Curriculum
We offer a wide range of core subjects and options at Porirua College. In the junior
All students have a Ko te Hapori course for one fifth of the timetable - Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons. Seniors choose two Ko te Hapori courses in the year, for a term and a half each. Juniors can choose a third course in Term 4 when seniors are completing NCEA credits, studying for and sitting exams.
Ko te Hapori courses are across year levels, to develop tuakana/teina learning, and have more than one teacher. They provide opportunities for students to learn about and within their cultures, to experience learning outside the classroom and to give back to their communities. The aim is to engage students in real world learning that they see as relevant to who they are and their future pathways. This curriculum was trialled in 2018 and 2019 when it was very successful. Students and whānau contributed to the development of the courses and the options that available.
Subject & Ko te Hapori Tables
Faculties
Arts
Creative expression - Student empowerment - A legacy of excellence
The Creative Arts programmes at Porirua College aim to provide all students, from Year 9 through to Year 13, the opportunity to develop and improve their knowledge and skill in a variety of artistic curriculum areas such as:
- Visual Arts - painting, design
and photography - Music - practical, performance, theory and technology
- Drama - acting, writing, directing and technical support
- Dance - performance
and choreography
Students will gain the education needed to achieve and maintain a creative drive, both now and in the future. A sense of grit, imaginative problem solving and an aim for excellence is
Students have the opportunity to use the Junior Visual Arts, Music, Dance and Performing Arts courses as a stepping-stone to the Senior Creative Arts courses. The Senior courses help students to further develop their skills in the respective creative fields preparing them for employment or further studies in the areas of film (acting and technical), art and design (includes advertising), music (performance, composing and music technology), dance (choreography, performance and music video maker),
Our extra-curricular programme allows students to be involved in a range of Performing Arts disciplines from School Production to Polyfest. Every year we encourage students to compete in Barbershop, Chamber Orchestra
English
Why take English?
English is about connecting to the world through film and literature. We study and respond to texts that inspire students to make sense of the world and their place within it.
In English you will practice making meaning through listening, reading and viewing. We also create meaning through speaking, writing and presenting.
English at Porirua College aims to help you become increasingly skilled and sophisticated speakers and listeners, writers and readers, presenters and viewers.
Languages
Nga Reo o Te Moananui-a-Ke
When you learn a language, you learn to communicate with people from other cultures as well as your own. You learn new ways of speaking, new ways of thinking and new ways of seeing the world around you.
If you speak a different language from your elders, learning their language can help you to reconnect with your ancestors and celebrate your cultural identity.
If you are Maori or Samoan and wish to explore your first language to an advanced level, Te Reo Maori and Gagana Samoa, give students an opportunity to do so.
Courses
- Te Reo Māori
- Te Mahi Whakatoi
- Gagana Samoa
- English as a Second Language
Mathematics
Mathematics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in quantities, space, and time. Statistics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in data. These two disciplines are related but have different ways of thinking and of solving problems. Both equip students with effective means
Mathematics and Statistics have a broad range of practical applications in everyday life, in other learning areas, and in workplaces.
Most careers demand students have achieved numeracy in NCEA Level 1 and many require Level 2 mathematics and statistics.
At Porirua
Personalised Learning
The Personalised Learning Faculty at Porirua College
Attitudes fostered in The Personalised Learning Faculty stem from the idea of breaking all barriers to students’ learning by responding to the needs of all their learners and their communities. Our students of complex needs are provided with
Physical Education & Health
Our PE and Health faculty aims to grow confident, positive and healthy young people. We have recently rewritten our junior curriculum and the students now sit firmly at the
We also see huge value in partnering with our local primary and intermediate schools running fantastic festival days and coaching sessions. Giving our students full responsibility for their learning allows them to step up, take charge and they rise to the occasion. Senior students use these qualities within their NCEA studies to great success as they learn to manage themselves and take ownership of their learning.
Science
Science at PC is all about understanding the world we all live in. This understanding grows through students generating questions and testing ideas, gathering evidence by making observations, collecting data, communicating with experts from the community and explaining their findings in a scientific manner.
In Years 9 to 10, we explore questions and contexts from many branches of science – Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, and Physics. Students develop problem-solving skills, become successful members of a team working together to overcome challenges and make discoveries and develop an understanding of what it means to think like a scientist.
Senior students choosing to continue their learning in sciences choose to study one or more of Biology, Chemistry
Social Sciences
The Social Sciences at PC offer a range of different subject areas that all focus on society, what people do and how their actions influence the world around us. By understanding the processes and structures that make up the world, the aim is that students become empowered to navigate their own way and contribute to a better tomorrow.
In the Junior
In the Senior School a range of individual Social Sciences are offered which each look at the world through their own lens:
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History - how yesterday’s events and their causes and consequences are threaded through the reality of today’s world
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Geography - how people and the environment interact. Getting out there to do our own inquiries into our world is at its heart
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Social Studies - how people have different perspectives on this world and how, through social action, we can transform it
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Economics and Business - how people make decisions about using the world’s resources and how it can be transformed for the better through business activity
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Travel and Tourism - this is a workplace focused course that equips you to respond to clients wishing to explore the world. At Level 3 in Tourism Māori, you also gain insight into Te Reo Māori greetings and farewells, Māori protocols, Māori Whenua and its importance to tourism.
The Social Sciences offer students the chance to develop their capacity to describe the world and use language to transform it. Students successfully completing Level 3 Social Science courses in History, Geography, Social Studies or Economics, will have gained the skills to write extended academic essays as required at University.
Technology
The Technology Department offers a wide range of courses, with many students taking more than one option. Courses include Digital Technology, Design and Visual Communication, Food Technology & Hospitality, Design Technology & Carpentry. The courses are made up with theory and practical components that provide opportunities for students to study topics that are relevant.
The senior technology courses use planned assessments to set students up for the appropriate vocational pathways, including some of which that are
Transition & Gateway
1. Transition
Porirua College assists our students to make smooth transitions from school into further education, training or employment. Our students have meaningful career conversations with their learning coaches and subject teachers. We have an internal career guidance
Tertiary providers present at school and our students can choose to visit tertiary campuses so that they are able to make informed decisions about their future pathways. We have strong links with our community and our students can participate in practical courses at Whitireia Polytechnic to gain skills and qualifications which prepare them for study and employment when they leave school. Due to our connections with local businesses, students have the opportunity to complete work experience placements to provide them with valuable experience in the industry of their choice.
2. Gateway Programme
At Porirua
The Gateway programme is a structured hands-on workplace learning opportunity for senior, work-ready students. Students who participate in this programme are those who have an interest in a particular career pathway and they understand the skills required in their chosen career pathway.