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We have a living, evolving school vision. Progress is celebrated and new ideas added.
We have a living, evolving school vision. Progress is celebrated and new ideas added.
Our Enviroschools Journey
Our Enviroschools Journey
Our Enviroschools kaupapa is about creating a healthy, peaceful, sustainable world through learning and taking action together.
We try to care for our planet, learn creatively and aim to live healthy, sustainable lives.
In 2023 our focus was empowering our students to take action at school & in the community to make a positive change for the environment. We wanted to attract people, plants and creatures to our kura so they can be nourished & protected. Our vision was to have a thriving orchard, a pollinator pathway, a greenhouse and a mara nui for growing kumura.
In 2024 our school wide focus was on embracing the cultural diversity within our school whānau and our in-class inquiry looked at the weather from both a matauranga and Western Science lens. We made a start on our pollinator pathway with a small butterfly garden and maintained and extended our orchard. Our big win was finally making our much anticipated mara-nui.
This year, in 2025 we have explored Manukau Estuary, Poorman's Stream and our local marine environment including opportunities for senior students to go snorkelling & sailing and conduct marine science investigations.
A greenhouse moved miraculously from our dreamy wishist to a reality - thanks to generous funding from Air New Zealand.
In 2026 we hope to join Trees for Survival, an environmental education programme that would involve us adding a native seeding nursery to our ever growing campus of sustainability.
Te Ao Māori
Birchwood School has a close relationship with our mana whenua iwi, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō and works with the Kurahaupo Collective. We collaborated with them on our professional development, mural, enquiry and waharoa and were grateful to be gifted a narrative to inspire us. We are committed to honouring the status of tangata whenua in this land and value the indigenous knowledge and wisdoms which enrich and guide our learning, teaching and actions.
Check out the flipbook we made to showcase some of our cultural journey. This work was completed in collaboration with Kurahaupō and it documents our learning journey over the last few years in developing our cultural capability and our local curriculum
Empowered Learners
Our ākonga are enabled to participate in meaningful ways in the life of Birchwood School. We foster student enquiry, decision making, action and reflection. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring.
Tauira are supported to take action for real change - like organising a clothing swap to reduce fabric in landfill, running a koha table, designing a pollinator pathway and setting up a new recycling station for a variety of things what whānau cannot recycle in their home bins.
Sustainable Community
We act in ways that nurture all aspects of nature, including people, now and in the future. Birchwood takes the stance that ‘when you know better you do better’ as we continually improve our systems, change our suppliers and introduce new ways of being and doing.
Our Bioblitz gave us a starting point to set goals towards our school as a sustainable sanctuary for creatures and humans. We want enough of what we need for everyone to thrive now and in the future.
Inviting our community to bring in their compost and hard to recycle items as well as welcoming help in our gardens, kitchen and classrooms has strengthened our home-school connections.
Respecting Diversity
We acknowledge the unique gifts, contributions and perspectives of individuals and groups. We celebrate diversity in our decision making and engage in collaborative action. Birchwood kaiako nurture and value the cultural knowledge each student brings with them. With inclusion in mind, we have developed accessible calming spaces like the memorial garden, tinker shed & sunshine room.
We are so grateful that parents from a wide variety of backgrounds are choosing our school for their tamariki.
Learning for Sustainability
Learning for Sustainability is everywhere at our kura.
Birchwood recognises teaching and learning that uses connecting experiences to develop holistic and ecological perspectives and create sustainable outcomes. Birchwood kaiako visited Rotoiti with Ngāti Apa ki te Rā tō, learning the significance of the lake, the Tuna pathways and why Tuna is a taonga species in Aotearoa. We integrated this learning into our local curriculum - looking at life cycles, mapping, preservation, & sustainable fishing. Kelly from Pupiri Taonga ki te Tai Ao (Nelson Museum) came in and shared the pūrākau of Māui and Tunaroa which inspired our technology challenge - create your own hīnaki!
Our enviro learning is student led - in 2023 TīKouka loved learning about mini-beasts, Harakeke focussed on butterflies and the seniors in Manukau wanted to know more about native birds.
This has inspired each learning hub to adopt an enviro-focus for 2024: Hā (air), Tangata (people), Whenua (land) and Wai (water.
Our Birchwood School Values
Our Birchwood School Values
G
R
O
W
To align our PB4L kaupapa with our connection to ngā iwi o Te Tau Ihu, we had our GROW values artwork redesigned by local artist Tui Johnson. This work aligns with the cultural narrative gifted to us from Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō. Through work with the iwi (via our regionally allocated PLD) staff mapped pūrākau and whakatauki to each of our values. We teach our values with a strong connection to mātauranga Māori and launched the mahi at our community consultation evening in term 3. The tamaiti in each poster is Māui and we have been teaching our ākonga about his skills and attributes and how they can be applied to our school values.
Tui also helped us with a kowhaiwhai for each value. We know kowhaiwhai often use elements of the natural world and have loved using our very own kowhaiwhai for our maths learning around translation, rotation and reflection.
Grit
The mangōpare/hammerhead shark design symbolises strength & determination
Respect
The koru design represents regeneration, showing respect for the environment.
Ownership
The kūmara vine symbolises communication, reminding us to be clear and honest.
Whanaungatanga
The pātiki/flounder represents hospitality. Caring about and providing for others.
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