Woodlands Park
Nardz Stephenson, Principal
Karen Ellis & Nick Gill, Deputy Principals
Woodlands Park School is a special place. Started in 1958, it is situated in a beautiful, bush-clad valley adjacent to Scenic Drive in the Waitakere Ranges of West Auckland. We work hard to ensure that children have a strong sense of belonging, they feel safe and respected and they love to be here. Woodlands Park School tamariki have a confident voice in their school.
We pride ourselves on being a small school with a big heart. The way in which we uphold each person as an individual, but work together genuinely as a team, is important to parents, children and staff and draws attention from many visitors to the school. The size of our school means that we know all our children well, we uphold their unique strengths and we work in genuine partnership with whanau. Our commitment to creating an inclusive environment for all children is an integral part of who we are.
Positive and supportive relationships among teachers and students are based on mutual respect. It is important to our community that our tamariki are inspired to be the innovators of tomorrow.
Part of our vision is to be recognised as a centre for excellence in education and we are well on the way to being just that. We have achieved a four to five year review status from ERO since this was introduced and stand proudly as one of the founding Green Gold Enviroschools, with a proud tradition of sustainability. Our school acts as a tuakana (mentor) to other schools, supporting them on their own Enviroschools journeys and our children contribute to many community sustainability initiatives.
Woodlands Park School is excited to be a part of the research and development currently underway through Kōtuitui. This collaborative work is already building a deeper understanding of our shared context and strengthening transitions and pathways for individual children along their educational journey.
This is my Woodlands Park in-school Community of Learning team:
Micah Haughton
My inquiry question for 2020 is 'What impact does having a strong sense of identity (both personal and at school) and a connection to the environment have on well being?
My vision for this inquiry is that each child at Pukeatua te kura / Woodlands Park School will develop a strong understanding of who they are and where they come from, and that each child will know what it means to be a member of Woodlands Park School and develop a sense of pride as a result. Secondly, I would like to work on finding ways of helping each child to feel connected to their environment. By focusing on these areas, I hope that as a school we will be able to see if having a strong sense of identity and a connection to the environment has a positive effect on children's well being.
Michelle Andrews
Woodlands Park School is at the beginning of their Writing Progression journey. I am looking at finding the right progressions that fit our kura, and inquiring if the implementation of the writing progressions can have an influence on student achievement.
