Our Approach

PROGRAMME

At Green School NZ we look at education with an innovation lens. Rather than rejecting all the conventions of education, we are keeping the principles and methodologies that work, having built a new model of education around them.

Our Learning Programme aims to prepare children for real life by equipping them with knowledge, values and skills to navigate an ever-changing world.

Our holistic, child-led approach inspires and empowers learners to be green leaders, thriving by learning in a purposeful manner. Here the child learns how to be a change-maker through entrepreneurial based learning, in a natural environment. Working to create a positive impact on the world ignites their passion to learn and turns learning from a chore, into a desire.

Learners are immersed in an engaged community. We educate for sustainability through community-integrated learning practises by staying connected to our local neighbourhood and iwi. Together, we form a community committed to mutual respect and shared learning.

Partners In Education

Green School New Zealand has the honour of receiving world renowned education guidance and support, helping shape the GSNZ curriculum and craft the Green School experience here in Taranaki, New Zealand.

New Zealand Qualifications Authority ensures that New Zealand qualifications are recognised and respected, here and overseas, and that qualifications and credentials meet the needs of learners in the changing world.
Green School NZ offers the NZQA university entrance qualification to High School students.
Read more here.
NEASC - New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
NEASC Accreditation is a respected, effective, and time-tested methodology for school improvement and growth. It is not a single event, but rather an ongoing, voluntary cycle of comprehensive internal and external assessments, short- and long-term strategic planning, and periodic reporting sustained by professional partnership and support. It is intended to serve as a framework for schools to meet their own unique goals for student learning while maintaining alignment with research-based Standards for Accreditation that define the characteristics of high quality, effective learning communities. It also serves to assess the systems in place for ongoing institutional self-reflection and a school’s commitment to and capacity for continuous growth and/or transformation.
Read more here.
Education in Motion are global leaders in pioneering education for a sustainable future. EiM’s mission is to create meaningful change for the world by empowering communities through innovative education.
EiM supports a growing family of premier education brands, including Green School International Schools.
More on EiM here.
Please see details on our Advisory Board here.

Our Principles

Our learning is guided by Green School Principles, which are core shared beliefs about how to nurture powerful, sustainable and impactful learning experiences. Our pedagogical belief is that we learn & grow best when experiences are REAL.

Green School prioritises and sustains relationships between all learners, their environment, and their community. Our programmes are holistic and engage the whole person including the social-emotional, intrapersonal, intellectual and kinaesthetic connections.
We know students learn better through experiential learning, or ‘learning by doing’. Our living curriculum adapts to the evolving needs of learners, so that students take ownership of their own learning journeys by being involved in it every step of the way.
We believe learning should be driven by real-world needs and the prospect of a sustainable future. But also by the ambitions of our learners, who are empowered to follow their passions and take action to create a positive impact in their surroundings.
Green School learners come from all over the world and deeply immerse themselves in their local surroundings, enabling them to interact with local communities so that they become aware of the local culture, and traditions, as well as work with the local communities to expand their awareness and understanding of what it means to be a global citizen.

Our Values

We teach and model our Green School iRESPECT values and support our learners in doing the same. Teachers honour and recognise these values in our learners through ongoing dialogue, discussions and reinforcement.

Being honest and ethical with thoughts and actions.
Being accountable for thoughts, actions and deeds.
Understanding and caring for the feelings of others.
Ensuring that your own body and environment is cared for.
Contributing to a state of harmony.
Respecting everyone as an equal and as an individual.
Being part of a group seeking common goals and taking care of each other.
Building and maintaining strong relationships with each other, the school and the environment.

“We are connecting a community of learners to help make our world more sustainable, in a positive manner. Empowering children to make an impact, now.”

- GREEN SCHOOL NZ CO-FOUNDERS

Green School Skills

Activate

Feel empowered and empower others. Be a leader and put knowledge to action. Build trust and inspire others to take action, take risks and take responsibility.
Adapt

Flex like Flax. Be receptive and adaptive to change. Deal positively with unpredictable set-backs. Accept and learn from failure.
Think Critically

Dig deeper, ask why, make connections.
Be Aware

Look within. Understand how one learns best. Be aware of one’s emotions and those of others. Be aware of your personal impact on the community.
Collaborate

Confident alone, stronger together. Find your role and share responsibility for reaching goals. Learn to consider multiple perspectives.
Think in systems

Step back and see the whole picture. Identify how human and natural systems interact and impact one another.
Communicate

Process, organise and coherently express ideas. Listen actively, interpret and express ideas graphically, numerically and verbally.
Solve Problems

Identify problems, figure it out, go for it. Apply logic and innovation to investigations and scenarios. Plan, prioritise and manage time and logistics.