Picton School “Gateway to Discovery” is located near the town centre of Picton, the gateway to the Marlborough Sounds and indeed, the South Island. Children come from a range of backgrounds and bring different experiences to school. Just over half of our roll identify as Māori.
The school currently has 5 classrooms catering from children aged 5 to 11. The Principal is Katie Talbot, the Deputy Principal is Jaimee Perrett and the Assistant Principal is Lianne Adams.
Picton School is proud to be a Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) School and an Enviroschool.
We have five core school values that we are learning to grow:
- Te Mohiotanga
- Motuhake
- Rangatiratanga
- Te Tautuhi
- Manaakitanga.
These values are an integral part of our classrooms. Children are recognised for displaying these values by receiving Values Cards. These earn House Points and also contribute to school-wide rewards. As certain targets are achieved, the school celebrates together. Some of the rewards have been: half an hour of an activity of their choice (run by teachers and Student Leaders), an afternoon disco, outdoor games afternoon, pyjama and movie day, and a free sausage sizzle.
Since 2018 the School has four “Houses”: Arapaoa, Kaipūpū, Tōtaranui, and Waitohi. Each House has two captains and a support leader. These students, along with a few others, make up the Student Leadership Group who, mentored by Principal Ed Roggeveen, are learning and putting into practice essential leadership skills for their future. They also have a visible role in the school - for example, taking turns to assist the duty teacher at lunch eating time, run some assemblies, organise activities and come up with the PB4L rewards. The Houses are competing for the House Shield, the inaugural winners of which were Waitohi in 2018. Since then it has been won by Totaranui (2019), Kaipūpū(2020), Kaipūpū(2021) and Waitohi (2022 and 2023).
Classrooms are open for children from 8:30am. Children either walk, scooter / bike, get dropped off or take one of two buses to school. The first bell goes at 8:55am and the roll is taken so class is ready to start at 9:00am. At 10:30am the children have 10 minutes to eat morning tea in class and then it is out to play at 10:40am. At 10:55am the bell tells children to get back to class (go to the toilet and get a drink if needed) and learning re-starts at 11:00am.
At 12:30pm children go out to play and at 1:05pm (1:00pm on Mondays) the bell tells children to get their lunch and sit in the assigned eating area (The Haumaru or inside if wet). We pack up at 1:25pm ready for learning at 1:30pm. School finishes at 3:00pm.
Every Monday we start the week with a short Assembly. This gets the children back into “School mode”. Information about what’s coming up is shared and we usually have a short talk about one of our school values.
Picton School is part of the Ka ora ka ako - Healthy Lunches in School - scheme. All children are provided a nutritious lunch every day. We are very fortunate to have experienced caterer Michelle McClellan deliver this program, using our newly renovated kitchen.
Most Fridays we have an Assembly at 12:00pm. Classes take it in turn to host these and it is a chance for children to share their work with the school and the community as a whole. One child from each class receives a Duffy Award which is a certificate and a book of their choice at each assembly. The winners of these awards are determined by their teacher who is looking for children displaying our school values. As a Duffy School all children also receive several free books every year.
We currently have a new Parent Group being established to help raise funds for the school to give children additional opportunities.
Classes regularly take part in Education Outside the Classroom. These activities include visiting the town library, going on local walks (such as to Bob’s Bay or Esson’s Valley), visiting the local marae, visiting Kaipupu point and water activities such as kayaking.
We have a school pool which is open for instruction in term 1 (and if we are lucky with the weather towards the end of term 4).
We are also involved in inter-school sport including cross country, rugby, netball and hockey.
If you are considering enrolling your child at Picton School please come and visit us. Contact the office to make a suitable time.
We look forward to seeing you soon!