At Point Chevalier School, learning is more than meeting curriculum targets. It’s about empowering tamariki to see themselves as active agents of change.In Term 4, the Year 3 team launched an inquiry titled “How can we use our ideas and actions to make our school a better place for everyone?” - a question that has ignited imagination, collaboration, and a deep sense of purpose across the class.
From Play to Purpose
The inquiry began with a “Junk Play” provocation, where learners used loose parts and rescued materials to design and build their own play spaces. What started as fort-building and marble-run construction quickly became an exercise in creative problem-solving, teamwork, and negotiation.
As students reflected on what helps or hinders play at school, authentic questions emerged: “Why isn’t there water near the sandpit?” “Why don’t we have equipment for kids in wheelchairs?” These wonderings evolved into a shared drive to make their school more inclusive, leading naturally into their guiding question and into powerful, connected learning.
Inquiry-Driven, Curriculum-Connected
This inquiry is a model of integrated learning. Literacy and numeracy are woven seamlessly through authentic tasks, such as reading and writing to research, creating interview questions, analysing survey data, and preparing persuasive letters to the Senior Leadership Team.
Mathematics comes alive through tally charts, measurement, and design. Students are learning to interpret data and use mathematical reasoning to support their ideas, skills that directly address national curriculum outcomes while remaining meaningful and purposeful.
Guided by Assessment for Learning principles and the Universal Design for Learning framework, the teaching team ensures every learner has voice, choice, and access. Children are developing as Creative, Critical, and Curious thinkers — living the school’s core values while deepening academic understanding.
Learning That Feels Real
Teachers at Point Chevalier describe success not as a final product, but as the process unfolding each day — collaboration, risk-taking, and the confidence to share ideas. Students are using the language of design thinking, reflecting on how to test, refine, and communicate their ideas. Even typically quieter learners are finding their voice through group work and shared inquiry.
Rigour Through Relevance
As national changes to literacy, numeracy, and assessment continue to evolve, Point Chevalier’s teachers are finding that integration strengthens rigour. By embedding reading, writing, and mathematics into authentic contexts, they ensure every minute of the day is meaningful. Students write because they have something real to say; they calculate because their designs depend on it.
This approach transforms the curriculum from a checklist into a living, connected experience — one that strengthens both academic achievement and wellbeing.
Next Steps: Designing for Change
The next phase of the inquiry sees students moving from identifying problems to designing solutions. They’ll soon prototype playground improvements and present their ideas to the Senior Leadership Team.
At the same time, the teaching team is refining its Wow & Wonder → Plan & Pitch → Explore & Examine → Create & Construct → Show & Share learning cycle, embedding literacy and numeracy through authentic, purposeful inquiry. Their work reaffirms a shared belief that deep learning happens when children’s voices lead.
Closing Thought
At Point Chevalier School | Rangi-mata-rau, innovation doesn’t come at the expense of curriculum coverage — it deepens it. Through inquiry, creativity, and collaboration, these teachers are showing what’s possible when students are trusted to lead their learning.
When children believe their ideas matter, they don’t just learn — they lead.
