27 February 2019

Curriculum Report – Te Reo Māori

Focus

• • The focus for the curriculum of Māori within the school is to ensure that Te Reo and tikanga Māori 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 (Tūmanako and Manawanui) and those for children who are not.

Programme

• • Within the bi-lingual unit, children should be exposed to Te Reo for at least 31% of their day.  This includes, but is not limited to: karakia, himene, whaikōrero, waiata, nga mahi whakarongo, pānui, tuhituhi, whakaatu, mātakitaki me te kōrero.

  • In a recent survey of  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. This year we have applied to have all classrooms funded at Level 5, which is at least 3 hours a week of learning in te reo.

  • We are holding whole school karakia every morning which involves students participating in karakia, hīmene, mihimihi and waiata. As well as being a tikanga based programme it also allows us to practice our te reo in an authentic context.

Assessment Procedures

• • A publication by the Ministry of Education is ‘He tātairanga reo Māori’ 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 bilingual classes non-formal assessment is taken in the form of observation and discussions.  As each teacher is expected write a comment on the end of year report, ‘He Tātairanga Reo Māori’ could be used in this evaluation.

  • We have recently introduce “tanga” cards as a behaviour management strategy. This recognises students who are showing that they can use one or more of our four values. They are values such as whanaungatanga, rangatiratanga, kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga. This has been another way to normalise te reo within the whole school context.

Trend Analysis

• • We now have a te reo Māori assessment to start tracking progress of language development within Te Korowai o Te Aroha. Now that all classes will be funded there will be a higher level of accountability and tracking of progress.

Students and Groups of Students at risk

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

Teaching and learning strategies to address the above

• • The teachers in Te Korowai o Te Aroha are using 'Te Aho Arataki Marau mo te Ako i Te Reo Māori – Kura Auraki'.  This is a document which has curriculum guidelines for Teaching and Learning Te Reo Māori in English-medium schools.  It provides specific achievement objectives which makes integrating Māori into the daily programme a lot more easier. All teaching staff have copies of this document.

  • The children across the school participate in karakia, learn hīmene and waiata. We will also have a whole school noho marae week this term to practise our learning in an authentic context.  

  • We have all students involved in noho marae each year. Part of this involves students practicing their pepeha and tikanga and ritual surrounding being on a marae.

Looking Ahead

• • 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

    • Selecting units of work and contexts for learning with a Māori view

    • Visiting local Marae and Kohanga Reo

    • Implement assessment through ‘He Tātairanga Reo Māori’

    • All children in all classes are involved in regular Kapa Haka.

  • This year we intend to do the following within mainstream classes

    • Junior Syndicate are concentrating on a “weekly phrase” hoping to continue to increase the use of te reo Māori over time

    • Using Māori kupu in everyday routine and classroom programmes

    • Integrating of kupu Māori in Literacy/Numeracy programmes

    • Directions being used in te reo Māori

    • Encouraging children to greet in Māori and respond with an emotion

    • Kupu Māori on display in classrooms

    • Using “hui” to resolve issues

    • Utilising experts in Syndicates to support and learn from