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Who can you ask?

There are a number of different people you can approach if you require guidance and support regarding your studies.

Teachers

During a lesson, your teacher may not have time to give you extra help, and this may not even be a good time to ask. The best time to talk to your teacher about getting help is at the end of a lesson, or at interval or lunchtime. He or she will probably arrange a mutually convenient time before or after school in which you can work together.

A few cautions:

  • If the teacher feels that you have not been concentrating in class, then he or she may not be keen on giving you extra time.
  • A teacher is not a tutor. It is fair to expect a teacher to spend a bit of time with you occasionally, but not regularly.
  • Before asking anyone for help, try to work out what it is that you actually need help with.

The Deans

The Deans are responsible for the pastoral care of all students at the School.

You should see your Dean if there are things happening inside or outside of the classroom that are preventing you from achieving to your potential. This could include things like class placement, issues with your teachers, being physically or emotionally bullied by other students, problems in your home life, or difficulty in balancing your academic and extracurricular activities.

In most instances, the Deans will be able to help you resolve issues like these or they will refer you to the right people to get the help that you need.

Learning Support Staff

Specialist staff are employed in the Learning Support Department to support students with learning disabilities and learning difficulties. These include students:

  • with Special Teaching Needs (intellectual and physical);
  • who need organisational skills and time management skills;
  • whose behaviour (distractibility, poor concentration) prevents them from learning
  • who are ill or injured.

Learning Support staff assist these students by providing:

  • Additional curriculum support;
  • Individual and small group tuition in reading, spelling, writing and mathematics;
  • Assistance with personal organisation;
  • Learning strategies;
  • Development of self-confidence and self-esteem;
  • A safe place for learning;
  • Implementation of IEPs

The Learning Support Department also organises Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) for school and external examinations. In order for the school to make SAC arrangements for students they must have a report from an educational psychologist that satisfies the criteria of NZQA and/or CIE.

The expectation is that students who qualify for SAC will have had their learning disability/need diagnosed prior to enrolment at secondary school.

Student Services

The Student Services Department seeks to support and advise all Auckland Grammar who may want help with issues that affect the quality and direction of their successful progress in the school and their transition into the wider world. In particular Student Services addresses barriers to learning and future pathways after high school.

Barriers to Learning:

During their time at Grammar, students sometimes find themselves facing issues that make it difficult for them to achieve their academic potential. They can include things such as low self-esteem, bullying and harassment, drugs and alcohol, internet addiction, loss and grief, behavioural issues, depression, anxiety and stress. Student Services works to help students struggling with such issues. Confidentiality will be maintained at all stages if the student so wishes.

Future Pathways after School:

Having a clear understanding of where you are heading in terms of tertiary study and future careers, and of what subjects you need to be studying and the grades you need to achieve to get there, can provide real focus and motivation for your academic studies. The Student Services Department runs a range of programmes to help all young men make appropriate subject and career choices at the appropriate time.

These include:

  • Form 3 Careers Programme
  • Individual career counselling and career clinics
  • Guest speakers, careers seminars and a careers evening
  • Work exploration and transition programmes
  • Career quest programme
  • STAR courses
  • Gateway

The rooms are available from 8.30-8.50 am, as well as interval and lunchtime. Staff are also available after school. The room contains a reference library, computer databases, an extensive library of career videos and pamphlets as well as a huge variety of application forms.

Students are encouraged to browse the material available on careers and universities and use the computers to access the careers data bases.

Library Staff

Te Ara Mātauranga, our library, is open before school from 8am, at interval and lunchtime, and after school until 4:30pm. It contains a wealth of resources to support students in their academic studies and in reading for pleasure. The library staff are only too willing to provide expert advice to students undertaking study or research assignments. They are also happy to help students find engaging reading materials. Library resources and facilities include:

  • Extensive and diverse fiction and non-fiction collections
  • Print and electronic books and magazines
  • Electronic databases
  • A range of publications, including popular non-fiction, manga and graphic novels
  • 34 desktop computers
  • Scanning, printing and photocopying facilities

Tutor Groups

Regular tutorials are offered by a number of Departments and student groups:

  • Mathematics Tutorials are held for all levels in B9 every Tuesday and Thursday from 8am-8:45am
  • English Tutorials are offered each term
  • Asian Cultural Group Tutorials
  • All departments during the Term 4 Study Leave period to assist with preparation for NCEA and CIE examinations
  • Most departments offer NZQA Scholarship examination preparation tutorials during Terms 2, 3 and 4