Our Living Classroom / EnviroSchool
Papatoetoe East Primary is proud to be an EnviroSchool and in 2020 we were accredited as a Silver EnviroSchool. Being an Enviroschool means that we consider people, places, practices and policies from an environmental and sustainable perspective.
Our Living Classroom, like all other learning spaces, has become part of what makes Papatoetoe East Primary an engaging and exciting place to belong. This space is a Living Classroom, accessible to all members of our learning community. It has become a whole school context for developing integrated teaching and learning programmes relating to all aspects of the New Zealand Curriculum. Our Living Classroom provides a space that enables our children to develop strategies of inquiry learning by questioning, exploring and problem solving from an environmental education perspective.
Student voice has always been important at Papatoetoe East Primary. We have a number of student groups including our School Council, Travelwise Team and Health Promoting and Enviro Teams. Our Student Environmental Team, with support from staff develop and encourage:
- knowledge and understanding of the environment and the impact of people
- positive attitudes and values towards local and global environmental concerns
- a sense of responsibility through participation as individuals or groups in addressing environmental issues
- waste minimisation programmes, such as recycling, composting, and worm farms
- energy and water saving strategies options
- planting, revegetation, or habitat-enhancement programmes
- school wide recognition of special environmental events such as Arbor Day and Conservation Week
