Nurturing Our Future – Growing Together
Kia atawhai a mua – Kia tipu ngaatahi
Nurturing Our Future – Growing Together
Kia atawhai a mua – Kia tipu ngaatahi
Kia Aatawhai aa mua – Kia tipu Ngaatahi – our School Vision, drives all aspects of school life. Kia Kotahi – Together As One, Kia Manaaki – Honour Be Your Guide and Kia Maia – Confident Can-Do.
We are a Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) kura.
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) is a school-wide behaviour management approach that helps students learn and practice positive behaviours. It focuses on teaching, encouraging, and celebrating respectful, responsible, safe choices and creating a positive and supportive environment. As a school, we have high expectations and a zero tolerance for bullying.
At our school, we embrace Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) to create a supportive and inclusive environment. Each week, we focus on one of our school vision statements, explicitly teaching and exploring it through class discussions, group activities, and individual learning opportunities. The weekly vision statement is consistently focused on throughout the school and highlighted every day, from the morning “bing bong” to Before and After School Care.
Our trained Year Six Peer Mediators lead the unpacking of the weekly vision focus. They explain what our vision statements look like in action in the playground and the classroom, supporting PB4L and restorative practice within our school culture.
Students who have demonstrated our vision in class have their names entered into the daily draw. Each morning, several students are celebrated and acknowledged — reinforcing positive behaviour and fostering pride in meeting our shared expectations.
These vision statements guide our tamariki in understanding and practising positive behaviours, helping them grow socially, emotionally, and academically. We celebrate our students’ efforts with Principal Awards linked to each week’s vision, and our reward system encourages them to earn tokens for whaanau group awards or classroom vision cards, which can lead to exciting prizes.
Our school visions give kaiako, aakonga, and whaanau a shared language and a collective voice to support one another, fostering a strong sense of community and belonging.
At Tamahere Model Country School, our staff are trained in PB4L Restorative Practice, an approach that focuses on strengthening relationships, building a positive school culture, and supporting students to take responsibility for their actions in a caring, constructive way.
Restorative Practice is grounded in the belief that relationships are at the heart of learning. When something goes wrong, the focus is not on blame or punishment. Instead, teachers use restorative conversations to help students understand what happened, how others were affected, and what they can do to put things right. This aligns strongly with our school vision:
Kia Kotahi – Together As One | Kia Maia – Confident Can-Do Kids | Kia Manaaki – Honour Be Your Guide.
Our staff use restorative practices every day to:
By using restorative approaches, students learn to:
Restorative Practice strengthens our whole-school culture. It helps create a learning community where positive relationships are prioritised, and where every child is guided to grow socially, emotionally, and academically.
At Tamahere Model Country School, our Year 6 students have the opportunity to lead as Peer Mediators. Peer Medicators are trusted leaders who help create a safe, caring and respectful playground environment. Peer Mediators play an important role in modelling our school vision and supporting younger aakonga during break times.
What Peer Mediators Do:
Each morning, our Peer Mediators share some helpful insights into our weekly school vision, sharing ways that you can show the vision both at break times and in the classroom, during daily announcements. They share examples of positive behaviour, remind students of our vision focus areas, and help set the tone for a supportive and positive day of learning.
Peer Mediators are role models in our kura. Their leadership helps build strong relationships, reduce conflict, and foster a playground culture where all tamariki feel safe, valued and supported. This programme strengthens our school’s PB4L journey and aligns closely with restorative practice—empowering students to solve problems respectfully and with empathy.