Learning With Us

Connecting…

                    …students

                                      …whānau

                                                       …teachers

Key features:

• All students are allocated to a Whānau group, which in turn belongs to a House
• These groups have about 15-20 students in each from all year levels and are led by a teacher.
• Whānau groups are the first – and main – point of contact between the school and home regarding a student’s journey through Rangitīkei College
• The groups meet every day
• Each year, there are three ‘Learning Conferences’ between the Whānau group teacher, the student, and their whānau. Each conference serves a different purpose and will look at general achievements and progression towards goals.

What happens in Whānau groups?

• Students develop goals for the year and plans to achieve them. Their Whānau teacher will assist them in working towards them and offer pointers along the way. Alongside this, they are your child’s first ‘champion’ at school and are the first port of call when there are pastoral or learning concerns.
• In Whānau time, they will also have the opportunity to develop an understanding of the school pouwhenua and explore options for training, education or employment beyond school. Part of this is offering advice on appropriate course selection for the following year.

What can you expect from your child’s Whānau teacher?

Whānau teachers are expected to:

• Establish a positive relationship with you and your child, focusing on learning and success at school
• Assist all students in developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating their personal learning goals
• Hold individual and personal ‘learning conversations’ with your child several times a term
• Have a clear overall picture of your child’s learning progress at school, and be able to support that with comments they have received from subject teachers and assessment data
• Offer constructive, practical suggestions to promote your child’s learning and achievement
• Facilitate Learning Conferences where all three parties can make contributions and be respectfully listened to
• Follow through and provide feedback to you or your child on commitments agreed to gather information or communicate with other teachers
• Encourage the development of personal responsibility and resourcefulness by assisting students to recognise their own strengths, capabilities, and potential for change

Whānau teachers will not necessarily have all the answers themselves, but they can point the way to where answers may be found.