WELCOME TO DOVEDALE SCHOOL

On behalf of the Dovedale School Board of Trustees, staff and students, I extend a
very warm welcome to you and your family.
 
Dovedale School is a wonderful rural school catering for students from Year 0-8. We
are set in the heart of Dovedale Valley in a caring and supportive community. We are
proud to be part of this special place. The school values excellence in all aspects of
a child’s development and the board, principal and staff are strongly focused on
providing an inclusive culture and positive outcomes for all students.
Dovedale School prides itself that it is the ‘heart’ of the community and we strive to
continually foster strong community links. Our students are proud of ‘our place’ and
we are committed to working together with our school and local community to be the
best that we can be. We belong to the wider ‘Moutere Hills Cluster’ of schools and
the ‘Motueka Community of Learning’. As a member of these groups we enjoy being
active in a range of sporting, cultural and academic activities in our region.
 
Our Dovedale Curriculum is framed by the New Zealand Curriculum and our
response to current research around what initiatives have the largest positive impact
on student progress and achievement. We believe all students are active participants
in their learning and should have all the necessary information about their personal
progress and achievement to assist them in their learning. We expect all our
students to be able to answer three key questions about their learning – ‘Where am I
going?’, ‘How am I going?’ and ‘Where to next?’.

Our teaching team work collaboratively together to best meet the educational and
pastoral needs of every learner in our school. We have a focus on quality literacy
and numeracy programmes in all classrooms and we encourage our students to
strive for personal excellence in all learning areas of the curriculum. We provide
learning support where needed as well as providing rich extension opportunities for
students who are achieving above expected curriculum levels. We are proud to
provide a diverse range of rich learning opportunities both in and outside the
classroom.

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At Dovedale School, our vision is “Growing great people.” This means we want every student to become confident, capable, and kind, ready to achieve their full potential both in school and in life.

We live this vision through our values, which guide everything we do:

• Responsibility – Tūtika
  I take ownership of my learning, my actions, and my choices. I try new things and learn from my mistakes.

• Respect – Whakaute
  I care for others, myself, and our environment. I treat people and places with kindness.

• Resilience – Manawaroa
  I keep going when things are challenging. I stay positive, solve problems, and always try my best.

At Dovedale School, these values are more than words — they are part of our everyday life. They guide the way we learn, play, and work together. Students are encouraged to be confident in themselves, care for others, and approach challenges with a strong, positive mindset.

By living our values, Dovedale students grow into thoughtful, capable, and well-rounded young people, ready to make a difference in their community and the world.

We are an inclusive, caring school where staff, parents and students all work
together to develop our future citizens and leaders.
We welcome you to our awesome rural school.