VOGELTOWN SCHOOL TE KURA O HUATOKI
WEEK 10, TERM 2, 2026
On Thursday, our leadership team visited Hilltop School in Tāupo as part of our ongoing professional learning journey. Hilltop has been an early adopter of evidence-informed teaching and learning approaches. Over recent years, a large number of their staff have visited schools in Australia to observe teaching in action and now they have started to implement things within their kura.
Much of their work is informed by the Science of Learning and the research of Nathaniel Swain. According to Swain, effective learning occurs when new knowledge is taught clearly, in manageable steps, and connected to what students already know. He emphasises that learning is not about students simply discovering information on their own but rather, teachers play a vital role in carefully guiding students towards understanding through explicit instruction, practice, feedback, and review.
A key idea in his work is that our working memory is limited. When students are presented with too much new information at once, learning can become difficult. Teachers can support learners by breaking concepts into smaller chunks, providing clear explanations and examples, and revisiting important ideas over time so they become embedded in long-term memory.
Swain also recommends reducing extraneous cognitive load. Extraneous load refers to the mental effort students expend on things that do not directly contribute to learning. For example, overly busy worksheets, unnecessary activities, transitions, or lengthy instructions can consume valuable mental resources. By removing these barriers and presenting information clearly, teachers can ensure that students focus their attention on the learning.
Our visit provided an excellent opportunity to see these principles being applied in real classrooms, to discuss the challenges and successes Hilltop has experienced, and to reflect on how we can strengthen teaching and learning at Vogeltown School. It was a thought provoking day and reinforced the importance of grounding our decisions in evidence and maintaining a focus on what has the greatest impact on student learning.
Next Thursday we will be saying goodbye to Ms Pretty at an assembly. It will be our way of celebrating her many years of service to Vogeltown School. While we will be sad to see her go, we are also excited for the experiences that lie ahead as she explores Australia!
Besides teaching, Rachel has been an important member of our leadership team. Throughout her time in this role, she has shown lots of initiative and an ability to think differently. I have really valued how she has never been afraid to share her thoughts and ideas, often providing perspectives that have caused us to pause, and consider new possibilities.
The assembly will begin at 10.00am and will be followed by a shared morning tea with staff, Board and special guests. We would love it if everyone could help make the occasion even more special by dressing in something Australian for the day. This could be as simple as wearing green and gold, supporting an Australian sports team, or coming dressed as an Australian animal or famous character or person.
It is important that we know if you have a child starting school sometime in the remainder of this year. This will allow us to put organisation in place for new students - especially for those beginning school, and to understand our predicted roll throughout the year.
You can do this by contacting the office to confirm that we have your child on our records, or by completing an enrolment form (which can be collected from the school or downloaded off our website).
If you know of anyone else living in zone that may be looking to enrol then please share this message with them.
This is a reminder that we have a teacher only day at the end of this term:
- Friday 3 July - Last day of Term 2 - Mathematics Teacher Only Day (school closed for instruction)
The learning for teachers on these days will focus on strengthening their knowledge of the new mathematics curriculum, deepening their understanding of the science of learning, and unpacking the different strands of mathematics in detail.
These days are an important part of ensuring our staff are well equipped to deliver high-quality mathematics teaching for all learners.
Thank you for the ongoing support of Vogeltown School, we really appreciate the efforts everyone makes to ensure our kura is such a great place to learn and work!
On behalf of the Vogeltown team, ka kite ano! Have a great weekend!
The VS team
Email: office@vogeltown.school.nz
Website: www.vogeltown.school.nz
Location: Vogeltown School Huatoki Street, Vogeltown, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Phone: (06) 753 6843
Our school policies, like many schools, are now in an online system through a portal called 'Schooldocs'. Any time you want to bring up a school policy, just log in to schooldocs and you can access the policies.
The login is: vogeltown
The password: huatoki
Website link to Schooldocs.
