I get to know others even though they may be different

Our school value of Kotahitanga refers to being ‘one’ and promotes that a sense of togetherness through collaboration and unity, leads to collective action and a shared sense of belonging. In essence “My strength is not that of an individual but that of the collective.”

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been focussing on this value, and in particular, getting to know others even though they may be different. This has been a great introduction to our whole school's focus on diversity for Inquiry this term.

During this learning, students were encouraged to think about the word ‘normal’ being used to describe people. The seniors watched this thought-provoking video from a TED talk - Rosie King Video link, while the junior students watched Small talk. Students then worked with a buddy to create a venn diagram, discovering what was the same and different about each other.

Further class discussions promoted the idea that we should celebrate being unique rather than ‘normal’, and although we may be different to others, we also have similarities. Knowing this, and making connections with others, will help develop confidence to collaborate and learn with others.