NOW!Jakarta met The Principal of New Zealand School Jakarta, Rhett Butlet Hunter and Head of School Tim Maitland to know about the school ecosystem that brings sense of community as a strengh for decent education environment.
Rhett Butler Hunter
Principal
What are some of the strengths of the New Zealand School?
I’d have to start with our community. You feel it the moment you walk onto our campus. Teachers, parents and children are all so engaged. I’ve visited a lot of other international schools in Jakarta and they seem to lack a certain something that our parents find here. It’s an openness and warmth which translates into an almost palpable energy and buzz around campus. If you are looking for a small school where every teacher truly knows your child, you’ve found the perfect place!
How does the school reflect the values of New Zealand culture?
NZS Jakarta celebrates and respects cultural diversity, language and heritage. Our educators take the time to discover and learn about family backgrounds as this establishes strong relationships between teachers, children and parents. This partnership is the key to unlocking a child’s readiness to learn and seek new knowledge. Yearly and monthly events engage our communities to participate in the learning and the culture of our wider whanau (family).
At NZS we put in place the support needed to challenge our children. This excellence makes way for them to reach their potential, even when faced with difficulties. Our school Inquiries connect children to the real world and enable them to innovate, think critically and reflect on how they impact society and future generations to come. We develop young learners to have integrity and responsibility for their school and community environment. Hands on projects, conferences and school wide initiatives are just a few of the many ways we develop accountability, creativity and responsibility.
How do you create an inclusive environment with the wide range of student needs represented?
Schools need to provide a welcoming experience for all students, not just those who struggle, so that effective classroom strategies can be successfully employed. The most effective way to build an inclusive learning environment comes from forming meaningful connections between our teachers and students.
By taking the time and effort to view each child as an individual and believing that each student can succeed, our educators and their students become partners in success. Putting our students’ emotional needs first is essential. By building relationships in the classroom, students will feel comfortable enough to come out of their shells and tell us what is really on their minds.
Students want to feel valued, loved and like they are a part of a larger school community. By forming a bond between our teachers and students and providing an effective educational framework for success, real learning can take root.
Tim Maitland
Head of School
What are some of the strengths of the New Zealand School?
We are a small, family-oriented community, which allows our teachers to personalise learning to the needs of the learners and deliver an excellent curriculum that develops children to be well-rounded, global citizens equipped to respond to an uncertain future.
Learners and families at New Zealand School should feel a sense of belonging in a community that is supportive and responsive. We have a strong team of educators that are motivated to guide children through their educational journey and to help them realise their full potential.
What curriculum does the school follow?
We follow the New Zealand Curriculum – a curriculum with the vision to create confident, connected and actively engaged life-long learners, which is supplemented by other academic frameworks including Cambridge. The New Zealand Curriculum focuses on eight areas: English, The Arts, Health and Physical Education, Languages, Mathematics and Statistics, Science, Social Sciences and Technology.
This is taught alongside the five Key Competencies (thinking; relating to others; using language, symbols and texts; managing self and participating and contributing) that children need to develop in order to thrive in the 21st century. We use inquiry-based learning, where children are actively involved in the learning process and are encouraged to ask thought-provoking questions and develop a deep understanding about the world around them.
We believe the holistic nature of the curriculum gives our learners a solid foundation that will set them up for success in the future.
Please tell us more about your secondary programme as you are going to reopen the secondary school in July 2019.
We are very excited to reopen our secondary programme, which will continue to follow the New Zealand Curriculum in lower secondary supplemented by other academic frameworks to enhance the learning experiences for our students.
We are currently undergoing renovations to our campus for the secondary school, including a new science laboratory and new classrooms. Our students will be going into Grade 7 as ambassadors of the school and will be given opportunities to develop their leadership skills. They will be given more responsibility and a voice that represents the student body.
In addition, programmes will be in place that require our secondary students to be mentors and think about how they can contribute positively to the school and the local community. We are all looking forward to July 2019 for the start of the new academic year.
This article is originally from paper. Read NOW!Jakarta Magazine May 2019 issue “Kids, Family, and Education”. Available at selected bookstore or SUBSCRIBE here.
