Edgewater College
Learning Areas
Business Studies
The Business Studies department at Edgewater College aims to deliver teaching and learning programmes that offer authentic learning experiences, which enable all students to meet their full potential. Our focus is to develop the financial and commercial capabilities (skills and knowledge) of our students, to enable them to make informed and rational decisions, in order for them to participate effectively in the rapidly changing world they live in.
Head of Department
Ms. K Hyde
Drama
Drama is all about communication. Students will develop their performance and presenting skills gaining more confidence in their work. They will explore a variety of drama styles and points of view, understanding the role of research and investigative analysis to inspire and inform their own original productions. They will learn to interpret and perform with commitment and intention gaining confidence in their own abilities in performing, processing information, developing and executing ideas. Students will work collaboratively with others and learn how to take direction with purpose.
Students will build on dramatic elements, conventions and techniques to write and perform stories and develop their ability to communicate their own ideas, identities, and cultures with attention to audience and interpretation. Students will study a range of live performances analysing, critiquing, interpreting and studying the overall production to establish performance intention.
Acting Head of Department
Ms. G. McClean
EDGE Innovation Programme
Edge is an exciting initiative designed to develop learners, leaders and change-makers through an innovative curriculum that integrates learning into four key subjects: Community Action, Creative Design, Future Studies and Problem Solving. Key skills and understanding from English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies are covered within these subjects and they also draw on Art, Health, Physical Education and Technology.
Head of Department
Mrs F. Booker
English
English is the study, use, and enjoyment of the English language and its literature, communicated orally, visually, and in writing, for a range of purposes and audiences and in a variety of text forms. Learning English encompasses learning the language, learning through the language, and learning about ourselves.
Understanding and creating oral, written, and visual texts of increasing complexity, is at the heart of English teaching and learning. Students will engage with text-based activities to become increasingly sophisticated speakers and listeners, writers and readers, presenters and viewers.
Head of Department
Ms M. Carrigan
Health and PE
In physical education and health, the focus is on the well-being of the students themselves, of other people, and of society through learning in movement and health-related contexts.
Four underlying and interdependent concepts are at the heart of this learning area:
- Hauora a māori philosophy of well-being that includes the dimensions taha wairua, taha hinengaro, taha tinana, and taha whānau, each one influencing and supporting the others.
- Attitudes and values a positive, responsible attitude on the part of students to their own well-being; respect, care, and concern for other people and the environment; and a sense of social justice.
- The socio-ecological perspective a way of viewing and understanding the interrelationships that exist between the individual, others, and society.
- Health promotion a process that helps to develop and maintain supportive physical and emotional environments and that involves students in personal and collective action.
Head of Department
Mrs S. Davies
Literacy Support
This course is for students to develop basic accuracy and confidence in literacy. The assessment focus is on building reading and writing skills, with assessments in speaking and listening.
Mathematics and Statistics
Mathematics is very important in today’s world. It is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in quantities, space, and time. Statistics is the exploration and use of patterns and relationships in data. These two disciplines are related but different ways of thinking and of solving problems. It is a powerful tool for understanding the world around us and our perspective of the important issues facing us as individuals, families, businesses, and nations. Math surrounds us; we see and use math skills and capabilities every day–from balancing our accounts to advertising agencies to doctors; from retailers to builders, lawyers and accountants.
Everyone needs some level of specific mathematics knowledge. Mathematics has a broad range of practical applications in everyday life, in other learning areas, and in workplaces. Most professions use math to perform their job better and to get ahead in the world.
Students are strongly encouraged to continue mathematics though to Year 13 as the majority of tertiary programmes and vocational courses require mathematics at NCEA Level 2 or 3.
Why learn Mathematics?
Math is more than a subject that everyone in school needs to take. Many believe that math is only needed in the Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics fields (STEM). That’s true, math is absolutely essential in those fields, but it is also needed in many other fields including economics, many of the social sciences such as psychology and sociology, and in many of the arts and humanities disciplines including art, music, and mass communications. Mathematics has been called “the universal language”.
By studying mathematics and statistics, students develop the ability to think creatively, critically, strategically, and logically. They learn to structure and to organise, to carry out procedures flexibly and accurately, to process and communicate information, and to enjoy intellectual challenge.
By learning mathematics and statistics, students develop other important thinking skills. They learn to create models and predict outcomes, to conjecture, to justify and verify, and to seek patterns and generalisations. They learn to estimate with reasonableness, calculate with precision, and understand when results are precise and when they must be interpreted with uncertainty.
Where can Mathematics lead?
Mathematics is not just about numbers; it is about patterns too. Jobs like fashion and interior design will benefit from mathematics skills. Mathematics is also fundamental to the study of engineering, economics, virtually all science subjects and is useful for many other subjects.
Business careers need mathematics and statistics to produce reports that can be understood at different levels of interest. In fact, most top-paying jobs need good mathematics skills: doctors, vets, engineers, scientists, plumbers, electricians, builders - the list goes on.
Please note: Students are required to take Mathematics and Statistics until the end of Year 11. However, a decision not to continue with the subject into Years 12 and 13 should not be made lightly as many tertiary courses require Mathematics at NCEA Level 2 or 3.
Head of Department
Miss R. Prasad
Music
This course will give students opportunities to grow their skills in Solo and Group Performances, Composition, Musical Knowledge and Music Technology.
Head of Department
Mr S. Holmes
Sciences
We use the products of the many branches of Science every day. Science and the skills developed in Science subjects are essential if we are to gain an understanding of the way the world works. It helps people develop the skills needed to think critically, ask questions, make evidence based explanations, work together and also work independently.
The courses offered within the Sciences Learning area provide a great variety in the choice of subjects offered and a wide range of opportunities for further study.
Science allows the harnessing of creative talents and personal intelligences to create new knowledge to improve society. Scientists get to create, develop and contribute new ideas and products. As a scientist, you really can ‘make a difference’.
Head of Department
Mrs F. Booker
Social Sciences
What are the social sciences about?
The social sciences learning area is about how societies work and how people can participate in those societies. Contexts are drawn from the past, present, and future and from places within and beyond New Zealand.
Why study the social sciences?
Through the social sciences, students develop the knowledge and skills to enable them to: better understand, participate in, and contribute to the communities they are a part of; engage critically with issues that affect societies; and evaluate the sustainability of alternative social, economic, political, and environmental practices.
Students explore the unique bicultural nature of New Zealand society that derives from the Treaty of Waitangi. They learn about people, places, cultures, histories, and the economic world, both within and beyond New Zealand.
Head of Department
Whaea K. Bisset
Te Reo Māori
Why learn Māori?
The learning of the Māori language and culture for all citizens of New Zealand is important in relation to the social and cultural systems of the country and also in relation to the arts and tourism.
In 1987, Te Reo Māori became an official language of New Zealand. Young people who study Te Reo Māori will have available to them greater opportunities in their careers, especially as many agencies are seeking employees who demonstrate competence in Māori language and tikanga.
By learning Māori, students will develop or increase their awareness and appreciation of the central role the language, culture and heritage play in shaping and giving direction and meaning to life; broaden their employment options; learn to appreciate, understand, enjoy, and value Māori visual and performing arts; develop greater respect for a range of views and cultural practices, through greater understanding and to participate more fully as citizens of a country in which Māori is an official language.
Head of Department
Ms. K. Dunn
Technology
Technology is intervention by design: the use of material and human resources to develop quality products that expand human possibilities. Creativity and innovation are at the heart of what we do.
Students make enterprising use of traditional workshop knowledge and skills, together with the latest CAD, CNC and 3D Printing technologies to enhance our product development process.
Head of Department
Mrs S. Kumar
Visual Art
In Visual Art, students explore, refine and communicate ideas as they connect thinking, imagination, senses and feelings to create works and respond to the works of others. Visual Art includes Painting, Design, Printmaking and Photography.
Head of Department
Ms. M. Cunningham
Vocational Programmes
We also offer a range of vocational and employment-based courses including:
• Gateway, which provides opportunities for workplace experience and learning in a school-industry partnership.
• An Industry Pathways class for NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3. This Unit Standard course is designed to provide students with the skills and capabilities required to enter an apprenticeship, course or employment.
• An Employment Skills class for NCEA Level 2 and 3. This Unit Standard course links students with workplace providers, where they complete 2 days of work experience each week.
• MIT Trades Academy for Year 12 and 13 students. A partnership between MITTA and secondary schools to provide a range of vocational courses that prepare students for higher education or employment. All courses are Unit Standard based.
