Over the last two weeks, we have been unpacking and explicitly teaching the third of our new school values, Kaitiakitanga. Kaitiakitanga is about being a guardian of knowledge, resources and the environment.

Halswell students demonstrate Kaitiakitanga when they:

• Care for our environment

• Care for our equipment

• Value learning

At all levels across the school, teachers have been discussing these responsibilities with students and encouraging them to demonstrate them both in class and in the playground, where our new Whānau rewards system is used to acknowledge our values in action.

You can reinforce this value at home by:

• encouraging your child to take care of their belongings and those of other family members
• getting your child involved in gardening, e.g., growing vegetables or giving them their own small garden plot to grow and care for plants of their choice
• encouraging your child to help tidy up around the house
• eliminating household rubbish as much as possible and talking to your child about why this is important, e.g. recycling, reusing, composting green waste etc
• watching and discussing this short video. The Tiaki Promise Video