The Values
MANAAKITANGA
Respect
At Epuni School, we respect ourselves, we respect others, we respect our environment
Tūtika
Responsibility
At Epuni School, we make good choices, we own the choices we make, we manage ourselves
Manawaroa
Resilience
At Epuni School, we never give up, we believe we can, we learn from our mistakes
Whanaungatanga
Relationships
At Epuni School, we have manaaki for each other, we tautoko each other, we stand by each other
Our values underpin everything we do at Epuni School. Each term we focus and learn about a particular value, but we encourage all values all of the time, whether we are in the classroom, in the playground, or in the community.
encouraging the positives
By focussing on the positive behaviours we can show all students the way to go. Student’s provide each other with role models in which the values look like, sound like, and feel like.
To encourage students who are showing these values, we hand out Values Vouchers. These record the value being shown and are put into a weekly draw. Values Vouchers also go towards Whetū Group points, and each week at Whānau Time, names are drawn from each Whetū Group to win 10 minutes extra play with a friend after first lunch. Every Values Voucher is in two parts, one part that students put into the draw, and another part that students take home to be celebrated by their family.
When a student receives a Values Voucher, they also receive a Gem. These Gems are put into a large jar, and once the jar is full, the whole school gets to celebrate with a Gem Celebration. This ranges from Fun Days, Discos and trips to the Swimming Pool.
Classroom Rewards
Teachers decide on different methods of classroom rewards. This can be from marble jars to sticker charts or Class Dojo points.
Values Vouchers
When students are caught doing awesome things that align with the School Values, they’re given Values Vouchers.
Gem Celebrations
Each Value Voucher comes with a Gem. When the Gem jar is full, the whole school gets a reward.
Zones of Regulation
The Zones of Regulation are a way of simplifying a pretty complex part of life – emotions. It gives children a language they can use and understand. This then allows them to work with, learn about, and explore further in class. It allows the class to have a common language about emotions and for them to gain some tools in order to manage their emotions and self regulate. It helps them to understand the emotions others might be feeling as well.
The emotions we experience can be put into four main categories. Some situations cause multiple emotions, so children can find themselves in more than one zone at a time, but we encourage students to focus on the strongest emotion that they’re feeling. Below is a list of common emotions and which category they tend to fit into.
Blue
Sad, Tired, Sick, Down, Demoralised, Slow, Exhausted, Flat.
Green
Happy, Focussed, Ready to Go, Sorted, Content, Settled, Calm, Joy, Flourishing, Golden.
Yellow
Excited, Silly, Overwhelmed, Frustrated, Annoyed, Agitated, Out of sorts, flustered.
Red
Angry, Violent, Mad, Out of control, Aggressive.
We teach the children that there is no bad emotion and no good emotion. They are just how we (as individuals) react to situations. It is not a bad thing to experience Red emotions. It does matter what we do in that Zone however.
Feel free to talk with your child about the emotions, use the four zones and make it a common language at home as well.
Find out more about the Zones of Regulation here.
PB4L
Epuni School is a PB4L school. PB4L is Positive Behaviour 4 Learning. You can find out more about this here.