Love Learning Laughter
Nestled in the heart of Coromandel Peninsula, Kauri Learners is an early education centre with a focus on providing a safe nurturing environment for multicultural preschool children based on 21st century learning.
KKindness
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AAchievement
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UUnity
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RRespect
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IIdentity
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Behind the name
Over 200 hundred years ago, The Coromandel had large stands of great Kauri trees which stood out upon the bush laden hills. For Maori, the Kauri was Tapu and often held chiefly status. We have chosen this giant to be the model for our students at Kauri Learners to emulate: great things come from small seeds.
Grow tall, proud and strong
The Kauri is a prized and important tree in our area, and the word KAURI is an acronym for our expectations and stand for everything we aim to equip young learners with. They are also the behaviour expectations for Mercury Bay Area School which integrate perfectly with their next learning journey.
Grow tall, proud and strong
The Kauri is a prized and important tree in our area, and the word KAURI is an acronym for our expectations and stand for everything we aim to equip young learners with. They are also the behaviour expectations for Mercury Bay Area School which integrate perfectly with their next learning journey.
Our Philosophy
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At Kauri Learners we believe in creating a warm and welcoming environment where children,families and staff are included and respected in the daily life of our centre. We acknowledge each child an individual, supporting their emotional and social needs,empowering them to build on their self confidence,self-esteem and sense of belonging through a trusting environment. The Kari is a prized and important tree in our area,and the word KAURI from Kauri Learners is an acronym for our expectations and values standing for everything we aim to equip young learners with- grow tall,proud and strong. The expectations and values here at Kauri Learners are also the behavior expectations for Mercury Bay Area School, which form the foundations for the next step of the children's learning journey, or wherever they may go to school.
As a centre we recognize and respect that the Treaty of Waitangi is the foundation document of Aotearoa New Zealand,and it influences us at Kauri Learners with regards to participation, power and partnership for Maori, as tangata whenua, and non-Maori as signatories to the Treaty. We uphold our commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi, recognizing and exposing all children to experiencing the languages, music, art and stories of Aotearoa. Also being and international Centre our staff acknowledge the multicultural society and provide a holistic way of learning that embraces this. Our aesthetically pleasing environment is a stimulating and challenging child centered space, where infants,toddlers and young children are encouraged to make their own choices of self directed learning and play. The environment will reflect each child's learning and achievements through learning journals and current documentation displayed displayed around each classroom. The role of the physical environment is referred to as the third teacher, and its role is to inform and engage each individual child. We encourage and support each child's knowledge,skills and disposition to the different experiences within this rich learning environment. We have an emergent curriculum that encourages and empowers children to learn through free play both independently and alongside their peers and educators. We recognize that each unique with different needs, interest, strengths and rates of development. |
Our philosophy and teaching practice embodies and encompasses the principals and strands of our New Zealand Curriculum for Early Childhood - Te Whariki: He Whariki Matauranga mo nga Mokopuna a Aotearoa (The strands of the Woven Web for the Children of New Zealand)
Empowerment: (Whakamana) Children will be empowered to learn and grow Holistic Development; (Kotahitanga) Children learn and grow in a holistic way. Their, intellectual, social, cultural, physical, emotional and spiritual learning is interwoven across all their experiences and our curriculum reflects the holistic way children learn. Family and Communtiy: (Whanau tangata) A childs family and community are recognized as part of the learning experience and the wider world of our families and comunity is a huge part of our curriculum and we encourage participation from family and community. Relationships: (Nga hononga) Children learn through positive relationships with people, places and things and we encourage the participation in meaningful relationships. "Children should grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind body and spirit. Secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make valued contribution to society." Te Whariki: He Whariki Matauranga mo nga Mokopuna a Aotearoa (1996) |
"Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul”
- Friedrich Frobel
