Mission:
To enable holistic achievement and prepare young people as life-long learners, to thrive in diverse, local, national and global communities.
Aotea College Mission and Vision
Vision:
- To work collaboratively to achieve excellence and innovation in teaching and learning.
- To have learners at the centre of a culture of respect and manaakitanga.
- To foster learning partnerships with whanau and the wider community in order to develop strong learning pathways.
Head Students
The Head Student Team provides a number of important leadership functions.
- Promote acceptance and diversity of culture within our college.
- Represent the school at community and/ or national functions.
- Run assemblies.
- Initiate and run schoolwide student events.
- Convene the Student Council.
The College has had outstanding student leaders over the years and the student council is designed to encourage the development of young leaders. The student leaders play important roles within the school as role models by being active, present and enthusiastic about all aspects of student life. They also support each other, and ensure they help create the best possible school environment.
Head Students
Taranaki Te Hauora
Liam Neal
Wanita Muldrock
Eleanor Simkin
Kaiarahi
Erena Page
Caleb Smith
Amelia Taatiti
Kauri Leach
Board of Trustees Student Representatives
Grace Fale ~ email grace.fale@aotea.school.nz
Student Council
The Student Council Committee leads a group of approximately 52 peer-nominated students from all year groups who act as the student voice at Aotea College. They work to resolve issues students face and brainstorm new and innovative ways to improve the school. These representatives talk to their Whānau classes during the week before our fortnightly meeting, to gather information about what is currently concerning students. We utilise mufti days to support student focussed charities . The overall aim of the Student Council is to make the school a better place for everyone and constantly find new ways to help and improve our learning environment.
Whānau leadership
The Aotea College whānau are named after manu (birds) native to NZ and seen in Porirua. The purpose of having Whānau roopu is to foster positive environments for all year groups to express their school pride and create hapu (families) within the whole school. Each whānau has student leaders (self selected) who represent and build the whānau connections within the school through the promotion and support of whānau events.
The student leaders will work with Whānau Leaders and other staff to run a number of fun-filled events throughout the year, with the aim of one schoolwide event each term.
- Term 1 – Sports day
- Term 2 – Kapa haka event
- Term 3 – Diversity day
- Term 4 – Academic event
The whānau student leaders also work with the staff whānau leaders to play and run whānau assemblies twice a term. The purpose of these events is to encourage students from all year levels to interact and build community. The activities enable all students the opportunity to demonstrate their manaakitanga, perseverance, sauni and excellence.
Committees
Other committees are developed and promoted in line with student interest: E.g. Art group, Rainbow group.
Wellbeing
The Student Wellbeing Committee works to support all Aotea College students to be healthy in mind and in body. Specifically, this year the committee will work to support the wellbeing aim of the school’s strategic plan. Through different workshops and events throughout the year, the committee aims to help all students explore different wellbeing techniques and find what works for them. The committee supports and nurtures the growing minds and personalities of every student in our diverse community, through the promotion of self-care, care for others and friendship.
Cultural
Nau te rourou, Naku te rourou, Ka ora te manuhiri. (With your food basket and my food basket we will feed the visitors)
This committee aims to increase the cultural involvement of people within the school, no matter what their ethnicity. We want to see people embrace cultural events run by different groups and celebrate our differences. The school’s whakatauki is guide, with the combined strengths of our cultural groups, we can celebrate differences and allow language and culture to flourish within everyone.
- Kapa Haka
- Polyfest
- Language clubs
- Cultural/Diversity Day
Arts
Student leaders with a focus on the Arts aim to encourage and promote all the arts at Aotea College: Music, Drama, Dance and the Visual Arts. Student leaders aim to foster an inclusive environment in which everyone feels comfortable to share their ideas and passions. We want to promote appreciation of the Arts and we will do this by making them more accessible to all.
- Barbershop
- Performing Arts
Sport
Student leaders with a focus on Sports aim to encourage and promote all sports at Aotea College. This is in relation to our extra curricular programmes, where supporting the Sports Department mantra of providing for all interests is paramount, but also promotion of engagement with our Whānau activities across the year.
Environment
This committee aims to spread awareness about eco-friendly living, make changes around school to reduce our environmental impact, and facilitate events that promote eco-conscious thinking. The aim is to promote a deeper understanding from students about the importance of being a kaitiaki of our earth. Events that may be run: clothes swaps, a beach cleanup, install compost bins at school, World and Environment club, and promote volunteering opportunities to students.
Year 11/12 Peer support
Peer Support is a programme where Year 11 and 12 students volunteer to become Peer Supporters for the new Year 9 students. The purpose of the programme is for the Peer Supporters to help Year 9 students feel welcome at Aotea College and to make the transition from Year 8 into their first year of college in the best way they can. Peer Supporters can help with this by forming a connection with the Year 9 students as well as mentoring, guiding, supporting and becoming a “friend”.
Students apply for the role during Term 4 and if selected, they will help out with activities in Term 4 such as the Tuakana Teina Days and the Year 8 Orientation Day. They are then assigned to a Hui Ako class the following year and will work in a small team of Peer Supporters to support the class and the Hui Ako teacher. The Peer Supporters are responsible for running specific activities (3 times a term) as well as a variety of other activities throughout Term 1, 2 and 3.
Some of their roles are:
- attending the assigned Hui Ako sessions and running activities in this session.
- supporting the Hui Ako teacher with duties and responsibilities.
- be responsible, reliable, a good role model, model good attendance, wear uniform correctly and help monitor this in your assigned Hui Ako class.
- encourage Year 9 students to join in activities and get involved in extracurricular activities.
- advocate for students and help resolve any issues.
- communicate issues to teachers when appropriate.
- understand and value diversity and differences and encourage students to do the same.
This is a leadership opportunity and a fantastic way for students to give back to Aotea College and use their skills to help the incoming cohort at Aotea join our community in a settled and confident manner. It is a privilege to be a Peer Supporter and there are high expectations on the selected students to complete this role with pride and positive role modelling.
