As a teaching team we honour children as individuals and value their unique ideas and ways of communicating.  We aspire for children to experience an environment that offers collaborative experiences alongside an unhurried pace to develop and learn in. Through this we celebrate dispositional learning which fosters development and exploration.

Our practice is strongly inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy; the RIE appraoch (Resources for Infant Educators) developed by Dr Emmi Pikler, and our New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, Te Whāriki. As a consistent team, we view ourselves as being very passionate about working cohesively with these philosophies. We believe that this enables us to learn more about the holistic way each child develops and their innate capabilities.

It is through our unique approach, the Buddy System, that we promote collaborative partnerships between children, parents and teachers.  This involves building relationships with our families, acknowledging their aspirations to ensure that they have a sense of belonging through a slow and respectful transition.

We are committed to celebrating the diversity of all children and their whānau. By honouring these, we promote the child’s sense of belonging and development of identity. Trust, honesty and an open dialogue between us forms the heart of learning. From this we believe the roots for life-long learning are firmly grounded.

In the Morepork room, we nurture meaningful reciprocal relationships between children, whānau, and teachers. We promote a supportive and inclusive environment that enables children to develop a strong sense of belonging among the Bear Park community of learners.

As a teaching team, we are passionate in building a strong sense of partnership with whānau, which in turn enables our children to feel secure and confident to explore their own questions, ideas, and working theories. We value children’s exploration through play and foster collaborative work in small groups, supporting them to share their ideas alongside their peers. We view our environment as a third teacher, providing children with opportunities to develop and extend on their prior knowledge, problem solving, verbal and non verbal communication, and support the continuing development of their social skills.

We recognise and respect the multitude of cultural identities and languages that our children and whānau bring with them into our Morepork community. With this in mind, we aim to create a space where families feel comfortable to participate and share their cultural identity, ideas, hopes and aspirations.

We see each child as having one hundred languages and a hundred more. Therefore, we take on the role of active listeners and engage in ongoing dialogue with the children. We accept and respect each child’s ideas and feelings and in partnership with families, we empower children to become confident and competent communicators. 

“We teachers must see ourselves as researchers, able to think, and to produce a true curriculum, a curriculum produced from all of the children.” – Loris Malaguzzi

As a teaching team, the teachers of the Kea room believe in the importance of childhood. We feel strongly that young children should be celebrated for who they are now, as well as acknowledging and supporting the skills they are developing to assist them as life long learners.

The Kea teachers promote a culture of trust, respect and collaboration in our classroom. We actively listen to the children and are passionate about creating an environment where they can encounter challenges within an atmosphere of trust and support.  We recognise the magic and wonder children encounter on their learning journeys and have a shared understanding of how to support and extend their interests while maintaining a sense of joy.

We understand the vital role that authentic and trusting relationships play in ensuring each family develops a sense of belonging in our classroom. As a teaching team, we promote respectful and meaningful encounters through actively listening to each child and their family.  We are dedicated to working in partnership with each family and recognise the importance of celebrating the unique cultures and contributions of the Kea whānau.

“When you teach a child something you take away forever his chance of discovering it for himself.”  Jean Piaget

As a teaching team, we are dedicated to creating an inclusive environment that celebrates each individual child and their knowledge, strength and culture. We recognize the importance of the dual heritage of Aoteaora and we uphold our commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi and the multicultural diversity of our learning community. We work in partnership with children, their whanau and the wider community to foster collaboration within our environment.

We are inspired by the Reggio Emilia Philosophy and encourage each child’s unique self-expression through the hundred languages. The hundred languages are the many different ways that children can choose to communicate, and as teachers, we are passionate to document, celebrate and share these with whanau. As a teaching team, we respect that each child has the right to discover their individual capabilities and strengths within a nurturing, collaborative environment.

We also acknowledge the environment as the third teacher and are dedicated to inspiring investigative learning through both natural and recycled materials. These open-ended resources spark wonder and imagination, and invite children to share their thoughts and theories in dialogue with each other.

As a teaching team we view ourselves as life long learners, enriching our practice through ongoing professional development, research and reflection. We are passionate and professional advocates for children as confident and curious investigators. We encourage this through an environment that is filled with laughter, fun, joy, aroha and wonderment.