Korowai o nga Uara : Our Cloak of Values
Our Values underpin our school culture and philosophy and are deeply held beliefs about what is important and desirable. They are expressed through the way we think and act. Every decision relating to curriculum and all interactions at school are reflective of the values of the individual and collective. Our values refer to what we want our learners to know about, show and demonstrate in their learning and relationships.
At Ōpiki School, we nurture our Values so our learners grow into inquiring thinkers who can adapt and succeed in a changing global society.
Our Korowai o Nga Uara;
Ako:We Learn - We value learning from each other and that learning is interactive and connected to the world around us.
Whanaungatanga:We Connect - We value developing and maintaining strong relationships with all people to create a sense of belonging and unity.
Manaakitanga:We Care - We value showing kindness and care for everyone, in a safe and culturally responsive environment.
Kaitiakitanga:We Protect - We value being guardians, protectors, kaitiaki of our environment, our language, our culture and everything that makes us special. Now and for the future.
Our values are based on the metaphor of the korowai, which is regarded as a taonga, a treasure handed down from the generation to generation. The korowai has a parallel with our metaphor of the harakeke bush in our curriculum, that is it the end product of the values, skills, attitudes and mahi of all our learners.
The whenu of the korowai descends from the Ministry of Education’s Key Competencies, representing the learning skills of the ako. Nga aho of the korowai weaves trough the whenu, weaving the korowai together as a wearable garment and depicts our kaupapa/tikanga.
