Junior School (Year 1-6)
At Scots College Junior School, we support our students to achieve to the best of their ability and are very proud of the world class education we deliver. We have an incredibly dedicated and talented staff, small class sizes, outstanding resources, and a focus on values and service. We provide a rounded education that focusses on foundational skills of literacy and numeracy, inquiry based learning, and includes Performing and Creative Arts instruction, learning of Te Reo Māori, Outdoor Education opportunities, and specialist Physical Education and Sport.
We have an expectation that your child will develop into a well-rounded young individual, with a values system and moral compass to help them successfully navigate the next stage of their education.
Richard Kirk
Principal, Junior School
Curriculum
Scots College Junior School is an accredited provider of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP). This programme runs alongside the NZ Curriculum using an inquiry approach to learning. Literacy and Numeracy skills are integrated into all areas of teaching and learning. The school is divided into two syndicates – Junior (Years 1-3) and Senior (Years 4-6). All years follow the Primary Years Programme.
In the Primary Years Programme, Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Physical Education, and the Arts are all integrated. Specialist teachers provide expertise in Visual and Performing Arts, Physical Education, Learning Support, Religious Education, and Te Reo Māori. These teachers plan collaboratively with the class teachers to ensure that the Unit of Inquiry is transdisciplinary.
Co-Curricular
The Junior School offers a variety of extra and co-curricular activities across sports, as well as arts and culture. Students are encouraged to participate in these activities in order to compliment and enrich their in-classroom experience.
Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)
During the school year, all year groups will move away from the classroom environment at different times to undertake day trips, related to the current Unit of Inquiry, as well as being involved in overnight stays away from home that ask them to become increasingly independent and self-sufficient.
EOTC provides our students with the opportunity to experience an overnight or week-long camp in the different environments that New Zealand offers, giving them a taste of and a love for the outdoors, along with the confidence necessary to tackle new situations and challenges.
House System
Each student from Years 1 to 6 is assigned to a House upon starting at the Junior School, and remain in that House for their time in the Junior School. Each House has a Head of House Teacher and Year 6 House Leader.
Students earn House points for all inter-house activities, such as Swimming, Athletics, Cross Country, House Music, Chess, Haka, and major sports. The winning House is awarded the Townsend Shield for Interhouse Competition – Sports and Cultural at the Junior School Prizegiving. One House is also awarded the PJ Avery Interhouse Shield for Academic Endeavour and Service.
Where there is a family connection to a House (sibling, parent, grandparent), students will be placed in the same House.
Student Leadership
The Junior School Leadership team serves as a student government, representing the voice of the student body, and takes action to improve student life. The Leadership team consists of students in Year 6 that provide leadership for the Houses, for community events, for the environment, in the arts, in the library, and with sports. The Leadership Team meet weekly to discuss issues, initiatives, and ideas.
Outside of formal leadership positions, there are a number of opportunities for students to develop their leadership skills through student-led committees such as the Environmental Council, Peer Support groups, a range of monitor groups, and within the Houses.
Facilities
The Scots College Junior School has specialist staff and share a range of specialist facilities across the College, including its music studios, visual art & design studio, library, bike track, science laboratories, a covered sports centre, a lecture theatre, assembly hall, and indoor gym. The school is fully networked, both cabled and wireless, with pods of laptops and iPads for students to use. All classrooms have a soundfield system installed that creates an ideal listening environment for students.