Poutama 2024
Nau Mai, Haere Mai
Welcome to Poutama!
Our Vision
Poutama comprises of 78 Year 4 to 6 students at Riverdale School in Palmerston North. We have three teachers teaching in our team and support staff work with our learners at different times over the day.
Our learners benefit from the flexibility we have in both the classroom programme and our beautiful classroom environment.
In Poutama we establish a sense of whānau and we provide many opportunities for ākonga to shine. We believe in encouraging agency through creative ways. We are responsive to the holistic needs of our learners. We achieve this through collaboration. This enables our ākonga to feel a sense of belonging in our team, one where all successes no matter how small, are celebrated.
Leadership
Excellence
Self Manager
Creative
Ngā Mātāpono
In Poutama, we strongly promote Riverdale School's beliefs - Ngā Mātāpono. Ngā Mātāpono is broken down into four key areas - Self Manager, Creative, Excellence and Leadership.
Our beliefs incorporate the Key Competencies and are used as the basis of our Independence Licence Level. When ākonga consistently demonstrate one of our beliefs, they earn a digital pin working towards being a Tohunga in that area. This has also proven to be an effective tool in the behaviour management of our collaboration.
Ākonga are also able to earn Zone Pins. Such Zones include Effective communicator, Interactive, Active Listener, Collaborative, Articulate, Decisive, Numerate and Literate, Critical Thinker, Knowledgeable, Digitally Capable, Environmentally Aware, Kaitiakitanga, Motivated, Determined, Structured, Resilient, Independent, Confident, Inclusive, Caring, Risk Taker, Problem Solver, Resourceful, and Flexible.
Our Space
Poutama's space has numerous break-out spaces and a creative maker space. The flexibility of the space allows for ākonga to spread out and find a space to work in that suits their learning style. Our space has allowed ākonga to further express their creativity in the maker-space area. Each part of our building has a different name inspired by the stars of Matariki. When we come together, we do so in the space aptly named Te Pae ō Matariki. At the start of the year, ākonga explore each space for purpose and collectively come up with a use for each space.
SDL
Each week the ākonga complete a series of independent tasks for when they are not working with a teacher. The SDL Sheet also serves as a timetable for ākonga as they record their workshop times on it. Ākonga have three 'YouChoose' activities they can complete each week. These are activities where the students can work on a skill or area of knowledge that they have self-identified as an area of need. Completed tasks are checked and signed off by a teacher. Through SDL, ākonga learn self-management, problem-solving and time-management skills. Ākonga have agency over what activities they complete and when.
Student Agency
Agency is a key component of our Poutama Programme. Our learners have a huge choice in their learning. We allow ākonga to choose from Reading and Writing opt-ins. We have found that now that our learners know how to read, we can focus on reading to learn. Ākonga suggest topics that they are interested in and the teachers find appropriate reading material on that topic. We have a doc that ākonga are able to put their suggestions on. We have found that the more agency our ākonga have, the more buy-in they exhibit, which results in fewer behaviour or motivation problems. We have seen a direct link between student motivation and achievement.
Our new space has enabled ākonga the freedom to complete their own personal inquiries in Ururangi. Ākonga can choose to use a range of digital technologies during the inquiry process. Te Ako Ritenga is woven throughout our programme and is the driver in the ākonga's Personal Inquiry. During Inquiry, our ākonga help to establish the Success Criteria. They are able to choose who they wish to work with and we deliberately keep the Inquiry topic wide to allow students to follow their own interests.
We use organisers and think charts regularly to help focus the students' attention on where we specifically want them to focus and to help organise and record their thoughts. We love the creative ways our students communicate their learning to their peers and their whānau.