OUR APPROACH
At MAC, we recognise that every student has unique needs and learning styles. Our learning approach focuses on differentiated teaching and learning so every student can fulfil their potential and achieve success, whatever that looks like for them. We see the wellbeing of our students as a foundation for their engagement in their learning. Our teachers promote trusting relationships with their students and support and guide them on their education journey.
Junior years
In Years 7 and 8, we focus on supporting students to learn about our school, master foundational literacy and numeracy skills, and find their interests and passions through trying the many different subjects we have on offer.
To support the smooth transition of students into secondary school, our Years 7 and 8 students are taught mainly in a ‘homeroom’ situation where one teacher delivers the learning areas of mathematics, English, science, and social sciences.
Junior students also try a range of other subjects including visual art, drama, music, computing and electronics, materials technology, spatial and product design, Spanish, te reo Māori, food and nutrition, and physical education and health.
In Years 9 and 10, we focus on preparing students for NCEA literacy and numeracy common assessment tasks, and offer them more specialisation and choice in subject selection.
Senior years
In their senior years, students focus on NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 as they prepare for their future study and/or career paths. We offer a wide range of subjects for our students to choose from, and support them in choosing the academic and learning pathways that best suit their interests and passions. We encourage students to pursue excellence, including NCEA endorsements, in whatever pathway they choose.
In Years 12 and 13, students have the opportunity to work towards the New Zealand Scholarship examinations in most subjects, with scholarship
candidates supported within the college by their teachers and deans. Senior students can also enrol in tertiary courses, including first-year engineering maths, art history, economics, languages and
linguistics, philosophy, politics, social work, and speech science.
Our vocational education and training courses give our students access to a range of pathways offering practical skills and training to prepare them for employment or tertiary study.
NCEA achievement
Learning habits
We create conditions for learning that equip our students with the learning habits they need to thrive in an unpredictable and ever-changing world.
Citizenship
Creativity
Critical thinking
Communication
Character
Collaboration
Leaver profile
We want every MAC graduate to leave our school equipped with the skills and self-knowledge they need to contribute to the common good and flourish in a complex world.
