Our Special Character
Our mission is to inspire high self-esteem, creativity, and a love of learning.
Matahui School exists to provide an education that discovers and nurtures each student’s individual strengths, builds positive self-esteem and a love of learning, and unlocks their potential for the future.
Our Vision
For each child to build resilience and the confidence to face the future.
Our Beliefs
We believe that when children are provided with the right resources and a nurturing, supportive learning environment, they can achieve their best—both academically and holistically.
Matahui School’s education programme is built around the philosophy that students are active participants in their education. We believe students learn best when they are:
- Supported by a strong, connected community;
- Spend time immersed in nature;
- They are encouraged to think critically and creatively,
- And, apply their knowledge in a meaningful, real-world context.
We aim to foster a love of learning in each individual, and embrace diversity and each child’s unique qualities and strengths. Our learning is tailored to our students’ abilities and needs.
How We Put This Into Practice
We differ from mainstream state primary and intermediate schools by providing a more child-centred approach to learning. In practice, this learning framework incorporates the following:
Child-Centred Learning
Tailored instruction to students’ needs and strengths. Small class sizes for increased one-on-one time with the teacher and the opportunity to get to know each student as an individual.
Self-Management
Access to activities that build resilience and responsibility (education outside the classroom, forest school, camps), promote independent thought, creativity, learning from experience, and growth as a leader.
Hands-On Learning
Access to a variety of learning experiences that appeal to different intelligences (i.e., drawing, music, movement, problem-solving, languages). A strong focus on multisensory hands-on learning leads to a deeper understanding and retention of information. Students learn by doing.
Creative Thinkers
Students are encouraged to ask questions, explore their interests, be curious, take risks, and learn from their mistakes. Students take ownership of their learning.
Eco-Literacy
Our curriculum includes an extensive outdoor education programme that supports play, exploration, experimental learning, risk-taking, problem-solving, builds resilience, and fosters leadership.
Community
Children build healthy interpersonal skills and relationships by working together. Senior students mentor younger students. Feedback between home and school is central to student success. We maintain a caring, family-like, values-driven environment.
Holistic Development
We provide a value-based approach that supports everyday learning. Children experience childhood as a time of fun, laughter, and exploration.
Our Formula for Success
Our approach produces above-national-norm levels of academic development (we use the New Zealand Curriculum as a benchmark for assessment). Many of our students struggled in mainstream schooling and thrive in our learning environment—our approach is particularly effective for neurodiverse learners.
Our success is reflected in feedback from our families and alumni, and the accomplishments of our graduates, which include head boys and girls and Olympians.
Our Special Character
Our educational framework is grounded in Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory and integrates key principles from Art Costa’s Habits of Mind, John Dewey’s Experiential Learning, the Reggio Emilia Child-Centred Approach, and Rudolf Steiner’s Holistic Development.
This framework is designed to complement the diverse learning needs and abilities of our students to facilitate the development of the whole child.