Riverslea School 2011
A community of change
The Riverslea School Community
We are a small decile 1a school backing on to Karamu High School in Mayfair. Our community is on the cusp of Mayfair and Parkvale and we share many of the families with the two larger, wealthier schools. Many of our students come from solo parent families, or are raised by grandparents or other caregivers.
Our school is made up of 3 entities: Riverslea School, Riverslea Community Pre-School and Riverslea Community Trust. We all have the same goal of providing a safe, nurturing and empowering environment. Our School is truly at the hub of our community.
We are on a journey of change within our school. The end of 2010 roll left the school with 28 students for 2011. We currently have 61 students and we are continually growing. There are many contributing factors for this growth but the most important one is summed up with this whakatauaki.
He aha te mea nui o te Ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, It is people, It is people.
We have passionate people who want to make a difference for our students and their whanau.
New in 2011
· Data projectors for each class
· Cameras for each class
· 7 laptops
· Wireless capabilities
· Online Profile School Website, blogsites and Youtube Channels
· New School Uniform
· The Riverslea School Inquiry Learning Model
· Directional Street Signs
· New Front Sign
· School Flags
· Bicycle track and Skills track
· School bikes
· Hastings City Library Visits
· New Library System
· School Leadership Team (Badge Holders)
· Hastings Intermediate Transition Plan
Curriculum change
We have implemented the inquiry learning process this year and the growth in motivation, engagement, confidence and achievement has been outstanding. Some of the successes have been:
- Students growing in confidence to present information, ideas and understandings to council officials, at the Hastings City Library, to the Riverslea Community Trust, School B.O.T and regularly to the whole school and whanau.
- The excitement you see in students when they make a difference for themselves, our school, the community and on a global level, this amazing.
- The motivation and eagerness to get to school in the mornings.
- Growth in ICT skills, knowledge and confidence.
- Students being able to articulate and communicate clearly and confidently with adults and visitors.
- Students’ ability to access knowledge from a variety of sources.
- Reflective on outcomes, barriers and situations.
The flow on affect of the inquiry learning process is that students are motivated and engaged because they know they can make a difference. The outcomes can be at four levels:
personally, for the school, Whanau/Community and at a global level through the online community. They become confident in themselves and their abilities as they start to have successes and see the difference they have been able to produce. When you have motivated, engaged and confident students, they will achieve.
Team Dynamics
As well as changes with the students, we have had exciting and dynamic changes with our teaching team. We have undergone regular professional development to up skill ourselves in ICT, and inquiry learning to be able to deliver an engaging and exciting curriculum. With the coming of the ipads, we will be challenging the traditional teaching methods and exploring how online communities can support learning. We as a staff, are undertaking teacher inquiry for us to be able to identify the impact that the ipads are having, with the focus area of literacy.
Vision
We aim to be unique in many ways. We are an enviro-community that is connected to the world and we use ICT tools to help us impact globally from our small school community. We will nurture and grow seedlings for our community and document the process for other communities to replicate and follow. We reduce our carbon footprint though talking with innovative people locally, nationally and internationally using Web 2.0 technologies. We aim to cycle to events but still be able to log it, blog it and communicate it with the world. We are only limited by our own imagination!!!
Ko wai au/Who am I ?
Kia Ora Ko Maurice Inia Rehu ahau
Ko Tararua te maunga
Ko Manawatu te awa
Ko kurahaupo te waka
Ko Rangitaane me Ngati Raukawa ki te tonga nga iwi
I was born in Hastings, attended Camberley School, Heretaunga Intermediate, Hastings Boys High and Massey University. I have been teaching for 9 years, the first 8 years of my teaching was in the Horowhenua. I returned to Hawkes Bay this year as a first time principal to Riverslea School. I am passionate about my job and the community I work in. Growing up in Camberley, I can relate to my students and their whanau, I was just like them. I know the importance of education, and the opportunities that are waiting for them if they have the right support, role models, energetic and passionate teachers. I have returned to Hawkes Bay with my wife Gina (who teaches with me) and daughters Ruby (Napier Intermediate) and Grace (Riverslea School).
Rod Drury
Meeting Rod has opened up an amazing opportunity for our staff, students, their whanau and our community. The possibilities are endless. This is an opportunity to create something very special for a community that has very little.
Our team are constantly challenging ourselves to be innovative, engaging, passionate and exciting for our students.
Nou te rourou
Naku te rourou
Ka Or ate manuhiri
With your food basket
and food basket
the visitors will be feed
Within the food baskets are our passions, skills, knowledge, and what we bring to the school.
The visitors are our students and whanau and together they will be nurtured and nourished.
Maurice Rehu
Principal
Riverslea School
Mayfair
Hastings
www.riverslea.school.nz
