Of the 133 students at this level, 85, including some boarders, start at the beginning of the year. These girls come from a wide variety of schools and our focus for them is their successful integration into Year 7.
In the 7Up programme our girls acquire self-knowledge, and decision-making and leadership skills. The teachers help the girls to understand their own strengths, interests and areas for development, and their awareness of a range of possible future careers. In Term 4, students submit a CV and letter of application for Year 8 leadership roles.
A vital part of the 7Up programme is Education Outside the Classroom, which is pivotal to helping children to learn more about who they are, to take supervised, acceptable risks – both physical and emotional, and to develop the mindset and skills they will need to become independent, fulfilled adults, and thoughtful citizens. The girls attend a camp at Motutapu each year and as a culmination of the Taha Mãori studies programme the students plan for and experience a hakari.
The 7Up programme encourages reflection and analysis, develops empathy and caring, and prompts the girls to learn more about the world, others, and themselves. We want to help them to be fair, honest and open, to be brave and strong, and to thrive in an environment in which their spirit can blossom.
The 7Up programme aims to meet the specific needs of Year 7 girls who are stepping up to the challenges of Year 7 and growing the requisite degree of independence. The 7Up programme is based upon an integrative learning approach, designed especially for the middle years, that reflects a belief that students and their interests, needs, issues and questions should be a major force in shaping what and how they learn.
To ensure our girls feel connected and part of the St Cuthbert’s College community from their first day in Year 7, we deliberately have a homeroom environment for delivery of much of the curriculum, which is well supported by specialists in key subjects. The homeroom teacher takes core curriculum subjects while specialist teachers take: Visual Art, Drama, French, Music, Physical Education and Technology.
Thinking Skills are integrated into all curriculum areas and our new girls have training in this at the start of the year. Students have the opportunity to take part in Philosophy for Children and there are opportunities for very able students to take part in group activities including Future Problem Solving and Writers’ Groups, as well as enrichment tasks in conjunction with the Thinking Skills facilitators and ICT specialists. Opportunities are provided for students to sit the UNSW International Competitions and Assessments for Schools in: English, Science and Mathematics.