About Pine

Pine is not just a school; it is a community, where all members are an important and equal part.

We have no grades - there are three classes, informally known as "the big kids", "the little kids" and "the middle group", and each child works at their own pace. We are a play-based learning environment, especially for the younger years, as we believe that children are natural learners. The teachers are seen not as authority figures, but as collaborators in the children's learning, guiding and scaffolding it, taking advantage of the children's enthusiasm for a particular topic at a particular time.

This page is about some of the things we do at Pine. You can also read about the kinds of subjects we do, and the environment in which we do them.

You can also have a read about what it's like at Pine according to the kids, what it's like for the parents, and what it's like for the teachers. And here's what some other people, including the media, have said about us.

Picnic On Fridays, each family brings in healthy food to share for picnic. We love it! Excursions We love going on excursions at Pine! Whether it's a trip to the museum, our annual end-of-year trek to Wet n Wild, or simply a Friday afternoon picnic in the park, we love to get out and about in the community. While excursions have a specific educational purpose, they also have a deliberate social purpose, as they help us to learn together, develop friendships and get to know parents as educational partners (parents are such fantastic mentors to not just their children, but to all the children at Pine).

Circle

Circle is an important time of the day at Pine Community School. We start each morning all together, reflecting that we are a (multi-age) community. Circle is a time to share news or objects from home, sing songs, listen to stories or poems, or share interesting trivia facts. A different child leads circle every day, and this child is also responsible for choosing a morning game (non-competitive, indoor or outdoor).

Both circle and game are designed as opportunities for children to listen to each other and co-operate as a team.

Whole School Meeting and Democratic Process

Thursday mornings instead of circle we have whole-school meeting - a very special, important time. Meetings are run by the children, and are a democratic forum for children to raise issues about how the school is run, social situations and challenges, make and review rules, and decide on ideas for excursions or projects. All items and decisions are recorded in the minutes book by the children (in pictures and words), who are skilled at chairing meetings, setting agendas and taking minutes. We try and make Thursday meetings more a focus for the children's issues, although parents and teachers can raise issues also. (Parent council meetings and general parent meetings are held monthly to ensure that parents are also fully involved in the decisions made at the school).

The culture of a democratic school is one that values children's voices, teaching them that they have the right to be heard, as well as the responsibility to listen. Like many child-centred learning environments, there is the expectation that children's concerns be taken seriously. Whole school meeting is a symbol of this belief, but the spirit of democracy pervades all our activities, curriculum and pedagogy. By giving children a voice, we empower them to be responsible for their learning, social behaviour and environment.

Conflict Resolution and Behaviour Management

At Pine, we use conflict resolution techniques as a basis for teaching children how to manage conflicts as well as build social skills and self-esteem. We aim to produce happy, confident children who are intrinsically motivated in their behaviour. With this in mind, we work towards children understanding the 'why' of conflict situations, as well as ways to manage it positively.

When conflicts arise, children are supported by teachers by identify the problem and think of solutions. They are respected in their ideas and coached to own and manage their feelings. Specific concepts, such as 'I' statements, negotiation and win-win solutions are explicitly taught. Principles of democracy, safety, respect, rights and responsibility are embedded in all of this.

Consequences for behaviour is a concept that we emphasise, with the kids having input into decisions made about their behaviour. Natural consequences are also strongly encouraged, so that children learn how their actions affect others and how to make positive choices.

Sometimes people think that democratic schools are schools without rules - not so! We have lots of rules, made up by the children, parents and teachers in consultation together. Rules and guidelines are also subject to change and debate (usually at whole school meeting) which helps the children to innovate, revisit, understand, teach other and internalise the values and behaviours that we are trying to achieve (eg kindness, curiousity, respect, compassion).

At Pine, we try to talk, think, support, scaffold and model positive behaviours, as well as unconditionally valuing children's worth - we believe every child is good! The teachers' role is to understand the social needs of the child and facilitate their growth in this area to help them become skilled in managing conflicts as well managing their own behaviour.