Our High Five Values/Principles and the Story of the Hand....Te Pakiwaitara o te Ringaringa

Kia ora koutou

Our High Five sign: I am sure you will have all noticed "Our High Five"
signage that has been placed on the back of the Amesbury School sign at the top of the drive. We decided to put "Our High Five" there because its what we want children, staff  and all community members to take with us as we leave the school. These values/principles are not only important to us here at Amesbury School, but they are important "out there" in the other dimension of real life. We hope that children will take "Our High Five" with them and live them out in their daily lives away from school.

Very soon you will see smaller versions of Our High Five hands around the school on windows and doors. The children are currently learning about these important concepts as part of the "Living Stories" inquiry they are involved in at the moment.

The Result of Consultation: Values/principles similar to these were first decided on by the Establishment Board in consultation with the community. We have since reviewed them to see if they still fit. We consulted with the community about them at our third term community evening last year and the board and staff then did further work on them. The ongoing conversation narrowed down the number of value/principles to this five. Our High Five should be considered in everything that we do. They guide how we live and they guide what we value. We consider them as we make decisions every day. Time spent at school should be an ongoing inquiry into how we can value these on a day-to-day basis.

Te Pakiwaitara o te  Ringaringa – The story of The Hand

Our High Five

Power of Hands

“We engage the world and its wonder, sensing and creating primarily through the agency of our hands”

Hands are central to learning because we experience much of the world through our hands – sensing and creating, touching and feeling, writing, drawing, gesturing and communicating.

Hands are a very significant and powerful part of the human body. It is interesting that when we attempt to subdue people (arresting, for example) it is the hands that are restrained first. It seems somehow that restraining hands subdues more than just the hands. Conversely, releasing hands from restraint, empowers more than just the hands – it releases the spirit, the mind, the sense of empowerment etc. Hence it is appropriate that we use the “hand” as a metaphor for our vision of empowering learners at Amesbury School.

Koru

The Koru represents our learning process as well as the transformational nature of learning – that is, the unfurling that takes place as we go through the learning process. This is also inscribed on the palm of the hand to signal its centrality to our school vision for empowering learners.

Open Hand

The hand is palm up with hand flat and fingers spread. This signifies:

1.       Generosity – we are open handed – and share what we have with each other, with our immediate and wider community

2.       Transparency – the openness of the gesture signifies that we are not hiding anything but are always transparent with our school community

3.       Kindness – the open handedness also points to our openheartedness – our kindness and warmth

4.       Exploration – openness to allow children to explore and inquire, but it is appropriately “boundaried”

5.       Openness of mind – an acknowledgement that none of us holds all the answers but need to hear the voices of others

6.       Hands can be used to control others – but the open hand cannot. Rather it empowers others by asking questions, by allowing exploration and inquiry, by its transparency, kindness and generosity.

Fingers and thumb

These represent our “High Five” – the five values/principles we hold to be important and that will be nurtured, cultivated, evidenced and celebrated.

“Our High Five”

Excellence                                                  - Always realising our potential

Connecting and including                             -Learning to live together

Authenticity                                                 -Learning to be the best me

Creating and Enquiring                                 -Learning to learn

Sustainability                                                -Ensuring a better future

There are four fingers, each in touch with the thumb. Excellence (always realising our potential) will touch everything that we do.

The fingers and thumb work together in harmony. The values cannot be separated, but are dependent on each other for their fulfilment.

Koru and the hand

The hand is common to all humankind. This represents our global connectedness and our commitment to “hold hands” with all others and to embrace all humanity with its diversity.

The koru is particular to Maori. Its use signals our pride as New Zealanders in our bicultural heritage and our celebration of it.