Visitors to our school often comment on 'the vibe' of the place. They notice that people in the school seem to be happy and open. They notice that our young people are confident in greeting them appropriately and our teachers are happy to have me show people through their classes without any prior notice.

What contributes to this noticeable vibe - or culture - of our school?  There are many factors, and we all have a part to play in developing and maintaining  it.

One focus of our teaching team this year is developing a shared understanding of what our values are. We have strategic plans, a vision and stated beliefs, now it is time to clarify exactly what our school values are.  What are the things we believe in strongly that guide our tikanga - they way we do things? These values - or tikanga - can then be the basis of further strategic and curriculum development.

Our parent community are major contributors to the culture of our school. The way you interact with each other, the way you interact with the staff, the way you welcome new whānau to our community, the way you support school decisions and the way you give of your time and energy to support opportunities for our students. Our close connections allow us to become a strong team and contribute to the positive culture of our school, and ultimately to benefit our tamariki. Thank you to everyone who has supported another family, reached out to say hello to someone new or jumped into become a member of our BOT or FOMS group, actively working to support the school.

Our tamariki are important contributors to the culture of our school. Their needs, the world they are learning to navigate and their vision should be what is driving every decision made in a school.  Student Voice, or "Student Agency", has become an important part of teaching and learning.  We are incorporating deliberate acts which empower our tauira (students) to be active stakeholders in their own learning rather than passive participants. This happens in a variety of ways - from using Spotlight, where tauira  are part of collaborative goal setting and evaluation, to Tuakana Teina where our student leaders design and reflect on the programme they are empowered to run, to sharing "Success Criteria" as an everyday part of teaching and learning so that assessment becomes a growth conversation.

As we work together to develop our shared set of values - our tikanga - it's time for everyone to be thinking about what we  want to be the culture - the tikanga - that we all know and agree on, and that guides every decision made at Māpua School?