‘Hūtia te rito o te harakeke, hei hea te kōmako e kō?
Kī mai koe ki ahau, he aha te mea nui o te ao?
Māku e kī atu ki a koe, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.’
‘If you were to pluck out the centre of the flax bush, where would the bellbird sing?
If you were to ask me, What is the most important thing in the world?
I would reply, It is people, people, people.’
Ngā hua o te ākonga:
Enhance children’s learning and development.
Prepare our tamariki to participate in and contribute to Māori Society and the wider world.
Meet individual’s needs (Academically, Socially, Emotionally, Spiritually and Physically) and promote ongoing learning.
Learning experiences are meaningful, appropriate and of interest to the student.
Learning experiences challenge students to achieve their potential and beyond.
Te arotahi o te kaiako:
Know the students, their whānau and their circumstances.
Acknowledge the learning that comes from home, marae, whānau, hapū, hāhi, sports and other social contexts that the students are involved in outside of kura.
Develop a relationship with each child and their whānau, that is based on trust, respect and honesty.
Critically self review their programme and teaching skills and identify areas of strength and further development.
Involve the tamaiti in individual goal-setting and provide opportunities to participate in selecting topics and choosing pathways for their own learning.
Provide regular opportunities to celebrate students achievements and successes across all areas (Academically, Socially, Emotionally, Spiritually and Physically).
Assess where the tamaiti is at (Academically, Socially, Emotionally, Spiritually and Physically) in order to challenge them to make further gains in their learning.
‘E kore e hekeheke he kākano rangatira.’
‘I will never be lost, for I am the seed of chiefs.’
Ngā hua o te ākonga:
Ākonga are prepared for a constantly changing world.
Proud, confident and competent as Māori learners.
Acknowledge and respect the tangata whenua of this area.
Acknowledge and be accepting of all iwi dialects and tikanga.
Te arotahi o te kaiako:
Promote whānau and iwi involvement.
Provide experiences and opportunities that practise the tikanga of the tangata whenua.
Provide experiences and knowledge that will enable the learner to competently participate in the Māori world and wider world.
Promote sustainability within our school, local and global environment.
Provide lots of opportunities for the students to learn about and interact with the environment we live in.
Create teaching programmes that link learning areas.
‘Ko te pae tawhiti whaia kia tata, ko te pae tata whakamaua kia tina.’
‘Seek out distant horizons, and cherish those you attain.’
Ngā hua o te ākonga:
High student achievement across all areas.
Students passionate and invested in their own learning.
Students participating and contributing actively in their own and collective learning in the akomanga, kura, hapori and beyond.
Confident, creative, capable and talented students.
Te arotahi o te kaiako:
Engage the learner by providing a stimulating learning environment which is not confined within the walls of the classroom.
Develop the desired knowledge, skills, attitudes and values.
Enable the learner to achieve learning outcomes appropriate to their level of ability.
Inclusive and responsive to the learning needs and ways of learning of each individual learner.
Identifies, affirms and acknowledges the pursuits of the learner.
Provide opportunities for the tamariki to showcase their talents in all areas.
Acknowledge and celebrate excellence and students’ striving to reach their full potential.
‘He ora te whakapiri, he mate te whakatakariri.’
‘There is strength in unity, defeat in anger.’
Ngā hua o te ākonga:
Work actively and collaboratively with whānau, kura, hāpu, iwi and hapori to enhance student learning and development.
Te arotahi o te kaiako:
Encourage whānau into the classroom and school grounds to participate and engage with tamariki (coaching sports, mātua awhi, FFN, etc) and kaiako.
Provide opportunities for role models within the whānau, hāpu, iwi and hapori to work with and alongside tamariki.
Provide opportunities for Māori speakers within the whānau, hāpu, iwi and hapori to work with and alongside tamariki.
Te reo Māori modeled outside the classroom.
Opportunities provided for interaction between Ngā Mana Kākano o te Wairepo and the Mainstream classes at least once a term (buddy classes, sports events, Matariki etc).
Maintain existing relationship with Whakatu Marae and continue to promote ongoing interaction (kaumatua dinner, Matariki, Noho, powhiri etc).
Maintain existing relationships with local organisations (Nelson City Council, Arts Nelson, Sealords, Anti-Violence Group, Early childhood centres, Nelson College, Nelson Girls College, Nelson Intermediate etc) and promote new partnerships with other organisations.
Strengthen relationships with the local Kōhanga Reo.
Kāhui Matea Motuhake established to work more collaboratively with agencies to meet the needs of our ākonga.
‘E kore a repo ki te kore a rauropi.’
This whakatauki talks about the importance of all living organisms and their dependency on each other.
Ngā hua o te ākonga:
Tamariki have a strong connection to their environment and its well-being and understand that environmental and personal well-being is interconnected.
Te arotahi o te kaiako:
Provide learning opportunities enabling the student to engage purposefully with the environment (Pepeha, Camp, Noho, EOTC, Tiaki Taiao).
Provide holistic teaching programmes (Māori Mythology, Pepeha, Integrated Units).
Utilise key people in our whānau, kura community, hapū and iwi to provide knowledge and understanding that support our environmental focus.
Promote and support programmes and initiatives as a Kura Taiao.
Student led Tiaki Taiao group established and run on a regular basis.
Support the Kids Edible Garden (KEGs) programme.
‘Ko te reo Māori te kākahu o te whakaaro, te huarahi i te ao tūroa.’
‘The Māori language cloaks Māori thought and provides a pathway to the wider world.’ (by Sir James Hēnare, 1984)
Te Reo Māori me ōna Tikanga underpins everything we do and who we are.
Ngā hua o te ākonga:
Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga being used competently and confidently by the tamariki, kaiako and whānau, within the home, school and wider community.
Understand the importance of learning and using Te Reo Māori me ōna Tikanga and how this affirms our culture and identity.
Te arotahi o te kaiako:
Modeling te reo Māori me ōna tikanga consistently.
Provide meaningful and purposeful learning experiences in Te Reo me ōna tikanga.
Participate in professional development opportunities to develop proficiency levels in te reo Māori (Te Ataarangi or In-School Training).
Provide a language learning environment that promotes Te Reo Māori me ōna Tikanga across all learning areas.
Promote the importance of Te Reo Māori in the wider school, homes and communities.
Promote opportunities to interact with speakers of Te Reo Māori within our whānau and community
Organise and facilitate opportunities for students where they are exposed to dialects from other iwi and rohe.
Promote and celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and Matariki as a whole school and community.
The Tikanga and marae kawa of Whakatu Marae is practised by Ngā Mana Kākano o te Wairepo.
All tamariki will have the opportunity to participate in noho at Whakatū marae and one of the other marae within Te Tau Ihu o te Waka ā Maui including Whakatū, Onetāhua, Omaka, Te Āwhina, Te Hora, Wairau Pā and Waikawa.
‘Mā te whakaaro nui e hanga te whare; mā te mātauranga e whakaū.’
‘Through vision a house is built; through education it is stabilised.’
Ngā hua o te ākonga:
Achieve their academic potential within their own world and beyond.
Understand that knowledge comes from various sources, places and systems.
Tamariki will know who they are, where they have come from and have a point in which they are heading.
Te arotahi o te kaiako:
Acknowledge that tamariki have their own existing knowledge that stems from their whānau, hapū and iwi.
Kaiako recognise the value and importance of respecting these.
Kaiako will invest quality time in each child, especially new children to understand and appreciate the knowledge that they have brought with them.
Contexts for learning are selected that engage children and link to the knowledge children already have.
Reading materials, discussion topics, projects and assessment tasks selected to support tamariki to succeed in learning.
Acknowledge learners, whānau, hapū and iwi as holding valid learner-based, tribal-based and local forms of knowledge.
Invite the holders of traditional knowledge in whānau, hapū and iwi to engage with learners.
Provide educational opportunities that are useful to the learner, the school, and the iwi.
Make connections to the knowledge of our tupuna through each wāhanga ako and each context for learning.
Research knowledge from our tupuna through skilled use of technological tools in the classroom.
Provide opportunities for tamariki to challenge, question and examine knowledge particularly in the technological society where knowledge is so accessible.
Keep up-to-date with technological advancements and teaching methods.