1203 Te Reo Māori - 6 March 2012

2 March 2012

Prepared by Robin Taua-Gordon

Maori Curriculum Review

The focus for the curriculum of Maori within the school is to ensure that:

·      Maori are achieving as Maori

·      Te Reo and tikanga Maori are a regular part of the curriculum in all classrooms and

·      to acknowledge the position of  Tangata Whenua. 

Within the school there are 2 different levels of expectations, those for children within the bi-lingual unit ‘Te Korowai o te Aroha’ and those for children who are not. 

Within the bi-lingual unit, children should be exposed to Te Reo for at least 50% of their day.  This includes, but is not limited to: karakia, himene, whaikorero, waiata, hei mahiwhakarongo, panui, tuhituhi,  whakaatu, matakitaki me korero.  This year, due to roll growth we have had to open a third class within the unit.  Khrystal Morunga  is a full time teacher aide who works closely with the children in Te Korowai o Te Aroha.  She is a fluent native Maori speaker and her main role is to ensure that te reo and tikanga Maori are being appropriately and consistently used by staff and children. Michelle Hudson is another speaker of Maori who works closely with specific children daily in Manawanui.

Within the senior bi-lingual class the children are formally assessed in Te Reo by having running records taken.  This gives the teacher an indication of where the childs’ understanding of Te Reo is and provides us with hard data.  Non-formal assessment is taken in the form of observations and discussions.  All three classes work closely to promote whanaungatangaand tuakana/teina relationships.  The programme from 9:00 – 10:00 every day is focussed on Te Reo Maori and all classes work together on activities.

All teachers throughout the school have been introduced to ‘Te Aho Arataki Marau mo te Ako i Te Reo Maori – Kura Auraki”.  Children in mainstream classes will be working at Whakatotanga level 1.  Students in Te Korowai o Te Aroha will be somewhere between Whakatotanga level 2 and Te Pakaritanga level 8.  There will be a variation as to which level the children are working in.  This will depend on their age, their current knowledge of tikanga and te reo and the knowledge and ability of the teacher. Teacher assessment will be about checking students’ ability to use language and to follow tikanga by observing the students as they carry out spoken, written and visual-language tasks in authentic contexts related to the various themes, topics and text types introduced. The emphasis is on communicative competence rather than native-speaker expertise.

The first part of every staff meeting is dedicated to ‘Maori achieving success as Maori’.  This will cover a varied range of topics throughout the year including: Te Reo (kupu andpronounciation), tikanga, Ka Hikitia, Tataiako, waiata and pedagogy for Maori learners.

The children across the school participate in karakia, learn himene and waiata, participate in powhiri, have opportunities to mihi, are exposed to speakers of Maori and are encouraged to form and celebrate whanau ties (our school houses are whanau based).

This year we intend to do the following:

·      Continue to work on our Bilingual Class vision. Last year a survey returned by whanau indicated that they were happy with the way that things were going. 

·      Continue to raise the profile of the Bilingual unit by participating in the Cultural Festival in Term 3

·      Purchase new Kapahaka uniforms

·      Add the vision developed to the school charter

·      Selecting units of work and contexts for learning with a Maori view

·      Visiting local Marae and Kohanga Reo