Religious Education

Kia mau ki te tūmanako te whakapono me te aroha Hold fast to hope, faith and love

Our School Values of Truth, Excellence, Faith, Creativity and Inclusivity, were supported by the Preparatory School staff throughout the year. The StAC-UP Weekly Focus gave students specific goals and expectations to follow.

The Pastoral Team met weekly to ensure students, who were identified as requiring pastoral support, were given the care needed for their ongoing well-being.

Throughout 2022, due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, chapel services were often live streamed to individual classrooms. The Chapel team consisted of Rev. Paul Morrow, Jillian Fenton, Ben Hughes and Bridget Roth, who shared messages of Positivity and Hope throughout the year. In Term 3, the Preparatory School was able to meet again as a community with the welcomed return to the Tuesday Services in the Centennial Chapel. In Term 4, The Advent Chapel Sunday Service, led by Preparatory School Chaplain Jillian Fenton, was very well attended by students and their families. Generosity was shown by the giving of many gifts for the Christchurch City Mission.

I thank the Year 8 Sacristan Team who gave loyal Service to the school on Tuesday mornings during Term 3–4.

Increasingly, Tē Reo Māori was incorporated into chapel services. This together with Tikanagna Māori being used in everyday teaching and learning, continues to develop with the support of the specialist teacher (Te Reo Lead Teacher) who guided the staff and students during 2022.

Religious Education is taught to all year levels in the Preparatory School and the Learning Intentions are specific to the various year groups. Students are encouraged to make relevant links with the Religious Education Curriculum, the School Values, and their own life experiences. They are given opportunities to be reflective learners. The Religious Education Curriculum is moving into a more succinct digital format. The use of Seesaw, to record and share student learning with their families, was used throughout the year across the Year 1–7 levels. The Religious Educator used Appraisal Connector to continue to be a reflective practitioner.

Library

Library Collection and Circulation

The Preparatory School Library began 2022 with the launch of a newly created Aotearoa New Zealand Collection. The library was redecorated, reorganised, and students returned to a new, prominently located collection dedicated exclusively to Aotearoa New Zealand resources, including non-fiction books and Te Reo Māori resources.

As the year progressed the library continued to invest in this collection, purchasing many new resources which were immediately used to support and enhance the teaching of Aotearoa Studies across the Preparatory School. The development of this collection is expected to continue to be a focus into 2023 and beyond.

In 2022, over 700 new books were added to the Preparatory School Library collection, including the latest releases from popular series, and plenty of new and exciting books from both local and international authors.

This investment in our collection ensures elevated levels of reading engagement among students:

• total circulation figures remain high at over 25,500 items, although this figure is slightly lower than that observed in 2021. The slight decrease in circulation is most evident in the general fiction collection, particularly among junior chapter books. This drop has been noted and measures are already in place to ensure this trend is reversed going forward;

• the number of graphic novels borrowed doubled compared to the previous year, with over 2,000 issues. This reflects the level of investment made in this area and the popularity of the format;

• picture books continued to be popular with all readers, including staff. Just over 7,800 were issued in 2022;

• over 3,600 non-fiction books were issued during this period, almost the same figure as that observed in 2021.

Readership of eBooks and audiobooks through the school’s digital library facility SORA remained similar to that observed in 2021.

Library Instruction Programme

Throughout 2022 the Preparatory Library continued to deliver a varied programme of Reading Engagement and Information

Literacy instruction and activities including book talks, book tastings, story times, book clubs and a structured programme of instructional sessions for accessing, evaluating, and using non-fiction resources.

Pastoral Care

The library continued to be a vibrant hub for the school during timetabled library sessions, before school and during the lunch break.

The number of students who regularly choose to visit the Preparatory Library at lunchtime is evidence of how much the facility is valued, especially by those who can find the playground a little overwhelming. As many as 50 students used the library regularly during the lunch break, with numbers sometimes reaching 70. Art activities, board and card games ensure the library is a lively space at lunchtime, with many opportunities for socialising.

Additional Programmes

• Wide Reading: The Wide Reading programme continued to be popular. Nearly 40 students gained their Gold Wide Reading Award in 2022, with a further 20 students achieving Silver and Bronze Awards;

• Kids’ Lit Quiz: During the September school holidays St Andrew’s College Preparatory School gained first place in the Canterbury Kids’ Lit Quiz. The competition was tough with over 30 teams taking part, and although results were very close, St Andrew’s were victorious, winning by one point;

• Te Wiki o Ngā Pukapuka/Book Week: During September staff and students spent a week of learning and fun celebrating the very best of children’s literature. This year’s theme was tīpuna, kuia and kaumatua, the older characters that provide guidance, kindness, and wisdom for the young heroes in our stories. Library sessions were filled with competitions and creative activities, including the fiercely competitive Battle of the Books inter-class quiz. Year 8 students were treated to a Book Talk by Secondary School Librarian, Sarah Ballantyne, and the Rector, Christine Leighton, visited the Junior Department to read stories. The highlight of the week, however, was the spectacular Book Parade, the sun shone as staff and students paraded across the campus dressed as favourite book characters;

• Author Visit: As part of Te Wiki o ngā Pukapuka, we were lucky to be visited by award winning New Zealand author Gavin Bishop. Gavin read stories and talked about his books and his creative process to captivated audiences;

• Book Fair: Our Annual Scholastic Book Fair was successful selling over $5,500 worth of books and stationery; this provided our school with over $1,900 worth of credit with Scholastic New Zealand. These funds will be used to support the Wide Reading programme in 2023.