We went in to 2019 with Whaea Kelly once again teaching the Te Reo me ona Tikanga Māori programme for the Yr 7/8 classes. For the first two terms of the year Whaea Francis delivered the Te Reo me ona Tikanga Māori programme as Kaiako for the NE - Yr 6 Programme.
Since then we have continued to seek to employ a Kaiako for the NE - Yr 6 Programme. During this time teachers taught known waiata and drew on the expertise amidst their teams to ensure that Maori was integrated in to the classrooms.
NE - Yr 6 . This was collaboratively planned and taught and it is essential that teachers continue to follow up and embed the learning throughout the week. With most teams now having a daily Assembly Tikanga
Yr 7/8 classes - Whaea Kelly has remained responsible for the delivery of this programme. Our students can confidently mihi and have an understanding of the Tikanga around Mihi. They learnt a wide range of waiata and are able to tautoko the many events we have at school to provide Manaaki for our Manuhiri. Whaea Kelly introduced Mau Rakau with the Seniors and the kids loved this interactive dynamic in their learning. This was integrated as part of 'Move Ya Body' our Health and PE Inquiry in Term 3.
Schoolwide waiata - We have continued to have waiata and himene at Assembly so that the whole school can participate and tautoko during any occasion.
Kapa Haka - 'Learn Create and Share'
It has been great to see classes and the various shared learning spaces including an element of tikanga and te reo Māori - karakia and mihimihi have become a part of 'the way' and happen daily. Teachers are utilising the Māori @ PES site and are asking for more resources so that they can continue to support the learning, and there is definitely a growing confidence amongst staff. Our school Values have each had a tag line associated with them and these have been introduced in Te Reo and resonate throughout the school. It has been great to see teachers more confident to use Te reo on an everyday basis. School wide inquiry titles and themes have also been translated in Te Reo and used across our classrooms.
Fostering Whanaungatanga in our school by forming relationships with Maori learners, parents, whanau and local hapu, iwi. This was done in term 2 and followed by more korero in our home school partnership evenings. Various whanau have turned up regularly to tautoko Kapa Haka and the various performances that they had. We have continued to foster our connections with Puao and Ruapotaka Whanau.
Our Senior Kapa Haka Roopu participated in a visit to a rest home in Ellerslie - 'Ellerslie Gardens'. This was a special invitation from the rest home to support celebrations of the Maori language week. Both tamarki and Kaiako put in a huge amount of time and effort to get the kids up to the level required. This was a huge undertaking and an amazing experience for all involved. The joy on the faces of the elderly when our students sat and chatted with them was nothing short of awesome! In return for the performance and time spent talking with the elderly the children were treated to a lovely morning tea. Our students were a great credit to our school and their whanau both in their performance and the manner in which they conducted themselves throughout the visit.
A goal for Kapa Haka in 2020 is to engage more of our Maori students to join and participate in weekly gathering to not only practice but to simply learn tikanga Maori and connect with their culture.
Although we once again acknowledged and highlighted Maori Language Week, with various korero being shared. We have continued to grow as a school in terms of our everyday use of Te Reo. We still need to ensure that all staff continue to foster and grow Tikanga and Te Reo in the classroom on a daily basis.
This group has grown throughout the year and have been able to contribute and enhance many school wide events.
There have been around 30 children involved in this group and their year culminated in a stunning performance at the Regional Competition. This group included 2 juniors. With Whaea Francis leaving us middle of the year Whaea Kelly along with Haare Kutia and a Maori staff group named 'Taitatiako' took charge and presented a wonderful set of items to celebrate Maori language week.
This was a Roopu of around 40 children who were tutored throughout the year by Whaea Francis. They knew a wide range of Waiata and we need to continue to give them opportunities to perform. With Whaea Francis leaving us middle of the year this group stopped meeting. Year 5 & 6 joined in with the Seniors for any special events.
This group was tutored by Whaea Francis and is always well attended by our Junior tamariki having practise every Friday. With Whaea leaving us middle of the year this group stopped meeting.
School Prize Givings. Whaea Safron returned to support our Kapa Haka groups. Rather than 3 - children were re-grouped. Year 1 - 4 prepared and performed in the Junior Prize Giving. Year 5 - 8 prepared and performed for the Senior Prize Giving. Both groups of children were outstanding. Acknowledgement of Whaea Safron and her whanau from our community that assisted over a fortnight to prepare our tamariki for Prize Giving. Kia Ora Whaea Saf!
The Wharefono has continued to grow as the Hub for Learning and Teaching, and Kapa Haka. Our resources and Kakahu are stored there. We need to continue to grow this space and ensure that teachers adhere to the Tikanga of this space along with the children. This a goal the Taitaiako want to achieve in the new year.
Tataiako - Maori staff group.
The group 'Tataiako' was formed to present the ministry's framework for our Maori learners, the framework called 'Tataiako'. The group led the teaching staff through the different parts of the framework, using real life examples of connections for them personally and within our community. It was another opportunity to see how rich we are with staff members who are so well connected to school community and whanau. This team also took on the role of overseeing Maori language week and development and renaming of the Whare Fono. The contribution of this group has been very hugely valuable. We look forward to having this team of staff lead us again in 2020.
A goal to support and continue to enable Tataiako staff team to lead and guide further professional development in raising achievement in all aspects of school life for our Maori learners and whanau.
Toni Nua and Andrea Bakulich-Tele'a