The new term has started with cold crisp mornings turning into beautiful sunny clear days. It has been delightful to see the children’s bright and enthusiastic faces to match the sunshine. We have a busy term ahead with a whole variety of trips and events including Kids Sing and the Australian Maths competition, two plays from Year 5 and Year 7 and of course we will say farewell to our senior students on the Renaissance Trip in early September.
The educational landscape in New Zealand is changing quickly. The curriculum for primary schools has been overhauled in both Maths and English; although it hasn’t been stated directly, it seems clear that one of the models for the new programme was the Cambridge Curriculum, which as you know is well embedded at Ficino School. More recent changes are happening to NCEA, which has been dropping in standard over many years to the point where the government accepts that it has lost most of its credibility internationally. Many of our secondary schools, both state and independent, have been running dual programmes where students can opt out of NCEA and take either Cambridge or the IB programme. More schools are heading this way, including our local girls’ state secondary school, Epsom Girls’ Grammar, which recently announced that it will start offering Cambridge from next year. This might become a more attractive pathway for some of our Year 8 students in the future as a result.
The other big change announced by the government recently is that it is finally abandoning the bizarre move made several years ago to fund only open plan learning spaces. These accommodate up to 100 students in a large space with a variety of teachers supervising. As a result, much of the work has to be independently student led. This requirement has now been lifted, and many schools are spending considerable sums of money to reverse the changes and bring back single cell classrooms. These constant changes are very challenging for teachers, who must pivot from one system to another and rapidly upskill in different pedagogical methods.
In contrast, at Ficino School we believe that learning happens in a quiet, focused environment where students find the deep satisfaction of producing beautiful work with fine attention. Having a distinct home space is important for children. They are much happier when they have an assigned place to sit and keep their belongings. This is hard to achieve in open plan learning areas.
We also value the important role of the class teacher in building relationships with children and parents. The classes I have been into this week have been full of joy and enthusiasm, which makes a great start to Term 3.
