Saira Boyle
Principal
MT HOBSON ACADEMY
The structure, construct and goals of the schooling system have never been so challenged as they were during the recent COVID-19 lockdown era. In response to the pandemic we saw governments, ministry departments, school leaders, teachers, families and, most importantly, students do things we would never have thought possible, to respond as needed, with incredible speed, making changes that previously would have taken decades.
No matter your stance on these actions, as the dust begins to settle, we have a unique opportunity to reflect and review the gems we have captured from this and ensure they don’t become buried in the avalanche of ‘getting back to normal’. We all know the old adage, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got”, and in education we certainly could do with a shift in outcomes.
At the start of 2022 Mt Hobson Academy brought forward its planned launch of an online school. Now that we are drawing to the close of our inaugural year, it is timely to share the changes, experiences and outcomes that this ‘new’ way of teaching and learning has provided for a small yet growing number of amazing kids from all across New Zealand.
As well as outstanding teachers and a unique curriculum, our four camps have provided the opportunity to build relational trust and cement friendships and connections, which our students state are of better quality than in their previous experience, because they don’t spend all day, every day together!
The notion that young people need to be in a building with hundreds of other young people every day, in order to form ‘social connections’ is not only outdated but also mistaken. We have learnt that the majority of negative social interactions that most young people experience are from the entrenched models of schooling. Relationships do exist, are nurtured and flourish in online schools!
The Mt Hobson Academy offers a truly unique individualised educational experience that fully engages your child at the most critical time in their schooling. With very small class sizes (up to 12-15 students per class), the Academy can personalise and tailor learning to support students to achieve their academic and personal goals.
We are a place where students can be themselves and who they want to be. We provide quality teaching and learning, positive learning-focussed relationships and an engaging Project Based Curriculum for Years 1-10.
We also follow the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) pathway for Years 11-13.
Mt Hobson Academy is an excellent option for parents and students who want the certainty and consistency of uninterrupted, high-expectations learning and teaching for their children and young adults, for students who feel unheard and unseen, for students who prefer to utilise time effectively, and for students who are struggling with anxiety or are neurodiverse, and find the over stimulating, overpopulated ‘onsite’ buildings a hindrance to learning. We have seen students’ self-belief, curiosity, critical thinking skills and responsibility for learning grow from strength to strength.
Learning is messy, nonlinear and challenging. If there is no struggle there is no learning, simply doing. Help the learners to celebrate their successes and their mistakes, and remember learning is a journey, a lifelong journey that is collaborative and fun!
Take it from one of our students: “Being a student of the academy was the most welcoming and calming environment I could have asked for. Having the freedom to do my work in a room on my own, as well as having the freedom to work alone on days where I felt down really helped with my learning and the ability to improve my mental health. Learning via the online classes was a change from other schools. It allowed me to have control over my own learning which ended up being a key skill for university. The staff adjusting to a teaching style that best worked for me, while also adjusting the style for other students, is something very rare, as well as being a core reason to my success in the academy and has attributed me making it to university.”
For inquiries please contact:
‘Elevate true productivity over the appearance of hard work.’
Saira Boyle
Principal
MT HOBSON ACADEMY
Ph 0212872472
PO Box 74276, Greenlane, Auckland 1546, New Zealand
