Sacred Heart College School Curriculum
New Zealand Curriculum Sacred Heart College Vision As stated at the beginning of our Charter: Sacred Heart College is an Integrated Catholic Secondary School for girls in which the whole school community, through the general school programme and in its religious studies and observances, exercises the right to live and teach the values of Jesus Christ. Sacred Heart College s Mission Statement is: Sacred Heart College provides a Catholic Education which encourages each student to aim for excellence and to pursue her full potential. The College believes that the mission statement encapsulates the sense of achievement and confidence that it is hoped all students will have when they leave. Sacred Heart is a Catholic College and the emphasis is on encouraging students to begin what will be a life-long journey in the acquisition of wisdom. Happy is the person who discovers wisdom, a person who gains discernment: gaining her is more rewarding than silver and more profitable than gold. She is beyond the price of pearls, nothing you could covet is her equal. Proverbs 3:13-14. The College s vision is for the pursuit of such wisdom in an environment that allows time for reflection, has a sense of community, a core of essential values, a sense of fun and a commitment to social justice.
Sacred Heart College has a strong commitment to ensure educational success for all students. The College s mission statement matches the strategy goal in the Making a Bigger Difference for all Students (Hangaia he huarahi hei whakarewa ake I ngā tauira katoa). (Schooling Strategy 2005 2010). The Schooling Strategy Goal was - All students achieving their full potential. Sacred Heart College is committed to this and has an awareness of the underachievement of significant numbers of New Zealand students (Kovacs, 1998; PISA, 2004). Sacred Heart College is aware that school attendance and positive relationships are at the heart of making a difference. The College has a range of students from a diversity of backgrounds. The College wishes to ensure: Teaching practices that work for all students, Building knowledge about what works to support student learning, Supporting everyone involved in schooling to use evidence to help them in their work. (Evidence being research, data, teacher observations, student work, feedback from all in our community), Building stronger relationships with whanau, local agencies and national support agencies. Sacred Heart College has currently excellent pass rates for Maori and Pasifika students and it aims to maintain and improve these. There are mechanisms in place to assist this with a Maori Achievement Programme (run by the Learning Support Department) and a liaison teacher for Pasifika students. Regular reports are given to our community through hui and fono. Sacred Heart College aims to be a nurturing environment with positive relationships for all students, staff and community. The College has a strong commitment to changing behaviours through consultation, conferencing and a pastoral care system that is responsive to student needs. There is an emphasis on fresh beginnings and restorative practices.
The College is an inclusive school where Catholic and students of other faith traditions are treated with respect. Approximately 27% of the school student body speak a language other than English in the home. The school endeavours to use these community languages in its liturgies and ceremonies creating a positive whole school climate. The College aims to ensure the students will be: creative, energetic, enterprising and confident, able to use new technologies to secure our country s economic and environmental future, and to serve human well-being in general, able to create an harmonious microcosm which can be replicated in our macrocosm (Aotearoa/New Zealand). Our school community will create an environment that recognises the Treaty of Waitangi; is bicultural in a very real sense; respecting all cultures and the contributions / opportunities which they bring, able to develop the values, knowledge and competencies which will help students live fulfilling lives, confident, connected, active participants and life-long learners, prepared for global citizenship. prepared to participate and maintain a just society. Prepared There is a whakatauki which says: Kohore he tarainga tahere i te ara. It refers to the fact that you make the bird spear before you leave home as there will be no time to make it on the road. The implication is that if you are not prepared you could die of hunger. The College s vision is for the students to leave with the competencies they need and are fully prepared to take their place in a very challenging global market place.
Confident Young people usually have a natural confidence. The College will encourage this enthusiasm and build on it. The College aims for resourceful, motivated, enterprising and resilient young people. E tu te huru ma, haramai; e noho, E tu te huru pango, hanatu haere. Let the white hair remain here; Let the black hair get up and go! This was once used to indicate that young ones took the greatest part in a battle but now we use it as a metaphor for harnessing all that energy and drive that young people have. The College wants to prepare the students to be leaders in their communities and the wider world. Connected Waiho, te taipoto, kaua i te toiroa. Let us keep close together, not wide apart. Our vision is for positive relationships: Young people who relate well to others. Use of new technologies is encouraged. We want effective and ethical users of it. We also want our students to be aware of mana whenua (see our values statement). The College educates for citizenship, both in our own country and in the international sphere. Actively Involved The New Zealand Curriculum states that it encourages students to be: Participants in a range of life contexts. The College supports this and encourages involvement in cultural groups, sport, drama, music, oratory, work experience and a range of other activities. The College s young women are encouraged to be contributors to New Zealand in all spheres - social, cultural, economic and environmental.
Life-Long Learners The college s young women will be: literate and numerate critical and creative thinkers active seekers, users and creators of knowledge informed decision makers articulate. The College has grown out of a French Order s desire to bring light, wisdom and social justice to a young country (1865). Active pursuit of these three elements is ongoing. Whaia te Maramatanga me te aroha the words of the old waiata say Pursue enlightenment and love. It is good advice. Our Sacred Heart charism is based on the aroha inherent in all the gospel stories. Jesus was a child centred educator, a great rabbi (teacher) and the living embodiment of St John s vision of God. God is love. Pope Benedict writes that Love grows through love. Love is divine because it comes from God and unites us to God; through this verifying process it makes us a we which transcends our divisions. (Deus Caritas est). We also call to mind our Mother Foundress, Euphrasie Barbier, for whom the symbol of Visitation was very important. We need to be visited ourselves (by The Holy Spirit) before we can visit others. This was a clear example to Euphrasie of love at work. The Order of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions was originally a semi-enclosed Order and much time was committed to prayer and reflection as well as to education. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart, 1877, Euphrasie wrote, Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. There you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29-30). If, aided by grace, we enter into the interior secrets of the intimate life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, what dispositions do we find? We hope our students, with true humility, will learn from such a contemplation of the gospels.
The symbol of our college is The Sacred Heart of Jesus and we are conscious of the tradition of St Marguerite Marie Alacoque (Paray le Monial) and others who were inspired by this vision of Divine Love. We will add the words of St Paul that love is patient, kind, not envious, not arrogant or rude. and Jesus s words where love was always linked with forgiveness. Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you (Luke, 6:27). The College s vision is based on this most important tenet: that love needs to be at the centre of all we do. It is a difficult path to pursue but we strive to ensure that Te Rongopai (The Good News) is remembered on a daily basis. Kia whakapainga te ingoa o Hehu. Kia whakapainga te Ngakau Tapu o Hehu. Kia Whakapainga a Hehu i te Hakarameta tapu rawa o te ata. Blessed be the Name of Jesus Blessed be the Heart of Jesus Blessed be the Blessed Sacrament of Jesus on the altar.
Principles These principles underpin all school decision making about the curriculum. The curriculum is to be challenging and the College environment is one in which students are fully engaged with their work. The College aims for students to be confident citizens of Aotearoa/New Zealand and affirm this country s unique bi-cultural and democratic heritage. The Principles relate to how the Curriculum is formalised in the College. They relate to the processes of planning, prioritising and review. The College s values are part of the everyday curriculum and are to be encouraged, modelled and explored. The Principles are: 1. High expectations In line with the Mission Statement there is an expectation that all students pursue their real potential. Personal excellence is encouraged regardless of individual circumstances. 2. Encompasses the Treaty of Waitangi The Curriculum of Sacred Heart College acknowledges The Treaty of Waitangi and the bi-cultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand. Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions were here in 1865 and always insisted on the rights and dignity of the tangata whenua. This College has strong relations with Hato Hohepa (also founded by Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions St Joseph s Maori Girls College in Hawkes Bay). The College has a strong Te Reo Maori Department and its programmes encourage Maori students who usually comprise 12 15% of the school population. All students get an opportunity to experience te reo Maori me ōna tikanga. Year 9 spend a whole day at Koraunui marae and our Social Science programme has opportunities for cross-cultural study.
3. Reflects Cultural Diversity The Curriculum reflects our country s cultural diversity and values, the history and tradition of all the ethnic and religious groups within our school. The College s largest groups are Maori and Samoan. There are also Tongan, Rarotongan, Tokelauan and Fijian students. Pacific rim countries are also well represented. In addition the College has students from India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Sudan, and the Middle East. Approximately 27% of the students speak a language other than English in their homes.the College respects all these diverse cultural threads. There are also older immigrant groups like Polish, Dutch, Jewish and Italian students who have long been a part of our College. 4. Inclusion The curriculum is non-sexist, non-racist and non-discriminatory. It ensures that students identities, languages, life-stories, abilities and talents are recognised and affirmed and that their learning needs are addressed. 5. Reflection The curriculum encourages all students to reflect on their own learning processes and to learn how to learn. Through formative assessment and other processes Sacred Heart College encourages this reflective ability. Self-review and self-evaluation are part of this process with plenty of teacher guidance available to help this reflection and development. 6. Community Engagement The curriculum is a living document where all subjects and learning areas are encouraged to engage with the students, their parents/ caregivers and their communities. Meetings, hui and fono are designed to encourage this.
7. Connected Sacred Heart College strives to have a curriculum which is inter-connected. The College wants students to be able to make links between learning areas, have a broad education that opens up pathways for further learning. The College works hard to make the transitions as positive as possible eg Year 8 to Year 9; Year 12/13 to work or tertiary education. 8. Future Focus The curriculum encourages students to look to the future by exploring such significant future-focussed issues as sustainability, citizenship, enterprise and globalisation. The aim is for flexible resilient learners who are capable of embracing change in their lives, new challenges, new careers and new ways of seeing, and students who will value democratic ideals which the school models through ways of encouraging participation (School Council, whanau/fono meetings, Triennial input into the Charter). 9. Special Character This category is not part of Page 9 in the New Zealand Curriculum document but as a college with special character we reserve the right to add it. Underpinning decisions that the College makes about the curriculum will be a sense of tradition both from the sacred texts of Christianity and the Church s Canon. If there are ethical considerations in making curriculum decisions we have, as a Church school, salient reference points. Most curriculum experiences are empirical but within the compass of our curriculum there is also room for the quite different focus of the theologian and the philosopher. Students are encouraged to be like Winnie the Pooh for whom the key proof of seeing the honey at the bottom of the honey pot was important, but students are encouraged to develop philosophical astuteness which acknowledges that empiricism alone cannot solve everything.
It is also possible to misread the evidence. Pooh and Piglet are frightened by the footsteps in the snow but if they had stopped for a little reflection they would have realised in fact that the footsteps were their own. Sacred Heart College encourages such reflection and teaches the Catholic philosophical and theological tradition. We encourage dialogue and debate. This College wants to encourage the maxim of St Anselm, Faith Seeking Understanding. Students will leave this College with some experience of moral and ethical arguments, theology, the Catholic philosophical tradition (St Thomas Aquinas) and the place of prayer and reflection in their daily lives. There is much that can be seen and learnt from observation. Harder to teach and to contemplate is that which is unseen. As a Catholic college we reserve the right to observe and teach the wairua or essence of the unseen. We want rational empiricism informed by ethical and moral considerations. The College s curriculum is based on questions and some of the more interesting ones are the ones with a plethora of possibilities. The College wants students to confront the Gospel anew and to realise in new ways its transforming power. He is the Way. Follow Him through the Land of Unlikeness; You will see rare beasts, and have unique adventures. He is the Truth Seek him in the Kingdom of Anxiety; You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years. W.H. Auden. (For the Time Being A Christmas Oratorio in Collected Longer Poems New York 1969).
Values Preface This is taken from Archbishop John Dew s letter to his Appointees on Boards of Trustees and on Proprietorial Boards. It is an excellent overview so we offer an excerpt from it as an adjunct to our Values Curriculum document. Archbishop John articulates here very clearly the five core values that are at the heart of Catholic schools. Freedom (John 11:38-44) Catholic Schools help their students to know their own dignity and the dignity of others and to find the freedom to live fully human lives. Love and Compassion (John 11:34-35) Our schools are about helping our students to learn to care for others, to recognize the needs of others and to feel with their hearts, with a focus on responsibilities not rights. Reconciliation (Matthew 5:23) Our schools are to nurture the whole person forgiveness calls us out of self-centredness to full human living hearts. The Fullness of Life (John 10.10) Catholic Schools are called to educate the whole person for the person to journey to wholeness to become reflective, wonder at and to grow in God s goodness. Finally there is: HOPE (Matthew 28:5-8) The Resurrection is THE feast in a Catholic School which is a place of peace and hope-filled, where we celebrate the goodness in each of us and children experience a passionate commitment to life.
Values as a word is not part of Catholic moral theology. Virtue is (as in our motto Virtue and knowledge. ) Values as a word has come from economics and it implies that some things are worthy and others unworthy. Value = usefulness and thus it also has a utilitarian connotation. How do we decide on which value, or one value over another value? Bio-ethics shows us that there can in fact be a conflict of values (eg stem cell research to take one example). There is in fact a hierarchy of values. An encyclical of John Paul II was looked at and there was some discussion about the Catholic tradition of looking after the vulnerable of society: the elderly and the very young. In Catholic theological language there is a preferential option for the poor. A key to this is the symbol of our faith which is the cross. It is a symbol of suffering and of the seriously marginalised. By his criminal death Jesus was put outside the bounds of Judaism. There is a theological concept of to suffer with. This is fundamental to Catholic social justice and behind the preference to stand with or alongside the vulnerable. As a Catholic College there are some truths that we stand for that are non-negotiable. One of these is the Resurrection which is why the Values sheet ends with a reference to it in the Regina Coeli which is often sung by our Sisters. Although there are some non-negotiable truths we do not force them on anybody. Faith does not replace reason. Christ s teachings are about very fundamental human needs. There is another Catholic tradition that The truth is in conversation. There is an openness to listening and to conversation. We know that this was not always role modelled well in the past but we are adamant that it will be now. In conclusion, we have to accept the term VALUES because that is what the Ministry has used, but that does not mean that we do not look beyond it to the wider theological and philosophical questions that it and its older cousin Virtue raises. This was the task of the College s Values Group and we hope you like some of the background thoughts about our Special Character that we add to Page 10 of the Curriculum document.
We have tried to include Maori concepts too as we believe that there is an holistic quality inherent in this view of a world which is sorely in need of kaitiakitanga (guardianship). This is reflected in our concept of Mana Whenua. The other word used by the Page 10 writers and by us is Manaakitanga. This word has a rich beauty of its own and can be found in whakatauki (proverbs) like: Ko te tohu o te rangatira, he manaaki. The sign of a person of good character is generosity. Mana = personal power and prestige Aki = to uplift or encourage (a perfect notion for us as educators). We hope we will offer an environment of Manaakitanga and one in which the wairua or spiritual well-being of the person is uplifted. We want each student, as our mission statement says, to reach her full potential or to flower (puawai). Interestingly enough this word has as its root pū, which is also in the word pūkengatanga or the reaching of a standard of knowledge or skill very fundamental to what we are all about in the curriculum.
Sacred Heart College Values New Zealand Curriculum Community, Staff and Students shared understanding of Values. Mission Statement: Sacred Heart College provides a Catholic Education which encourages each student to aim for excellence and to pursue her full potential. This is from our charter and emphasises excellence as the Ministry s document does and the fulfilment of aspirations. The College endorses the values listed on page 10 of the New Zealand Curriculum document but add to these: MANA ATUA The College wants students to learn and experience gospel values: to love God, to love self, to love others. We endorse FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY, the virtues taught by the Church. In short, these are the three things that last: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love. Corinthians 13:13 Love shows itself in the way we behave. Corinthians 8:8-11, 24 Mana Atua is about grace, and spirituality. It is expected that our students will grow in this most special of pursuits. This is what God asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
The role model here is Jesus Christ who exemplifies the dignity of the above quotation in his life and teachings. Sacred Heart College s most obvious link with Jesus is in the symbol of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is a profound part of our spiritual heritage and links us with the aroha at the centre of Christian teaching. The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 MANA TANGATA This is about respect and acceptance. It includes acknowledging the light that is within every human being. It acknowledges our social nature and our responsibility to act justly. We owe fairness in various exchanges and we also act in accordance with the common good. The common good in Catholic social teaching is understood as the sum total of those economic, political and social conditions necessary for human beings to enjoy their fundamental human rights and to flourish as human beings. He aha te mea nui o te ao? What is the most important thing on earth? He tangata He tangata He tangata. It is people; it is people; it is people. Respect: Students are encouraged to respect themselves and to respect others. Also encouraged is a respect for the Sacred Heart College s history and heritage. Students will learn a sense of appreciation; a gratitude of the heart, which is a gift. Acceptance and Inclusion: We are a multi-ethnic community and we encourage an acceptance and tolerance that comes with an understanding of other cultures and other ways of being.
Included here is MANAAKITANGA generosity and kindness. This is particularly special to the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions as Euphrasie Barbier (Mother Marie Coeur de Jesus) emphasised hospitality and visiting people. Honesty, Integrity and inclusion are also a part of this or walking the talk. Service: Sacred Heart College encourages students to think beyond themselves and through a variety of activities, groups and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme to be involved with service to others. Virtues: Part of a person s mana will be the virtues: 1. Fortitude (strength of character), 2. Prudence (being careful and showing good judgement), 3. Temperance (being reasoned and sensible in all matters) 4. Justice. (This is an important one in New Zealand as we have a great sense of fairness). Sacred Heart College embraces the principles of reconciliation and a restorative justice process. We encourage our students to be involved in issues of social justice through a variety of organisations. MANA TIPUNA Staff and students at Sacred Heart College acknowledge the debt we have to our forebears: To the saints of the Church; to our ancestors who came to Aotearoa down the centuries and to our more recent elders, both in the Church and in our families. We respect the contribution they have made to Sacred Heart College, our faith and our country. MANA WHENUA The stewardship of the earth. We encourage staff and students to care for the environment. When he laid the foundations of the earth, I was by his side, a master craftsman delighting him day after day. Proverbs 8:29 30.
Sacred Heart College acknowledges the tangata whenua entitlement of the Treaty of Waitangi and the iwi of Te Awakairangi. We ask our students to respect the land and to learn to live in harmony with it. Before the mountains were born, before the earth or the world came to birth you were God from all eternity and for ever. Psalm 90. Verse 2. MANA MATAURANGA This respects knowledge and is in keeping with our motto Virtue and knowledge. Virtue comes from a Greek word dikaiosune or Hebrew sedeq and it implies righteousness and justice. It is about acting in accord with the divine will. We have a glimpse of what this is through our LAWS and through our own conscience. We encourage the pursuit of academic excellence but above all knowledge is the intangible pursuit of wisdom which is the work of a life-time. Whaia te maramatanga. (Waiata from Kahungunu ki Wairoa) Pursue enlightenment (wisdom). Listen Israel to the commands that bring life; hear and learn what knowledge means. Baruch 2:9. If you pursue justice you will achieve it and put it on like a festal gown. Birds consort with their kind, justice comes to those who practise it. Ecclesiasticus 27: 8-10 In conclusion, this document elaborates on the Values page of the New Zealand Curriculum. It gives flesh to it as befits our status as a State Integrated School with a Special Character. Behind our motto of Virtue and Knowledge is the pursuit of wisdom and we recognise that this is a lifetime s work but we hope our students will start this here. Wisdom is difficult and intangible:
The first man never managed to grasp her entirely, nor has the most recent one fully fully comprehended her; for her thoughts are wider than the sea, and her designs more profound than the abyss. Ecclesiasticus 24: 28-29 Virtue is love in informed action and this should be our mission. We expect this to be visible in the everyday actions and interactions within the community of Sacred Heart College and the wider community. We believe in the power of God to lead us in this pursuit. We acknowledge the power of the Resurrection which informs our lives and gives us meaning. Regina coeli, laetere, alleluia Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia, Resurrexit, sicut dixit alleluia, Ora pro nobis. Deum, alleluia. Bibliography Auden, W.H. (1969) Collected Longer Poems New York. Catholic Church N.Z. He pukapuka karakia o te Hahi Katorika (1998). Ollivier, Marie Bénédicte (2007) Missionary Beyond Boundaries, Euphrasie Barbier 1829 1893. Read, A.W. and Brougham, A.E. (1978) The Concise Maori Handbook Vardy, Peter and Arliss, Julie (2003) The Thinkers Guide to God, Media Com Educ. The New Zealand Curriculum, Ministry of Education.
KEY COMPETENCIES Capabilities for living and lifelong learning Sacred Heart College is committed to the five key competencies of the New Zealand Curriculum. These are outlined below (from New Zealand Curriculum document). Thinking This is about using creative, critical, and metacognitive processes to make sense of information, experiences, and ideas. These processes can be applied to purposes such as developing understanding, making decisions, shaping actions, or constructing knowledge. Intellectual curiosity is at the heart of this competency. Students who are competent thinkers and problem-solvers actively seek, use, and create knowledge. They reflect on their own learning, draw on personal knowledge and intuitions, ask questions, and challenge the basis of assumptions and perceptions. Using language, symbols, and texts Using language, symbols, and texts is about working with and making meaning of the codes in which knowledge is expressed. Languages and symbols are systems for representing and communicating information, experiences and ideas. People use languages and symbols to produce texts of all kinds: written, oral/ aural, and visual; informative and imaginative; informal and formal; mathematical, scientific, and technological.
Students who are competent users of language, symbols, and texts can interpret and use words, number, images, movement, metaphor, and technologies in a range of contexts. They recognise how choices of language, symbol, or text affect people s understanding and the ways in which they respond to communications. They confidently use ICT (including, where appropriate, assistive technologies) to access and provide information and to communicate with others. Managing self This competency is associated with self-motivation, a can-do attitude, and with students seeing themselves as capable learners. It is integral to self-assessment. Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects, and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow, and when and how to act independently. Relating to others Relating to others is about interacting effectively with a diverse range of people in a variety of contexts.this competency includes the ability to listen actively, recognise different points of view, negotiate, and share ideas. Students who relate well to others are open to new learning and able to take different roles in different situations. They are aware of how their words and actions affect others. They know when it is appropriate to compete and when it is appropriate to co-operate. By working effectively together, they can come up with new approaches, ideas, and ways of thinking. Participating and contributing This competency is about being actively involved in communities. Communities = include family, whanau, and school and those based, for example, on a common interest or culture.
They may be drawn together for purposes such as learning, work, celebration, or recreation. They may be local, national, or global. This competency includes a capacity to contribute appropriately as a group member, to make connections with others, and to create opportunities for others in the group. Students who participate and contribute in communities have a sense of belonging and the confidence to participate within new contexts. They understand the importance of balancing rights, roles, and responsibilities and of contributing to the quality and sustainability of social, cultural, physical, and economic environments.