We have introduced a new system that acknowledges and rewards positive student behaviour outside the classroom.

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In my previous newsletter comment, I introduced our Learning Culture Plan and explained how Restorative Practice underpins much of what we do at Villa Maria College. We have also recently introduced a positive behaviour system, loosely based on PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning) which has been adopted by many schools and suggests that high rates of positive contact with individuals or groups of students can be expected to significantly reduce student problem behaviour for up to 90% of students. While the Learning Culture Plan is a system for encouraging a more positive culture within the classroom, the PB4L system allows for identifying positive actions outside of the classroom and affirming them.

We have identified two of our key values; whakaute (respect) and tika (justice). Thanks to the design genius of Ms Gimblett, we have made up 600 tokens with the two values on them and the staff are actively looking for opportunities to reward behaviour that shows whakaute in action such as respectful interactions, respect for our earth and respectful communications. We are also on the look out for any actions that show integrity such as students taking responsibility for their actions and evidence of fairness in their decision making to be an outward example of tika.

The tokens are given to a student for the recognised positive behaviour around the school and the students then place them in a container in the Student Office which is identified by their Houses. At the end of the first week, all the tokens were given out and McAuley House led the points (kindly collated by two of the maths teachers, Mrs Coetzee and Mr Maynard, for which I am very grateful as maths is not my strong suit!)

We originally hoped that the tokens would be counted and collated twice a term, so to have so many given out in the first week has exceeded our expectations. In the great scheme of things, this is a small affirmation of positive action, but I hope it is also a genuine a reflection of how we live out our values at Villa Maria College.

Te aroha noa me te rangimarie

Megan Cassidy