About Our School
Longburn School caters for students from Year 1-8 (New Entrants through to Intermediate School Years). The school is situated only 3 kms from Palmerston North and is a lifestyle choice in education for our school families. We have a diverse range of students who are supported by an enthusiastic team of teachers and support staff. We are committed to providing quality education in an innovative and caring environment. We strive to offer learning experiences within a learning environment that will best prepare our students for the world they will inherit.
As a school we are committed to supporting the needs of individual students. We offer varied learning programmes and a curriculum delivery that is built on student engagement, relationships, progress and achievement. We implement the 'Longburn School Learning Approach', adapted from the 'Walker Learning Approach' across the school. Our core curriculum areas (literacy and numeracy) form the basis of all classroom programmes, where we cater for the students varying achievement levels via targeted teaching to meet needs and fill gaps. We also have a 'rich learning' curriculum (covering science, technology, and social sciences) through which there is a focus on developing the use of thinking tools to further set our children up to reach their full potential.
We ensure that the Arts curriculum and Health and PE are fully supported through the talent and skills of our teaching staff, external providers and, at times, students. The school has summer and winter sports teams that compete locally (the types of sports offered depend on children's interests and numbers required). Our students have many opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge in all areas of learning (academic, physical, social and emotional). We are a 'PBS' School, offering learning and practice in Mindfulness.
We are well resourced in ICT, having a modern mini ICT suite, Interactive Whiteboards in each classroom, an increasing number of mobile devices, Ultra Fast Broadband, and offer a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programme, all enhancing student learning.
We have a strong focus on building 'Cultural Capital' in our community, with students able to learn basic levels of language and it's respective culture (Te Reo Maori, NZ Sign Language, Japanese and Spanish). We have developed a reciprocal relationship with the International Pacific College, are part of the Asia Aware Network, host international interns on a regular basis and value the richness that all our cultures bring to our environment.
The school's physical environment enhances learning and opportunities for all. We are fortunate in having expansive grounds that include some great playground equipment, a school field, a Nature Reserve, a swimming pool, a climbing wall, mature trees, and a well resourced modern hall.
We support learning needs through stimulating and needs-based classroom programmes as well as accessing further resources through outside organisations and programmes (eg Reading Recovery, Resource Teachers, ...) when relevant. Our students are also able to join the Robotics Teams (middle to senior school) and all are able to join the 'Dr Dolittle' Animal group who look after the school animals (Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Chooks).
We are generously supported by the parents of the school who are interested and active in our learning community. They are represented and supported by an active and enthusiastic Board of Trustees and PTA. As a school, we are continually developing and adding to our school site a range of resources that support learning across our curriculum, e.g. interactive whiteboards in all classrooms, a multi purpose hall, a computer/information suite, the swimming pool, the adventure playground and the native bush area.
