sheffield contributing school
Sheffield is a rural, contributing primary school with a decile rating of 9. The
roll is stable, and has ranged from around 85 - 110 pupils over recent years.
There are 5 classes, and the teachers are supported by support staff. The school
is situated 60 kilometres west of Christchurch, nestled among the foothills of
the Southern Alps. Lakes, rivers, ski-fields, national parks, Christchurch and
countless other recreational activities are less than 30 minutes away. The
school grounds are extensive. Ongoing landscaping and property initiatives have
developed further native bush areas and places for the students to work and
play. The school buildings comprise five traditional open plan classrooms. A
library, an administration area, learning support room, an adventure playground,
a sandpit, and a new resource building complete the permanent fixtures. The
school is well resourced in all curriculum areas. Particular emphasis in recent
times has been the development of high quality ICT equipment. Each classroom has
access to a television, a large number of laptops and iPads and a learning
management system. Special needs assistance has been built into the school
budget. Teacher aides and part-time teachers work with individuals and groups of
children for short blocks of time, sometimes withdrawing children, other times
working within class programmes. A number of children have ongoing resourcing
for individual special needs and have part-time teacher or teacher aide
assistance funded by the Ministry. Teachers implement programmes which extend
and challenge children of all abilities.Support services attend the school
regularly. These include the Public Health Nurse, Resource Teacher of Learning
and Behaviour, Speech Language Therapist and other specialists. The school
P.E.A.K. values are at the heart of everything we do at Sheffield School. As a
result, relationships between students, staff, board and parents are positive
and the school enjoys fantastic support from the Sheffield community. The Board
of Trustees and PTA are very proactive, supporting a wide range of initiatives
which benefit the students. Parents are involved in many aspect of the programme
including PTA, fundraising, sport, camps, transport, classroom programmes,
library and options programmes. The children are a pleasure to teach. They are
well supported from home and come to school keen to learn. There are very few
behaviour problems in classrooms or in the playground and bullying is not
tolerated. Children’s interests are broad and include athletics, swimming,
tennis, cricket, netball, rugby, soccer, hockey and basketball. Keas, Scouts and
Guides are operating in the area. There are many cultural activities available
including a dance school, speech and drama clubs, gymnastics, art classes and
various music tutors. Sheffield School maintains close ties with the other
schools in the Malvern district, coming together regularly for sporting and
cultural events. The school has recently participated in ICTPD project, as part
of the Malvern cluster of schools. ICTPD (Information and Communication
Technology) is a Ministry of Education funded initiative, which offers
exceptional professional development opportunities to those involved.
