CornerstoneTaupo-nui-a-Tia College first accredited Secondary School in New Zealand

Cornerstone Values are principles that are consistent, universal and transcultural, and they inform and direct our behaviour and attitudes. The eight cornerstone values are:

  • Honesty & truthfulness
  • Kindness
  • Consideration and concern for others
  • Compassion
  • Obedience
  • Responsibility
  • Respect
  • Duty

While parents are the first and foremost teachers of values and the ones best able to convey cornerstone values, the school too, has an important role to play. Homes are undoubtedly the primary place where values are taught and observed both consciously and subconsciously. In contrast, in a school, the most effective way of teaching cornerstone values is through habit, principle, and example; and because values are communicated through relationships, ‘quiet examples’ are the most powerful of the three.