Auckland Grammar School Private Bag 99930, Newmarket Auckland 1149, New Zealand ags.school.nz Stay Connected. Follow Grammar. You Tube CONTENTS Introduction 2 The Grammar Community 3 What ERO thinks about Auckland Grammar School 4 - 5 Administrative Structure of Auckland Grammar School 2021 6 - 7 Staff Responsibilities - Academic 8 Expectations of Students 9 Discipline 9 School Rules 10 - 16 Curriculum Flow Chart 17 Curriculum 18 - 19 Streaming 19 Internal Examinations 19 - 20 Parent Tutor Programme 20 Pastoral Care 20 - 21 Student Inclusiveness 21 - 22 School Diary 22 Uniform Requirements 23 Structure of the School Day 24 Assembly 24 Term Dates 25 Examination Sessions 2021 26 Reporting Schedule 2021 26 Parent Teacher Interviews 27 Extracurricular 27 - 28 Parents Guide To Homework 28 - 29 Helping your son do well at School 30 Developing a better Student 31 - 32 Parent Portal 33 - 36 Auckland Grammar’s On-line Services 36 External Examinations 37 Parental Contribution 37 Frequently Asked Questions 38 Final Word 39 School Map 40 1 INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Auckland Grammar School community. Our School has a proud past – some 151 years of history. We understand the responsibilities associated with being the guardians of our School. We do take our responsibilities seriously and work to blend the very best of our past with the best of the new. This handbook aims to provide each young man and his family with the opportunity to learn a little of our School’s culture and mode of operation before he starts. Our School has a clear vision and an agreed set of values by which we operate on a daily basis. These, together with our mission, are integral to our School’s special character and overall culture, and one that each young man is expected to contribute to. Vision: Pre-eminence in boys’ Secondary education Values: Integrity, Excellence, Respect, Courage, Pride, Commitment, Humility Mission: Auckland Grammar School will provide young men with a rigorous academic education. Each young man is expected to pursue excellence in acquiring knowledge and skills while embracing and upholding the School’s values. The School will promote all-round excellence in academic, sporting and cultural pursuits, encouraging each young man to recognise and develop his individual potential and gain pride and satisfaction by setting demanding personal goals and striving to attain them. The School will encourage the development of the whole person in order that it may produce young men ready, willing and able to make a positive contribution to society and be responsible citizens. These key words and statements encapsulate what our School stands for. They are aptly supported by the ‘Grammar Way’ and our School motto ‘Per Angusta Ad Augusta’ – ‘Through difficulties to greatness’. Each young man is now challenged to familiarise himself with the contents of this handbook so that he can embrace Grammar life from the day he starts. He can then truly call himself a ‘Grammar boy’. Tim O’Connor Headmaster 2 THE GRAMMAR COMMUNITY Auckland Grammar School is a State Secondary School providing an education for boys only from Form 3 to Form 7. The School is a large, central city school situated on the northern slopes of Mt Eden. It was endowed in 1850 by Sir George Grey for the education of all New Zealanders and opened in 1869. The School caters for students with a range of learning needs from diverse backgrounds, socio-economic groups and ethnicities. Auckland Grammar School offers an academic programme with emphasis on national and international syllabi. All students are placed in classes targeted to their level of achievement. The School caters for the needs of the very able by offering accelerated classes and courses. The needs of less able students are catered for by small class sizes, the careful selection of teachers and the provision of learning assistance programmes. Special provision is made for disabled students in accordance with their needs. The large staff of the School is hard-working and fully involved in all aspects of school life. The School is well served by a number of staff members and volunteers who assist with all aspects of a Grammar education including: academia, learning support, pastoral care, health and well- being, performing arts, culture and sport. The traditions of the School are maintained by extensive patronage from the Grammar Community. The School site has a number of buildings of varied style, carefully designed to complement the grounds. The main building, of Spanish Mission style architecture, is classified ‘A’ under the Historic Places Act. It contains an imposing Hall, administration areas, staff room and classrooms. Its War Memorial is symbolic of the School’s service and sacrifice to the community and country. There are separate English, Specialist, Science and Technology buildings, a classroom block extending from the historic main building, a Sports Centre and a Gymnasium, a Library, Theatre and Conference Room complex, a Music Suite, three Pavilions, a Development Office, an International Student Office, School Boarding House and relocatable classrooms. The grounds, totalling 15.2 hectares in area, consist of sealed areas around the buildings and three separate playing fields. There are six tennis courts and three all-weather sports fields, one equipped with flood lighting, and a swimming pool. Due to its central city location, the School is constrained by the size of its grounds, its enrolment policy and the number of classrooms available. Tibbs House, situated on an adjoining property in Clive Road, is the School’s boarding establishment catering for approximately 120 students forming an indispensable element in the School’s constitution. An Outdoor Education Centre, Venturelodge, consisting of fully equipped buildings and grounds, is situated at Ohakune and is essential to the School’s outdoor education programme. 3 WHAT ERO THINKS ABOUT AUCKLAND GRAMMAR SCHOOL The following comments are extracts taken from the full ERO report on Auckland Grammar School, June 2016. The full report can be accessed at: www.ero.govt.nz 1. Context The Board of Trustees and School leaders are committed to the School’s legacy, traditions and heritage. They are aware of relevant, future-focused trends in boys’ education that emerge from national and international research: • Students identify strongly with the School’s culture of high expectations. • Success is underpinned by The Grammar Way which emphasises the pursuit of academic excellence as a core value. • The School is very connected to its past and present community members. • The School’s facilities and resources support high levels of student success. 2. Learning • Auckland Grammar School uses achievement information well to promote high levels of student progress and achievement. • There is a philosophical clarity about learning opportunities for all boys and this is a key expectation of School leaders and teachers. The extent to which this is realised is reflected in academic results for the senior school. • The School’s dual learning pathways cater well for the diversity of student strengths, interests and aspirations and a large majority of learners obtain qualifications and university entrance. • The School continues to perform highly in Scholarship examinations. In 2014, 157 scholarships were achieved and 140 were gained in 2015. • The Learning Support Department is well resourced and staffed to address the require- ments of students who have different or specialist needs, in order to make individualised progress. • Students and teaching staff benefit from learning relationships that are respectful and reciprocal. • Students at all levels of the School demonstrate a strong work ethic and a high level of engagement with learning. 3. Curriculum • A positive School culture, an orderly environment and an increasingly significant focus on student wellbeing enhance the curriculum’s effectiveness. Curriculum plans in many departments are increasingly focused on critical and creative thinking and the use of digital technology to support and extend learning. New subjects are being introduced to further expand the curriculum. • The School has developed ways to facilitate many student-led interest areas that add enrichment to learning. • An Enrichment Programme is in place for Year 13 students which offers boys wider curriculum opportunities to extend their skills, interests and knowledge. 4 • Old boys are frequently involved in the School’s programmes through mentoring and support initiatives, which bring expertise into the School from a variety of backgrounds, experience and perspective. • A very high proportion of students are involved in a wide range of sporting and cultural activities that help to build their sense of belonging to the School community. • Numerous cultural activities and events, including many opportunities to learn and travel overseas, affirm boys’ identities and promote concepts of global citizenship within the School’s ethos. 4. Educational Success for Maori, as Māori • The School continues to promote high levels of educational success for Māori. • Students are succeeding at comparable levels to the rest of the School in CIE and NCEA qualifications. • These learners are supported to achieve academic success through their subject teachers and a teacher in charge of Māori and Pasifika Achievement and through mentoring sytems that track and monitor Māori students’ progress in exacting detail. 5. Sustainable Performance • Auckland Grammar School is very well placed