Class Life
A HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION
Often students find our way of teaching very different to their education at home. While New Zealand holds academic achievement high, and consistently ranks high in education outcomes, we utilise different teaching strategies to engage learners and impart knowledge and learning more effectively.
At GHS we have an exciting and balanced curriculum, with a focus on English and mathematics, and teachers have the flexibility to apply their professional knowledge to personalise learning to the needs of their students. Teachers implement best practice strategies into their daily lessons, curriculum and assessments. This ensures that all learners and learning styles are catered to so that they can absorb, process, comprehend and retain the information more effectively.
DYNAMIC LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
New Zealand has a very hands-on approach to learning, compared to many overseas countries where large class sizes and limited budgets prevent such an intensive way of learning.
At Gulf Harbour School we strive to make learning come alive every day in real life, authentic ways, so that our students gain the most they can from their education. Our teachers are flexible and responsive to students, and create challenging learning activities and look for opportunities to build knowledge. Our lessons involve lots of activities that children actively participate in. This can include getting outside the classroom, and taking a lesson outdoors, going for hikes to observe natural environments, it can be designing and building functioning bridges, or using practical scenarios like pretend restaurants to demonstrate mathematical practices and strategies.
The benefit of this type of engaged learning is that when students enjoy their lessons they pay attention better, they learn more effectively as their brains are more receptive to the information, and they learn more when they can touch and see what they are learning.
SMALL CLASS SIZES
Our class sizes are smaller meaning more individual attention, and that teachers can adjust learning to the student’s current level, as well as work with individuals who need extra support or extension. We support all children to succeed, to take risks and to try. We encourage individuality, and students can pursue the areas they enjoy, and we nurture their own individual talents and abilities. Some children have natural affinity to math, some enjoy environmental studies, and others excel at sport. We challenge all our students to work hard, to strive for goals, to improve, and to achieve across the curriculum
RELAXED AND OPEN
Our approach is relaxed and open, and teachers communicate directly with students involving them in their learning journey. Particularly at the Primary School level our learning environment may be less stressful than the high pressure schooling that many international students are used to.
We believe children need time to absorb and fully understand their learning, and free time to participate in extra-curricular sports, music and other interests as well as time to play and to rest in order to develop the whole child for success physically, academically and emotionally, and many children perform better without the stress of long hours and pressure of testing.