PURAPURA
Welcome to the Purapura whānau! New Entrants, Year 1 and Year 2. Our whanau believes in encouraging every child to be a curious and motivated learner who bring their own passions, knowledge and personality to share with the team. We are very lucky at GHS to have a wonderful team of teachers and teacher aides committed to teaching and nurturing the tamariki together with their whānau. In Purapura, we are driven by our school values and our Positive Behaviour to Learning approach, ‘The GHS Way’. We place emphasis on Social & Emotional coaching to support our children to form relationships, solve problems and become confident GHS citizens. This is balanced by an academic approach that builds the foundational skills for Literacy and Math and helps the children develop an inquiring mind.
But…we can’t do it alone! When you join GHS in the Purapura whānau, you are making a commitment to ‘teaching and nurturing our community together’. This is our school mission and we truly believe in what we are trying to achieve. In the Purapura whānau we will support you, as much as your children, to create a successful school experience for all. Using Hero, attending workshops, checking in with your child’s class teacher, working with your child on their goals at home are all ways you can work with us to do this.
Purapura Whanau New Entrants:
Led by Gill Steel, we have an amazing programme in place for our New Entrants and their families. Whether you are old hands at GHS, or new to our community, Gill and the team work hard to foster positive relationships with whānau, and get to know them even before they start. At school, we support the children to explore and discover new learning through research-based approaches to Reading, Writing and Maths; using equipment such as Numicon and a tailored structured literacy programme.
Year 1 & 2:
As the children move through the first two years of school, our team of experienced and dedicated teachers continue to foster that sense of awe, wonder and inquiry; whilst at the same time, developing independence and responsibility. We build on the learning from your child’s first ‘settling term’ at school as a New Entrant, using the same equipment and approach to Reading, Writing and Maths. This way, the children experience consistency and develop confidence in knowing what school is ‘all about’. In these years, your child becomes more aware of their own abilities, and will work more closely with their teacher to identify their strengths and next learning goals. By the time they move on to the Teina whānau, in Year 3, the tamariki are ready for that challenge!
