General Topics

 

What is KingsGate School all about?

Great question! KingsGate School is about one thing: honouring God. Staff, students, and parents all embrace this shared belief and it is reflected in our actions towards one another, the words we share with one another, and of the highest importance, the personal relationship we each have with our Lord and Saviour.

 

What do you strive for at KingsGate School?

We strive for excellence. Honouring God for each of us at KingsGate is therefore about being the best version of ourselves that we possibly can be, and this means that we constantly strive for excellence. We know that God expects this of us, and to a person, we understand that an offering of second-best at KingsGate is never acceptable, no matter the task or situation (Malachi 1:6-14). We are here to honour God and he demands our best, first time, every time.

So are KingsGate staff and students better than everybody else?

Our staff and students are instilled with the knowledge that being the best versions of ourselves for God doesn’t make us better than anyone else but rather leads each of us to a deeper understanding and personal experience of Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Serving one another so that we may develop and equip each other on our respective journeys with Christ is fundamental to our collective identity at KingsGate School.

How does KingsGate School get the best out of its students and staff?

We acknowledge that every student and staff member has been given resources according to their skills and abilities, but that these resources ultimately belong to God (Matthew 25:14-30). Eventually, we will all have to answer to Him as to how we invested our resources during our time in this world, so it is this acknowledgment that has been the start of our curriculum re-design. Our vision is to create a true strengths-based curriculum where both our students and teachers God-gifted strengths and talents are identified, fostered, and utilized so that each one of us may become the person that God truly designed us to be.

So, KingsGate staff and students are encouraged to do their best as a service to one another then?

Yes, absolutely. The vision of being the best version of ourselves and giving the best to God, first time, every time is not corrupted by this world’s desire for covetous competition, or the need to work for material rewards. Rather we actively seek to develop strengths and talents within our school population, understanding that iron sharpens iron and friends sharpen the minds of each other (Proverbs 27:17). As a General ensures his or her soldiers are sent into battle with sharp swords so we at KingsGate honour God by ensuring our students are sent out into this world, tested, with the armour of God firmly affixed to their body and faith in the victory of Christ.

Okay, so what is it that you actually teach at KingsGate School?

I'm pleased you asked. As a state-integrated school we use the New Zealand Curriculum document to help navigate our students through their learning like the majority of most New Zealand Schools. However, we are blessed to be able to weave our Christian worldview throughout all instruction, facilitation and guidance we provide our students as they learn and live with us. At KingsGate School 5 documents form the foundation of how we prepare our learners to be confident, knowledgeable and active 21st-century participants. These are the New Zealand Curriculum, the KingsGate School Local Curriculum and the Kingsway Trust documents named Special Character Guidelines, Theological Framework and Statement of Faith respectively.