Meet Rere – Winton School’s PB4L Mascot.
By Craig Burton
May 22, 2019Meet RERE, Winton School's mascot that they use to champion their PB4L values and learner dispositions.
I began writing this case study in back 2016. Three years later? RERE has taken on a life of his own and become firmly embedded in the life and culture of the school.
It's a fantastic story. But where did it all begin?
Winton School adopted PB4L in 2016. It was then that they embarked on a journey to learn more about themselves, their school culture and what it was that made their environment unique. Out of that journey evolved a core set of values and practices around the types of pro-social behaviour they wanted to encourage school wide. "Rere" was created to champion those beliefs.
Rere is based on a Tui - a native bird of New Zealand. The word in Māori means "fly". Winton went one step further and used the word as an acronym for their core set of values -
Respect (whakaute)
Effort (manawanuitanga)
Responsibility (takohanga)
Empathy (puaroha)
As part of their PB4L programme, they developed "The Winton Way". A display graphic was designed and used to promote RERE and their values around the school. Flags were created for the school entrance area and certificates were designed and printed to celebrate student achievement.
The Winton Way PB4L Wall Graphic
The Winton Way Wall Graphics
Winton Way Wall Graphic
Winton Way Wall Graphic
Winton Way Wall Graphic
The Winton Way Certificates & Flags
The Winton Way PB4L Certificates
The Winton Way Flags
In 2018 I was asked to show how RERE could demonstrate Winton's newly developed learning dispositions which they called their "Learner Muscles". There are five:
SELF MANAGER
RESEARCHER
COLLABORATOR
COMMUNICATOR
THINKER
These are shown at the centre of their school logo symbol (the tree) to signify their importance. Winton's "Question, Inquire, Act" Learner Model outlines how students use their learner muscles to understand the world around them.
The Winton Learner Model
Learner Muscles Classroom Posters
It's always a challenge finding ways to connect values or learning dispositions to mascot actions, and doing so in a way that encourages discussion among students of different primary age groups.
Self Manager Learner Muscle Poster
The "Self Manager" is shown 'juggling' their various responsibilities during the day - eating, time, learning, and leisure activities.
Thinker Learner Muscle Poster
The "Thinker" is trying to find solutions. The light bulb is a universal symbol for this.
Researcher Learner Muscle Poster
The "Researcher" uses lots of different tools at their disposal to understand something on a local and global level.
Communicator Learner Muscle Poster
The "Communicator" is able to articulate what they know in a clear and concise way.
Collaborator Learner Muscle Poster
The "Collaborator" is able to work well with others in putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.
RERE Mascot Costume
The younger students get excited going up on stage to receive awards and shake RERE's hand.
RERE and The Winton Way play a huge role in the life of the school. He has become an amazing ambassador for everything they stand for.
If you've enjoyed reading this case study, and would like to see some more examples of mascots or PB4L branding, check out the Mascots or PB4L/Values Branding pages. I regularly update these pages with more examples as they come to hand.
I love creating school mascots.
Call me if you would like to know more about how to develop a mascot for your school values programme.
