We have  great pleasure in sharing our Learning Landscape.  The West Melton Learning Landscape has been developed in consultation with our children, parents, teachers and wider community. Please take the time to read the following information to familiarise yourself with our school vision and values. 
West Melton School Learning Landscape
743 Weedons Ross Road,
West Melton 7618

Phone: (03) 347 8448

Email: office@westmelton.school.nz


Our office hours are Monday to Friday 8:15am - 3:30pm.
Contact details
Our educational purpose is for our learners to leave West Melton School as Innovative, Connected and Empowered learners who DRIVE their learning through authentic and self directed learning opportunities.

We want them to be passionate about learning and to continue their learning into the future working in partnership with home and the school.

The acronym for the Vision is
I.C.E.  D.R.I.V.E.R. We needed a simple and catchy phase in child’s speak that all  ākonga can use to remember the purpose of the vision.
West Melton School Vision
‘Innovative, Connected, Empowered learners, driving their passion for learning’

Innovative / Auaha

Connected/ Tūhono


Empowered / Whakamana
Logo
This is the graphic West Melton School is identified with on uniforms, letterheads, website and documentation.

The logo reflects the school vision.

The shape reflects the steering wheel to DRIVE learning. As a community, we strive to be inclusive in our practices and culture.

We are global in shape. This is also seen in the slight curve of the two colours - green and blue identifying West Melton as part of a global community.

We have brought in a new colour - a soft green. Future discussions with our Intermediate learners will see a proposed change in uniform colour specifically for these learners.

The yellow ‘W’ signifies our location ‘West’ of Christchurch. It also identifies with our local environment - the Southern Alps and the Waimakariri River. The blue curve of the W shows a road that continues into the horizon -  life long learning.

The colour yellow has traditionally been a school colour and is the colour of our school representative sports and cultural uniform. It also acknowledges the links we have with the Kowhai Sanctuary and our enviro connections.

The blue ‘M’ signifies ‘Melton’ where we live. It reflects the W as the Braided River of the Waimakariri.

The colours acknowledge our links to the Tangata Whenua and our history of farming and the pioneering families of the past.

The shining glow empowers all our learners - children and adults alike, as stars in their own identity.
School Bus
In 2008 after consultation with learners, staff, Board of Trustees and community we decided the logo would be a school bus. At this time 70% of learners travelled to school by bus. This was our vehicle for learning.

Currently three buses safely deliver our learners to school from within our catchment zone.

We believed it was important to retain past aspects of our school specific curriculum that our learners can continue to relate to - we just spruced it up a little!
D.R.I.V.E.R.

D  -Determination/Aumangea
R - Respect/Whakaute
I -  Integrity/Ngākaupono
V - Vitality/Hiringa
E - Empathy/Aroha
R - Resilience/Manawaroa

Our reviewed community values have been broken down into specific learning indicators to empower our learners to act and promote our ‘DRIVER’. They are incorporated into every day school life in numerous and varied aspects.

We believe they provide the life skills to support our learners to be respectful global citizens.
The
D.R.I.V.E.R graphic represents all the values.
School Values
Personal Excellence
Our previous values had an overarching theme of ‘Excellence’. We are a high performing school and have high expectations for our learners.

We expect our learners to achieve  to a high standard, whilst supporting and empowering their learning journey
Copyright © 2022 West Melton Primary School, West Melton New Zealand| Website Created by Meltec
Road to Learning
Our Ara (pathway) of life long learning takes us down many and varied roads at different stages of our learning journey as a child and adult.

We can stop at various destinations for various periods of time, take time out, connect with different people, go back to a destination we previously visited, direct our own learning and frequently look back on our journey with pride and a sense of achievement.
Next Stop
On our learning journey we often need to get on and off the bus at different stops depending on our needs and interests.

We move on with our learning when we are ready and get off when we need to. At times, we seek  guidance from others to support our decision making processes and learning.

We make connections along the way building relationships, taking with us our prior learning, knowledge and skills.
Waimakariri River
The Waimakariri River runs 151 kilometres from the Southern Alps (source) to the Pacific Ocean (mouth). It runs across the Canterbury Plains and is 45.4 kms via the Old West Coast Road from West Melton School.

It is well known as a Braided River on the Canterbury Plains. This river was very important for Māori as a hunting and gathering area for food and supplies. You can see it meandering through the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean.
Ka Tiritiri o te Moana
The Southern Alps ‘Ka Tiritiri o te Moana’ is the backbone of the South Island. It is a key geographical feature framing the Canterbury Plains. The tallest peak is Aoraki Mount Cook.

The Southern Alps  ‘frame’ our future direction.

We want our future focused learners  to look to the future by exploring such significant future-focused issues as sustainability, citizenship, enterprise, and globalisation.

Future focus is about supporting learners to recognise that they have a stake in the future, and a role and responsibility as citizens to take action to help shape that future.
Kowhai Tree and Toi Toi
In the past, the Kowhai Tree and the Toi Toi grass were in abundance and were used by local Māori and European.

Our partnership with ‘The Kowhai Sanctuary’ supported by specialists, provide our  Eco-Warriors and learners the opportunities  to engage and learn in an authentic environment.

Our learners realise their place in the environment and understand how their connections and actions have an impact.

They are able to develop and build on sustainable practices and authentic relationships with the environment
The Canterbury Plains
The Canterbury Plains are recognized as a main feature in our local environment.

The Canterbury Plains illustrate the diversity of the landscape and the connections with its various communities. We embrace cultural diversity.

We affirm students’ different cultural identities, and incorporate their cultural contexts into teaching and learning programmes.

We value learners as individuals and celebrate the diversity that they bring.

We equip them for life in a multi-cultural world and provide opportunities for them to share their language and culture.

The internal flooring of the administration and learning hubs  symbolises the Canterbury Plains.
West Melton School was gifted its Māori name by our local Taumutu Rūnanga in 2014.

Papatahora means spread out, laid out uncultivated open country reflecting the nature of the area. This area was filled with fern root and bracken shrubs in the early years.
Te Kura o Papatahora
Whakataukī

‘He moana pukepuke e ekengia e te waka’
We are on the waves of learning in our waka
A whakataukī  is  a Māori proverb that contains words of wisdom to guide our behaviour and attitude to our lives. The language of the environment is often expressed through the use of whakataukī
(Te Taumutu Rūnanga)

Te kura o Papatahora was gifted our school specific whakataukī by our local Taumutu Rūnanga in 2016

Our whakataukī symbolises the school, community, wider community and our global connections as the vehicle to support learning.