Academic Excellence
Craighead has a reputation for lifting the performance of its students. This is the result of fine teaching and pride in seeing the girls achieve good results.
- Our school philosophy is that many students may have unrealized potential. Therefore, we encourage a process of self-discovery.
- Performance is closely measured from the time a student enters the school and progress is carefully monitored.
- There is a strong work ethic where positive expectations fuel students’ willingness to strive to be the best they can be.
- Entry to the school is not based on academic ability. We enjoy diversity and helping every girl to discover her capabilities. There are no assumptions, no limitations. In the Craighead environment, girls have the capacity to excel. Indeed, Craighead girls perform well above the national average in all subjects.
- Education goes further than the classroom. We are concerned with preparing our students with skills and strategies that will help them throughout life.
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Curriculum Review and Pastoral Care
At Craighead we have implemented changes as a result of a major curriculum review in 2017. This review was undertaken by teaching staff in a response to student need, the desire to provide more choice and the recognition of assessment fatigue amongst senior students. To this end we have introduced changes to our curriculum which reflect these three aspects, allowing our students to experience a broad education, and the opportunity to develop strategies to cope in an increasingly challenging world.
Middle School (Years 9 and 10) – We have moved to a semester system and we have implemented a two year programme at Years 9 and 10.
Whilst the core subjects remain the same, there are some significant changes planned in some Learning Areas. The Social Sciences Learning Area, for example, will see all students experiencing the senior disciplines of Economics, Geography and History under the guidance of specialist Social Science teachers
Junior School – Years 7 & 8
These are important years, as they are the bridge from a child to a young adult. We encourage our girls to become independent, lifelong learners and critical thinkers, to participate in team activities and to work alongside senior students.
There is a strong family feeling within the school which makes all of the girls feel valued. Our Year 7 & 8 girls enjoy having contact with the Years 9 to 13 students and are always included in ‘whole’ school events, such as assemblies, productions and interhouse activities. Each Year 7 girl is paired with a Year 8 girl in a Big Sister/Little Sister relationship. Each class is also joined by Year 13 Peer Support mentors on a weekly basis. The senior students enjoy organising activities with our Year 7 & 8’s such as shared end-of-term lunches.
The strengths and abilities of all learners are recognised and catered for accordingly. Those girls who require extra support are given the opportunity to have both individual and small group guidance. Those girls who require extension are encouraged to take part in a wide variety of opportunities both in and out of the classroom.
Not only does our junior school enjoy the small limited-size classes of 22 students, but they also benefit from having classes with specialist teachers – (Art, Drama, French, German, Maori, Music, Physical Education, Religious and Social Education, and Science.) Our girls are in their Homeroom, with their Homeroom Teacher for the Core subjects of English, Mathematics and Social Studies. Once a week they are offsite at the local area Technology Centre where they are exposed to all areas of the Technology Curriculum.
Middle School – Years 9 & 10
Years 9 and 10 are in transition from junior to senior school. Our programmes in the middle school develop learning strategies and the skills needed in preparation for the coming senior years. Balanced by the students’ participation in a variety of co-curricular activities, these strategies complement their academic programme. We heartily encourage involvement in a wide range of activities and individual pursuits. Opportunities are offered in a variety of areas including sport, culture, art, and social justice which foster spiritual awareness.
Year 9 students have the opportunity to enjoy a ‘taster’ course of all options on offer before choosing options for the 3 six month semesters leading into the senior school.
Although technology is used across all Year levels, in Years 9 and 10 our students use their device of choice. Collaborative shareware and software enhance learning experiences making technology an effective tool for modern teaching and learning.
Outdoor Education camps bookmark the beginning and the end of the middle school programme. In the first term of Year 9, our students head out on camp designed to allow students to get to know each other as well as form new friendships. In Year 10, at the end of their middle school years, our students enjoy a week together in Hanmer Springs, North Canterbury. This camp focuses on physical skills, fun, participation and co-operation before the girls progress into the senior school.
Senior School – Years 11, 12 & 13
We offer a strong academic programme with a wide variety of subject options taught by specialist teachers, and in NCEA, Craighead girls consistently achieve well above the national average, comparing favourably with other decile 8 – 10 girls’ schools in New Zealand.
We encourage service and leadership alongside extra-curricular opportunities to ensure every senior girl is involved in some sport, music, drama, debating or other activities where they participate generously and enthusiastically. Senior students fine-tune their time management skills as they take greater responsibility for managing their involvement in the wide range of extra-curricular activities offered. Career development and decision making is assisted through career education programmes at different year levels and professional career counselling. In Years 11, 12 and 13, students have increased leadership responsibility and are role models for younger students. The leadership opportunities we offer senior students, including a buddy system and peer support and community service programmes, help them to learn to manage change, become resilient and work with diversity. Having received an holistic education within our strong pastoral care system, our senior girls leave us as compassionate, confident young women who are prepared to be involved and lead in whatever direction their interests take them.
‘Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all’
Aristotle
Gifted and Talented
Gifted and Talented students are identified, nurtured, supported and encouraged to develop their talents and giftedness in a wide range of areas.
The small size of our school means that staff readily gain a sense of the many and varying strengths and abilities that each girl brings to the school. This in turn allows us to mentor and nurture gifted students as they move through to their Senior years at Craighead. The Craighead Mission Statement means the school actively supports girls to strive towards excellence in any field of endeavour. This is particularly evident in the flexibility the school demonstrates by fostering talents in extra-curricular activities not necessarily offered at Craighead, such as Highland Dancing or Equestrian pursuits. We encourage higher-order thinking through actively supporting girls to participate in Gifted and Talented Days such as the Julie Arliss Conference, exploring issues in big picture conversations during Breakfast Club meetings, or in challenging traditional thinking during Religious Education ethics debates. Students who are Gifted and Talented academically are provided with numerous opportunities to participate in subject-related competitions and scholarship classes. The nurturing of academic, sporting, cultural and artistic talents means that Craighead consistently produces girls who are successful in both Regional and National competitions. Weekly assemblies and newsletters are where we celebrate the success of Gifted and Talented students with the whole school and wider community. Girls may also be invited to present to our Assemblies as “Inspirational speakers”.
Learning Support
Our teachers know their students very well. They share learning information about students and discuss the best ways to support individuals. Any students who require extra support with their learning are identified and appropriately supported.
Teachers regularly ask students about their learning and use this information to adapt and improve learning programmes. They also provide timely and useful feedback to students about their learning. Sometimes a student might need extra support and we try to provide this in a variety of ways. We have two part-time Teacher Aides who provide support in a number of classrooms across all levels. Our Learning Support Coordinator meets regularly with small groups of students from year 7 to 11 to focus on Literacy and Numeracy skills. Support Studies tutorials also run alongside the girls’ regular timetables at years 9 and 10 so that they don’t miss too much of any one subject but still have access to extra support when needed. Support is offered to our Senior students and their study times allow for more flexibility and one-on-one time with a teacher. Tutorials are regularly run by some subject teachers while other tutorials are run on an as-needs basis, especially for Senior examination preparation. Our Learning Support Coordinator liaises with all teachers as well as our local RTLB advisor to ensure that Individual education programmes are developed to meet the needs of each student. Further enquiries about Learning Support at Craighead Diocesan are encouraged from interested students and parents.
Pastoral Care
Our Team:
Craighead’s Pastoral team includes the Principal, Deputy Principal, Chaplain, Guidance Counsellor, Deans, International Student Director, and Director of Boarding. Our Pastoral team meets on a regular basis focussing on our girls’ physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological wellbeing (hauora).
Our girls are cared for with a focus on the development of the whole person. Craighead has a positive school culture which is seen in the caring and respectful way the girls and staff interact with each other. It is also evident in how students consider and support each other.
Craighead prides itself on the holistic care it provides for each and every one of its students. We model our mission statement in that we are “committed to the pursuit of excellence in all fields of endeavour (spiritual, academic, physical and cultural) with emphasis on the development of each girl within a caring, Christian family atmosphere, so that each is well educated, responsible, confident and capable of contributing to society.” Our strong sense of family can be felt from Years 7 through to Year 13, from Boarder to Daygirl.
e-Learning at Craighead
Innovation and collaboration are at the heart of 21st Century learning. Craighead sees the use of portable electronic devices as essential to prepare our students for their entry into the wider world
An important point not to lose sight of is that it’s the teacher, not the technology that makes the difference. Thus the best one to one ‘device’ in the classroom is a great teacher! As a staff, our goal is to increase cialis generic usa and embed the e-learning competencies across the Craighead curriculum, through investment in staff and student capability.
Information Technology at Craighead is designed to complement learning in each curriculum area during your daughter’s time here, involving research, communications, document creation and file storage. Every student is given a network account and password which provides controlled access to network resources. Access to storage space, an e-mail account, plus access and ability to use any of the networked printers/copiers is also provided at the start of the school year.
Whilst the School operates across different platforms dependent on the needs of the occasion, Craighead is primarily a Google School with students and staff using GoogleClassroom as its learning platform and the tools and applications in the Google Suite.
For network security, we use an advanced firewall and content filtering system in order to ensure safe internet browsing and fair sharing of the internet bandwidth for all users. Anti-spam filters ensure that only meaningful and appropriate e-mail reaches students’ mailboxes. As a parent it can be hard helping our young people to be responsible digital citizens and netsafe have some great resources to help navigate the minefield.
For further information on Digital Learning please follows the links below: