This year we have a range of Kaitiaki roles across our school, where older students have the opportunity to be guardians of different aspects around our school.

All Pōhutukawa students have opted into one kaitiaki role for the first term, with the option to try a different role each term. The kaitiaki roles we currently have are:

- Student librarian: these students will be helping to run systems in the library, support students with using the library, and working with Regina and Caro (library assistant) to ensure our library meets the needs of our students.

- Peer mediator: these students are rostered on at break and lunch times for one week each term to support other students with any social issues or support they need to make their break times work well. Peer mediators wear hi vis vests, just like our duty teachers do, and students can seek them out if they need help at all.

- Road patrol / safety / WOW (walk or wheel) initiatives: these students are rostered on to run the Amesbury Drive crossing, with the help of our fabulous learning assistant, Navy. They also will be running initiatives through the year to help support safe walking or wheeling to school, including leading our Movin’ March initiative with Natalie.

- Activities coordinators: these students have oversight of our outside facilities, such as our giant chess set, our bike shed and bike track, and our new basketball hoops (when they arrive!). They will be helping to ensure students can access the facilities and equipment they need. They will also look at any clubs or activities they think would be good to set up through the year.

- Fundraising and student events: these students will look at one (or more) event each term where money may be raised for a charity or for school, or a fun activity that students can participate in.

- Technology support: these students will support other students and staff across the school with the use of technology. This may involve learning to fix simple problems on chromebooks, ensuring storage and recharging systems are well set up and working well, or helping students with particular technology issues.

For each kaitiaki role, there are responsibilities they need to fulfill, such as following a roster, completing particular tasks or acting in a way that supports other students or staff at school. As part of each role, there are also ways in which students are shown that their support and efforts are appreciated and valued, such as time allotted to them for completing their role (being able to leave the hub at certain times to go and complete their leadership tasks, wearing a school badge, being able to make themselves a small drink of Milo after road patrol etc.).

Each fortnight, all students have a block of time to meet with their group and their allocated teacher to complete ‘on the job training’ and learn the skills of being a guardian and leader in our school. As they go through the year, our students will build their leadership capabilities, which will be reflected in their Journey of Growth and Development (social and emotional learning matrix that can be accessed on their Hero profile).

Badging for our Journey of Growth and Development

Our matrix for the Journey of Growth and Development can be found on your child’s Hero learning report. It is the framework we have developed around our High Five values of Connectedness, Capability, Confidence, Continuous Learning and Contribution. This is our social and emotional learning curriculum at Amesbury School. If you click on the year level label under each high five section on your child’s Hero profile, you can see all of the learning indicators we focus on.

This year we are looking to introduce a badging system for the Journey of Growth and Development. We now have a Kaitiaki badge for each of the five High Five values, and students can earn each badge by completing all four phases in one section of the matrix. There is a photo of the completion badges attached to this article. We will then introduce smaller phases of badging, most likely digital badges, that students can then earn along the way for completing each phase in any one area.

As we move forward with our use of Hero and the Journey of Growth and Development, we will also begin to communicate with you around how parents and whānau can get involved with uploading evidence and learning stories their child/ren’s Journey of Growth and Development, because this learning happens as much out of school as it does in school.

We are very excited about our Kaitiaki roles and our use of badging and Hero to support work around leadership and the Journey of Growth and Development. We will keep you informed of the fabulous learning and leading our students are doing through the year.

Warm regards,

The Amesbury team