YEAR 7 AND 8's
Leadership is a key feature of our school. Great leadership abounds in all areas from students to teachers. We have a wide range of leadership opportunities for students such as House Captains to Student Council, Librarian, Sports and Wet Day monitors.
Tuakana / Teina
The Tuakana-Teina relationship, an integral part of traditional maori society, provides a model for buddy systems. An older or more expert tuakana (brother, sister, cousin) helps and guides a younger and less expert teina (traditionally a younger sibling or cousin of the same gender).
Tuakana/teina refers to the relationship between an older (tuakana) person and a younger (teina) person. Our older children mentor our younger ones (the tuakana has the knowledge and content to pass on to the teina). Home bases of varied ages are buddied together to support the growth and understanding of our values of community, respect and manaakitanga. A range of learning opportunities take place across the year to promote this system.
New Entrant pupils are assigned an individual buddy whom they will meet during their pre-entry visits. This person helps them settle into school life. They meet them at their home base and offer support in the playground.
Opportunities are provided across the school with more of a focus on our senior learners to contribute to our school.
This provides students with opportunities to grow and develop their own leadership capacity whilst supporting other students.
Year 7/8 students apply for leadership roles in which they feel best suited, linking to areas of interest.
Some of the student leadership roles and opportunities in the senior school are:
Rōpū Whānau Leaders - responsible for leading Wednesday karakia and building whanaungatanga with their multi-level group
Physical Activity Leaders (PALS) - planning and implementing junior school fitness programmes
Committees - Supporting and driving new school initiatives
Student Council - Year 8 students apply for leadership responsibilities, including student council
Honours Programme
Honours Programme - Kea Team
The St Joseph’s Senior Honour Programme recognises the valuable contribution that senior students make to our school and celebrates their outstanding achievements. The programme begins when students enter Year 7. They continue to work through the programme and towards their Honour Badges through to the end of their Year 8 year.
What do we believe about our Honours Programme
St Joseph’s School believes that for students to become life long learners, we need to provide opportunities for all students to set their own learning goals, accept responsibility and take risks in their learning. The Honours Programme seeks to promote personal development and community pride through the recognition of their achievements, and to inspire students. It enables student’s individual talents to be further recognised and valued. It is also about recognising the successes of a well rounded student as they achieve in a variety of aspects - academic, cultural, sporting and, leadership and service.
Our aim is that children will:
Through the Honours Progamme, further develop the key competencies that will ensure they continue to learn throughout life
Aspire to be the best they can be in a variety of areas
All get a chance to experience success in areas of strength and to set goals in areas of challenge
How is the Honours programme planned and taught in our school
Students are issued with an Honour Programme document as they enter Year 7. Activities or roles are assigned a points value. The points accrue to a set level. Certificates are gained - either bronze, silver or gold - when a certain threshold is reached. When a student gains a bronze certificate in all aspects - leadership and service, sporting, cultural, academic - they are awarded a bronze badge. As they accrue more points, they can gain silver, gold and high distinction certificates. From there, and when they reach the required level, they can gain silver, gold or high distinction badges.
The students keep a record of their progress towards their awards, and teachers are required to sign these off before a certificate or badge is issued. There are many options for gaining points in all aspects. It is stressed that students must do a thorough job or be committed to any roles which will enable them to gain points in the programme.
How do we assess and report on the Honours Programme
Students keep a record of their achievements in their personal document. There is a running total of points for each of the four areas. It is the teacher’s job to assess whether the student has achieved the points they gain for activities stated in the document. Students receive certificates in class; are awarded badges and are given recognition at Assemblies. Students wear their badges as part of their uniform.