English Language Learners (ELL)

We have a Welcome Pack especially for our ELL families, please download it here. 

We have a supplementary form upon enrolling to help our staff learn more information about you child,  please download it here.

English Language Learners (ELL) support is available for students who are migrants, former refugees, or New Zealand-born students with at least one parent of migrant or refugee background, where English is not their first language.

The aim of our school’s ELL programme is to support students to communicate effectively with their peers and within the classroom, while also enabling them to access the New Zealand Curriculum with increasing confidence and success.

Our ELL support is provided through small group and individual sessions focusing on speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. In 2026, this programme is facilitated five days a week by our bubbly and enthusiastic learning assistant, Julia Endsminger.

If you think your child may qualify for this support but has not yet been identified, please complete our Supplementary Form and email it to office@remarkables.school.nz or bring a copy to the school office.

At the beginning of each term, we also provide opportunities for a wider range of students to take part in cultural weeks, where children from different year levels come together with others from their own culture to explore and celebrate their identity. As a school, we place great importance on fostering these social connections to help develop a sense of identity, pride, belonging, and care for others.

If you have any questions about our ELL programme, please contact our staff ELL Coordinator, Alicia Hebbend - alicia.hebbend@remarkables.school.nz. We would love for more parents and community members to be involved in future events, please contact Alicia if you would like to be involved. 

The Queenstown Lakes District Council have put together a Newcomers Guide, a comprehensive and valuable resource for those settling in the district. It’s filled with information on community life, education, work and career, health and wellbeing, housing, transport and driving, and more.