Academic Enhancement

OUR FUTURE-FOCUSED PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH

The needs of both the modern world and the future world are rapidly changing.  At Sancta Maria we aim to encourage aspirational learning with inspirational teaching, equipping our students with the knowledge, the skills and the character needed to grasp the opportunities the future world will provide.

We promote curiosity, creativity, collaboration and the learning of future-focused capabilities.

Students at Sancta Maria College are active learners, having agency in their learning through choice, autonomy, student voice, self-assessment and proactive approaches.

Learning in our classrooms extends the more able students through acceleration, enhancement and enrichment, providing them with opportunities to explore, research, present and problem-solve.

Future-focused learning means ensuring our students are adaptive and cognitively agile, being able to synthesise information and apply critical discernment in order to be successful in the world of tomorrow.

A LEARNING COMMUNITY – TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Sancta Maria College strives to provide learning which is interesting, engaging and relevant for all students.  As a community of learners we place high value on the professional learning of all of our teachers.

Every teacher at Sancta Maria College is involved in on-going, intensive professional learning in order to best meet the diverse needs of our learners in an ever-changing social and educational landscape.

Our teachers have undertaken professional learning in many areas over the past few years, including:

Personalised Learning
Student Agency
Digital Learning
Literacy
Cultural Responsiveness
Future-Focused Capabilities / Lifelong Learning
Curiosity and Creativity
Connection and Collaboration
Boys’ Learning

Learning Support

Careers Guidance

Pathways

STAR

The Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource (STAR) is a government funded programme aimed at assisting senior students find a suitable pathway into work or further study. STAR courses are commonly known as ‘taster’ courses for an industry a student may find appealing as a career option. They are a fun and practical way of having a taste of the industry along with the opportunity to gain NCEA Unit Standards. Some typical courses available include animal care, tourism, beauty and the building trades.

Trades Up

In previous years students have constructed an Alpine Shelter (pergola) with washing facilities and electrical supply. This is the course for those students wanting to learn about the building and carpentry, plumbing or electrical trades.