Three years ago Oaklands School introduced the transition programme to support students to build relationships and establish an effective collaborative learning environment before the start of the new school year.

Feedback from students and parents over this time has been very positive with the main advantage being reduced anxiety over the holiday break.  New students starting at the beginning of Term 1 are also able to meet their teachers, learn routines and begin to form friendships that will support them to have a positive start to the year. 

As all students move into collaborative hubs in 2020 students and teachers will be working together in innovative learning spaces (either at the start of the year or mid way through the year when our Canterbury blocks have been opened up and fully renovated). Research from across New Zealand as well as the experience of our Year 7/8 hub shows that forming relationships with a group of teachers is more beneficial to students than having a single whanau teacher. This year we have gathered student voice from our Year 7/8 students and one of the most important things that has supported their academic and social growth was having the support of three teachers. They valued the fact that if one of the teachers was away for a period of time, the learning programmes and emotional support continued as they were still supported by teachers they had worked with all year. As single cell classrooms cease to exist, the need for a whanau teacher has been eliminated, and a more collaborative approach to supporting students (as is evident in early childhood education and secondary school) has been developed at Oaklands School over the last few years.

During the transition programme all teachers in the hub are getting to know all of the students and forming relationships with them. At the beginning of Term 1, you will have an opportunity to meet all of the hub teachers and they will outline the routines in the hub, who your child will be working with initially for reading, writing and maths and the role of the pastoral care teacher.  As students needs change throughout the year they will have opportunities to be taught by all of the teachers in the hub

Each morning one of the teachers in the hub will greet students as they arrive and will be available to talk to you about your child.  Any email communication will go to the hub:

hub1@oaklands.school.nz 

hub2@oaklands.school.nz

hub3@oaklands.school.nz

hub4@oaklands.school.nz

hub5@oaklands.school.nz

hub6@oaklands.school.nz

hub7and8@oaklands.school.nz

so that all teachers in the hub are aware of your inquiry and can respond with the information you need. When teachers respond to you they will 'cc' all other teachers in the hub.