Our Curriculum

Tangata ako ana i te kāenga, te tūranga ki te marae, tau ana

A person nurtured in the community contributes strongly to society

What do we teach here?

What and how will your child be learning?

How can you be an integral part of this learning journey?

• At Bulls School, we believe in teaching and supporting the child as a whole.  Not every child is academic, creative, or sporty. Most children are parts of all of those things and some children dance to the beat of their own drum entirely – and that’s ok by us. What we offer here is:
  • Skilled teaching of literacy skills which include reading, writing, spelling, and oral language. 
    • We are a Structured Literacy school – the research is strong and we are seeing the results. We run information sessions and can share slideshows that explain this, as for many of us this is not ‘the way we used to learn to read’.  Let us know if you would like to know more.
  • Mathematics – with a focus on problem-solving skills. We also use the PaCT (Progress and Consistency Tool) to support us to teach what is relevant to your child across a wide range of maths topics. 
  • Sports and Cultural priorities – at Bulls we love providing our tamariki with a variety of opportunities. We get involved in creative and physical areas through:
    • Regular physical activity focusing on: wellness of mind, body, and spiritual awareness. We work hard to incorporate Dr. Mason Durie’s model of wellness ‘Te Whare Tapa Wha’. We constantly seek ways to engage students in their wellness and offer activities such as lunchtime games, Jump Jam, Library time, Tough Kid Competitions, Interschool challenges, House Leader Top Town, Bulls Schools Got Talent, Kapahaka, Matariki Concert, Pet Day, Enviroschools events, Community Concert, Boot Camp and so much more. 
  • Science and Social Science – learning about our world through science and social science is an integral part of our inquiry learning process. We want our tamariki to develop the skills to be inquisitive, be problem solvers, and consider their impact on the world around them. We are on our Enviroschools learning journey which connects perfectly with this. Our strong sense of culture and focus on Te Ao Māori worldview also supports this and helps us to develop fun and engaging programmes that highlight our responsibility as kaitiaki of Aotearoa. 
  • The Treaty of Waitangi is a guiding document for our mahi here at Bulls School. We see the Treaty as a bridge that has the potential to connect two ways of living and learning in order to establish a balance. The bridge is a space we want our tamariki to feel confident to cross over and back with confidence.   
  • We want our whānau to be involved in the culture and community that is Bulls School. Some of the ways we reach out are: 
    • Whānau Fridays – Pou Tāhū and Ngā Kakano open up and welcome whānau in from 9-11am on Fridays. By having a ‘time’ it means they can plan a programme that connects whānau to the learning and makes the most of celebrating the relationship between home and school. 
    • End of term celebrations – we like to plan something for the end of the term that is inclusive and celebrates our tamariki and their learning journey and the importance of you being a part of that journey. Examples are Open Afternoon BBQ, Matariki Breakfast, Colour Fun Run Obstacle Course. 
    • Twice a year we invite whānau to come along and contribute to the learning goals of your child and then to check in on these. These are called Learning Conversations or Learning Conferences. 
    • Before and after school – staff who aren’t in meetings or on duty are on the courts before and after school. You can ‘touch base’ informally with them and it is a lovely way to check-in. 
    • Staff emails are included on the staff page – feel free to drop them an email but do remember – they are in class and often in meetings until around 5pm – so you may not hear back immediately.