1302 Te Reo Māori - 26 February 2013

February 2013

Curriculum Report – Te Reo Maori – Learning Languages

The focus for the curriculum of Maori within the school is to ensure that 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 Te Korowai o Te Aroha (Tumanako, Rangimarie and Manawanui) 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, he mahi whakarongo, panui, tuhituhi, whakaatu, matakitaki me korero.
In a recent survey of staff about te reo use in their class it was evident that many of our mainstream classrooms are using te reo but would like to do more.

A recent publication by the Ministry of Education is ‘He tatairanga reo maori’ which enables teachers to place students at a particular level in terms of te reo use. We will be using this particularly in Te Korowai o Te Aroha, with an aim of implementing it school-wide. Within both bi-lingual classes non-formal assessment in taken in the form of observation and discussions. As each teacher is expected write a comment on the end of year report, ‘He tatairanga reo maori’ could be used in this evaluation.
Within te Korowai o Te Aroha, a whariki whakanuia (praise mat) is used. This recognises students who are showing that they can use one or more of our eight values or mahi i roto i te reo. They are values such as ukaipotanga, whanaungatanga, rangatiratanga and manakitanga. The mahi i roto i te reo are panui, korero, Tuhituhi and whakarongo. A few mainstream classes have taken this on also. This recognises that mahi and values are equal and we should be embracing both.

·We are yet to implement this new assessment, however through observations over time we can see that the level of understanding within the children is improving and the confidence of students to be able to mihi to the other children is increasing also.

Some students in mainstream classes are at risk in terms of not having as many opportunities to use and learn te reo.

The teachers in Te Korowai o Te Aroha are using 'Te Aho Arataki Marau mo te Ako i Te Reo Maori – Kura Auraki'. This is a document which has curriculum guidelines for Teaching and Learning Te Reo maori in English-medium schools. It provides specific achievement objectives which makes integrating Maori into the daily programme a lot more easier. All teaching staff have copies of this document.
Within Tumanako we are looking at running mini lessons and.or a blog on te reo maori use with the aim of providing opportunities to other classes to be exposed and take part in te reo.
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 through fortnightly Hui-a-Kura.

This year we intend to do the following within Te Korowai o Te Aroha:

Continue to work on Te Korowai o Te Aroha vision
Continue to raise the profile of the Te Korowai o Te Aroha by participating in the Cultural Festival in Term 3
Purchase new Kapahaka uniforms
Selecting units of work and contexts for learning with a Maori view
Visiting local Marae and Kohanga Reo
Implement assessment through ‘He tatairanga reo maori’

This year we intend to do the following schoolwide:

Run mini-lessons to increase the level of te reo spoken in all classrooms
Implement assessment through ‘He tatairanga reo maori’
Participate in Maori language week activities
Continue to learn new waiata and practice powhiri processes through Te Hui a Kura.

Prepared by Stevie Woodman

Curriculum Leader – Te Korowai o te Aroha

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