Wallis said the school had had more than 100 pupils enrol to Matua School in a year-and-a-half, "more than this time last year" due to a changing demographic in the area.
The school's "unique" setting was what attracted many families to the school, Wallis said.
"It has five different access points from four different roads which makes it the hub of the community," he said. "It is not a place where we want fences up."
In fact, the school recently opened up the school pool for community use.
He admitted every principal would say this, but Wallis said his staff went above and beyond for the school community.
"They say it takes a village to raise a child," he said. "Everyone here really cares and wants to do a good job."
"I love Matua School because we have lots of special events. Education Outside of the Classroom (EOTC) and camp are fun activities and we have Options Day when we get to choose any activity."
Harrison Young, 11. Photo/George Novak
Harrison Young, 11
"I love all of the teachers. I love all of the sports like five-aside rugby etc ... and I like the Kids Can Ride."
Noah Douglas, 11. Photo/George Novak
Noah Douglas, 11
"I like being a Dynamo school leader. We run games at lunchtimes."
"I like the library. We have a great librarian. Every Wednesday we have Labradors come in and we read to them."
Liliana Smith, 11. Photo/George Novak
Liliana Smith, 11 "Some of the things I love about Matua School is our awesome teachers and our awesome principal." ERO REPORT 2015 - MATUA SCHOOL
Conclusion Matua School, located in a coastal suburb of Tauranga, has a positive ERO reporting history. School personnel work collaboratively to maintain a positive school culture and high expectations for behaviour and learning. There are focuses on twenty-first-century teaching and learning practices, and catering for students requiring extension challenges.
About the school: Location: Tauranga Ministry of Education profile number: 1820 School type: Contributing (Years 1 to 6) School roll: 396 Number of international students: 12 Gender composition: Girls: 48%, Boys: 52% Ethnic composition: NZ European/Pākehā 77%, Māori 8%, Asian 6%, Other European 5%, Indian 2%, Pacific 1%, Other groups 1% Review team on site: March 2015 Date of this report: May 29, 2015
