E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e te iwi, nau mai, piki mai, whakatau mai rā.
At Birchville School we are passionate about helping children discover and achieve their potential. We recognise that people come with different values, cultures, strengths and needs and as a staff, together with our community, we are committed to celebrating diversity and providing a quality education that meets the needs of all students.
At Birchville School we see our role as helping our children shine. We do this through genuine relationships, meaningful opportunities and a rich, integrated curriculum which challenges, engages, promotes and celebrates learning for all.
Learn to Love. Love to Learn. Ako ki te Aroha Aroha ki te ako.
Learning to love / Aroha ki te akoIs all about building relationships. It's valuing each other in a culture of high trust, acceptance of diversity and a commitment to working together. It's also about finding the things that make us happy, that excite us, our passions and aspirations and that the more we learn the more likely we are to live full, happy lives.
Love to learn / Ako ki te ArohaIs about instilling children with a passion for lifelong learning, and a positive mindset towards academic and social success. We want our learners to be aware of how they learn best, what they need to do next and demonstrate the ability to make informed choices on where, when and how they will make the required progress across the curriculum in a manner that is effective and targeted to their needs.
Our school is situated on a flat, scenic and sunny site, at the Northern end of Upper Hutt, four kilometres north of the Upper Hutt City Centre. It is surrounded by bush-clad hills near the Hutt River junction with the Akatarawa River. We have fantastic outdoor spaces and our large playing field borders Rata Park and Birchville Kindergarten.
Our school community is a mix of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds with our roll reflecting the multicultural nature of New Zealand society. The children are drawn from established ribbon development areas, developing urban areas, farms and small rural lifestyle blocks.
We maintain a high profile within the community and a true partnership between parents, staff, children and the community exists . We operate in a strong and supportive culture. Active parental involvement in all aspects of the children's education is encouraged.
Our school was opened in 1979 and we have four main variable teaching spaces and a large hall. Our teaching spaces are named after Gemstones in line with the street names in our local community.
We have a really close relationship with Birchville Kindergarten and have weekly visits every Wednesday. We are always looking at ways to develop a stronger sense of 'wider' community in this space.
We have continued to develop our environment to ensure we meet the needs of today's learners which means that we have had a huge focus on providing a flexible modern learning environment which caters to a range of learners and learning styles. We also have been putting a big focus into developing the outdoor environment with a brand new playground, outdoor discovery space, and lots more to come!
We believe that all of our tamariki / children are similar to Gemstones in that they are small but precious, they are diverse and unique, and they take time within the right environment to develop, grow and reach their potential.
Our GEMS are embedded within: Love to Learn (Growth) and Learn to Love (Empathy, Mana and Self Belief).
Birchville students make the most of the opportunities to grow their confidence, knowledge, understandings and potential.
Birchville students accept others for who they are. They value diversity and are able to participate and contribute in a range of social contexts. They show aroha for others.
Birchville students treat others with respect and kindness. Our mana is enhanced by the way we treat others. Humble on the outside, confident on the inside.
Birchville students demonstrate belief in themselves by trying new things, sharing their ideas or abilities, speaking up and using their initiative.