Mountainview High School is distinctive in the fact it is a Whanau school. Each student who arrives at Mountainview High School is placed into an extended family or Whanau. It is in their Whanau that each new student can be integrated into the life of the school. The Whanau is the place where each student develops a sense of identity, a place where they belong. In Maori society the Whanau represents the turangawaewae - a place for students and staff to ‘stand.’ It is a home base from which students can begin to contribute to the wider life of the school . The place where they learn and experience what the school stands for, its important values. The place where they learn the acceptable standards of behaviour and the expected attitude towards study and learning that will bring them success both at Mountainview and the years ahead.
Each Whanau has eight smaller Whanau Groups made up of approximately twenty students under the pastoral oversight of a Group Teacher. These groups are vertical (Years 9 – 13) where the younger students can be helped by the older members of the group. It is the Group Teachers role to build up a good understanding of the students under his or her pastoral care.
