Karori
West Normal School Te Kura O WaipahihiAbout our school:
Karori
West Normal School Te Kura O Waipahihi
Karori West Normal - Te Kura O Waipahihi is a full primary school, with an increasing roll, that works closely with its community to provide a quality education to a wide variety of students.
As a Normal school, we provide the Victoria University of Wellington College of Education with an environment in which student teachers can observe good practice and receive quality guidance and support. Visit the Wellington College of Education website.
We also have a Technology Centre that provides technology education for Years 7/8 students from schools in the nearby suburbs of Karori, Makara, Wadestown, Northland and Wilton.
The Board and teaching staff have a positive relationship and work together to maintain a whanau- family atmosphere in which all students are encouraged to recognise and celebrate differences and be innovative in the way they think and act.
Karori West Normal School was established in 1932 and is situated in an attractive garden setting at the southern end of Karori. The school is made up of families that come from many cultures and from a wide range of socio-economic groups. The school regards this diversity as positive and helpful for our students preparing for their place in a global world.
The school has extensive and robust assessment processes, including the use of standardised tests. Each whanau-team meets once a term to discuss the progress of each student and regular reports of student achievement in literacy and numeracy are discussed with the Board of Trustees.
Most of our students achieve at or above the national norms in the standardised tests. All students make progress throughout the year and those students that require additional support receive it. Girls and boys, and all ethnic groups are achieving comparatively in literacy and numeracy.
Significant Achievements
The school is proud of a number of significant achievements in recent years. We have been awarded Enhanced Programme Funding for two years to encourage the development of successful approaches to student learning within our local school cluster. Prior to this Funding, we have had three years of funding to enhance our own practice in this area. We have been involved in both the Virtue and the Roots of Empathy Programmes for many years. The Cool Schools Peer Mediation Programme is a feature of the school. This reflects our commitment not only to provide a safe environment for our students but also to involve our students in all aspects of our school. Not surprisingly, our students regularly receive awards for both academic achievement and service in the Annual Karori Young Achievers Awards.