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Discovery1

Unlimited
(paenga tawhiti)

Existing Schools

Discovery

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The Trust has now set up a state primary school and a state secondary school, both in central Christchurch. They are called Discovery1 and Unlimited.

The special character of Discovery1 is:

• students directing and managing their own learning based on their "passions" and "interests"
• asking students first what they need in order to learn
• a community where families are an integral part of the learning process, "sharing" responsibility with students and staff
• a learning community where everyone - families, staff, business and "community" mentors are partners
• learning where it naturally occurs anywhere in the community without the "restrictions" of curriculum, place, time, style or subject
• students of all ages in a learning community without barriers, learning at their own level
• a community where everyone is a learner and everyone a teacher.

Discovery sits on three floors in central Christchurch near the Bus Xchange. Car parking is on the top of the Crossing Carpark, and extensive use is made of many of the nearby community facilties. Fitness and games are often run in nearby Cathedral Square firs thing in the morning. Centennial Pool, owned by the council is the pool they use, and the fantastic Central Library is their library. Many Art Galleries and local community and business groups are a regular part of their learning, and the proximity to unlimited means students can access secondary school courses if that is their interest.

It is in leased buildings that are paid for by the Ministry.

Unlimited (paenga tawhiti)

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The special character of unlimited is set out below:

• Students are central in directing their own learning
• Students follow individual interests and enthusiasms
• Curriculum and qualification needs are met through a student's chosen path not a prescribed route
• Learning experiences extend beyond boundaries of place, time, age, methods of learning and areas of study
• The entire community is the learning environment
• Families are vital and active partners in the holistic learning for students
• We encourage, nurture and celebrate creativity,innovation and entrepreneurship
• The individuality of each student is valued
• We are a high trust community, treating each other with mutual respect and kindness
• Everyone is a learner and everyone is a teacher.

Unlimited has sought to create as well a learning portal so that students may be studying theatre at Hagley Community College, electronics, music or language at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, or philosophy at Canterbury University.

It is also in leased premises in three separate buildings that all sit astride Cashel Mall. It is, we think, the only school in New Zealand set up on the Ministry's cash for property formula. The formula, we think, was created in order to provide additional space in areas of high demand, but we got the "privilege" of being caught in it for the whole school. Its an interesting formula, derived more from a greenfields concept of rentals than downtown CBD, but we think we can make it work.