Welcome to Malfroy School

Curriculum

Maths
In 2001 Malfroy School was one of the first schools in the Rotorua area to be invited to be a be part of the Ministry of Education, Numeracy Development Programme. Our teachers received specialist training and support for the development of numeracy teaching and learning programmes for our students. Our school wide mathematics programme is focused on our students developing sound number knowledge, skills and strategies, as well as incorporating the other strands of mathematics - measurement, geometry, algebra, and statistics. All student\'s progress and achievement in mathematics is regularly monitored and assessed.

Cornerstone Values
In 2003, Malfroy School became a Cornerstone Values school.
The programme focuses on the 8 Values of Respect, Duty, Responsibility, Consideration, Kindness, Honesty, Truthfulness, Obedience and Compassion.
As part of their daily classroom programme our students have the opportunity to discuss, explore, understand and put into practise the values that we promote.
The programme focuses on two values per term. The Cornerstone Values programme underpins our school mission statement. Malfroy School is currently working towards becoming a Cornerstone Values accredited school.

Health
In health, Malfroy school encompasses the physical, mental and emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions, with a particular focus on physical activity for health. (Hauora) Hauora is a Maori philosophy of health unique to New Zealand. It comprises taha tinana, taha hinengaro, taha whanau, and taha wairua. This is delivered through class room programmes and school wide approaches such as Walk For Health, Bike Safety, 5 + a Day, Life Education, Pubertal Changes and Grooming. In 2010 Malfroy School will be part of the MOE student health and wellbeing contract.
The school aims to promote a healthy lifestyle by providing opportunities to do physical exercise, eat healthy foods and educating students about how to look after our bodies.
We are a health promoting school which involves our student team of called Health Busters working together on a health promoting project which involves parents and the wider community.
Each year Harold the Giraffe visits Malfroy School students in a mobile classroom. He teaches children about a range of topics to do with keeping our selves healthy, looking after our bodies, grief, and changes we go through.
We aim to teach fundamental movement skills at the beginning of student’s education and move on to cooperative learning and practical learning activities and enabling to transfer learned knowledge and apply them to group game activities.
Healthy eating is paramount to students learning. We demonstrate this by offering a healthy breakfast two times a week, talking about healthy eating in our classrooms and encouraging students to drink only water while at school.

Written Language
Written Language is a major focus at Malfroy School this year, and a Professional Learning Group, made up of six teaching staff, is studying data that identifies our students’ learning accomplishments and ‘next steps’.

Teaching, learning, and assessment are centred around the National Writing Exemplars, and we have been developing achievement criteria that meet the national standards.

This term we are visiting a school in Tauranga that has been recommended as having developed a Written Language programme that is centred on the National Writing Exemplars, and we expect to come away with many useful ideas.

Remember to encourage your child to write for a variety of purposes; some ideas might be ~ making a list, writing a note or letter, writing emails, and keeping a journal or diary.

Physical Education
“Healthy active students enjoying learning and life in an inclusive and supportive environment”

What’s been happening:

Sports teams are up and running for the term. These are Cricket, Water polo, Touch, Volleyball and Rippa Rugby.

Jump start and meet the teachers night was held on Monday 22
February. This was lead by Malfroy Schools Health Busters’ team. We had Jump Jam to kick off the evening and then parents verse students' games of dodge ball, netball and rippa rugby. A fun Junior School Athletics took place on the field with sack races, sprints, vortex throwing and hurdles. After the fun and games parents and students were invited back to their classrooms to meet the teacher and see what their kids have been doing.

NZ National Bike day was on Wednesday 17th February. About 70 students brought their bikes school that day, as well as some of the staff. An assembly was held where four world biking champions showed us their bikes and told us about their experiences around the world. During the lunch time hour the champs held biking activities for the students.

Lunch time activities - Dynamos are a group of enthusiastic students who run sports games on Monday, Wednesday and Friday lunch times. Staff also run recreational activities during lunch. Some of these games and activities include dodge ball, rippa rugby, jump jam, fruit salad, skipping, bull rush etc. We aim to keep children active, happy and healthy.

Maori
Te Reo Maori
Te Reo Maori at Malfroy School is incorporated daily in all aspects of our students learning.
Students begin and end the day with karakia and waiata and are empowered to stand and be proud of their culture during school wide powhiri. We also have a Kapahaka programme which gives students the confidence to perform at yearly festivals. We also offer a Kia Maia programme which offers team building, motivational and leadership skills.
We currently have 2 classes where the programme is delivered with an emphasis on the Te Reo Maori language.
Rumaki
Our rumaki class is a level 1 class with at least 80% of the teacher’s instructions given in Te Reo Maori. This class is for our Juniors from Year 1 to Year 4.

Bilingual
Our bilingual class is for the older students from Year 4 to Year 6. This is a level 2 class with 50% to 80% of teacher instruction given in Te Reo Maori.

Reading
The teaching of Reading will always be a top priority at Malfroy School. At Malfroy School our aim is to create a love of reading in our students which will help to equip them to be
life-long learners and well-rounded members of the community. All classrooms provide a balanced reading programme whereby there is reading with, to and by the students on a daily basis. These programmes include daily instructional reading, independent reading, shared reading and reading for information.
At Malfroy School we recognise and cater for individual reading needs. By regular monitoring using running records, observations and conferences our teachers are able to make informed decisions, along with the students about their next learning goals.
Reading Recovery and Language Literacy Groups, which include oral language development and spelling skills, are two of the early intervention programmes in place at Malfroy School. These programmes are aimed to raise the reading levels of students who are not yet reading at their chronological age.
Last year we introduced the Reading Together programme to the parents of Malfroy School. Reading Together is a
research-based group programme for parents. It is designed to enable parents to help their children with reading at home. This year we will be running the programme in Term 1 and Term 3. Please see your child’s teacher if you are interested in coming along to these workshops in the future.

ICT
Digital technologies impact on every aspect of our lives, and in the 21st century will be vitally important to New Zealand’s growth. Students need opportunities to become equipped with knowledge of digital technologies so they can respond to the rapid changes taking place in our society.
At Malfroy School we are aiming for:
 An improvement in ICT skill for students which includes the ability to communicate and access information via email and blogs.
 An environment that will scaffold the students to become innovative and creative in the way they communicate with the world.
 Students to have the confidence and ability to mentor fellow students and to ‘peer tutor’ across the school.
 An environment that allows students to enjoy and be passionate about working in an ict-enriched setting and to get personal satisfaction from working with their class members in meaningful situations.

Art

Science

Social Sciences
Social Sciences
The social sciences learning area is about how societies work and how people can participate as critical, active, informed, and responsible citizens. Contexts are drawn from the past, present and future and from places within New Zealand and beyond.
Students in our bi-lingual classes explore the unique bicultural nature of New Zealand society that derives from the Treaty of Waitangi. Many classes also explore and learn about people, places, cultures, histories, and the economic world within and beyond New Zealand.
The four main conceptual strands are:
Identify culture and organisation
Place and Environment (Malfroy School is an Enviroschool)
Continuity and Change
The Economic World
Malfroy School uses the programme Prep- Primary Enterprise Programme as the vehicle for teaching our students about business enterprises and financial literacy. Students form their own government, hold business jobs, and have a market day to sell the goods and services that they have designed, produced and marketed. This year our Year 5 & 6 students will become entrepreneurs in Term 3.
The social sciences are usually integrated with other learning areas. Teachers develop their own programmes based on the needs and interests of their students.