National Curriculum Statement (Page 10)

Values are deeply held beliefs about what is important or desirable. They are expressed through the ways in which people think and act. All decisions relating to curriculum and every interaction that takes place in a school, reflects the values of the individuals involved and the collective values of the institution

Meadowbank Statement on Values

The curriculum promotes and models values important to most New Zealanders. These values are those that society and our community has agreed on as important to all in a diverse society and world. The values are broad and rich. As a result each value has a range of values ideas and concepts within it. Some of these reflect the way different cultures and belief traditions express values. The values clarify important points of reference for the school community. Schools have a moral purpose to provide every student with experiences that enable each one to achieve to the best of their ability, and to have their cultural values and background acknowledged so that their identities are affirmed.

Teachers should be able to test their curriculum decisions against them, asking, " if we do this, how will it reflect the values we have determined for our school?" Values are best caught as well as taught. They need to be -

-          encouraged

-          modelled and

-          explored by students.

New Zealand Curriculum Values that are encouraged, modelled and explored.	Meadowbank School Values that are expressed daily in what we say and what we do.
Excellence	Excellence, Perseverance
Innovation, Inquiry, Curiosity	Creativity, Curiosity
Diversity	Tolerance, Respect
Equity	Fairness
Community and Participation	Citizenship, Cooperation
Ecological Sustainability	Kaitiakitanga
Integrity	Honesty, Responsibility, Courage Constancy, Sportsmanship

Values Within Our Curriculum:

•      Annually the school will identify 8 primary values which will receive greater emphasis throughout the year.

•     Teachers / Teams may decide to -

-          Deliberately weave a value through their programmes.

-          Alternatively, they may decide to organise their curriculum around central themes, integrating values, key competencies, knowledge, and skills across a number of learning areas.

-          Or they may use another approach or a combination of approaches.

 Values included within the children's learning experiences will enable them to -

-          express their own values

-          explore, with empathy, the values of others

-          critically analyse values and actions based on them

-          discuss disagreements that arise from differences in values and negotiate solutions

-          make ethical decisions and act on them.

NZC  Pg 10