From our Tumuaki / Principal

Ngā mihi nui kia koutou katoa, warm greetings to you all.

Last weekend a number of kaimahi (staff) attended their second wānanga (day of learning) for our te reo Māori courses. The Ministry of Education funds a number of te reo Māori courses for school staff, and for the past several years a good number of our kaimahi have participated in these courses in their own time.

The Te Ahu course I am on this year runs for two terms, with fortnightly tutorials, two day-long wānanga (workshop) and fortnightly mahi kāinga (homework). I completed the level 3 Te Ahu course last year and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. This year on the level 4 course, I have learned so much and have been challenged by a level of learning that is higher than where my te reo is really at. It has definitely taken me out of my comfort zone. This is why the whakatuaki (proverb) I included at the opening of this editorial resonated with me so much: Pai tū, pai hinga, nāwai rā ka oti - good to stand, good to fall, continue on and eventually the work is completed. It is about having a growth mindset: being willing to give things a go, whether you will fully succeed or not, and accepting that you might need to try and try again. It is about resilience, and not worrying about being perfect. 

I have found this hard, because I like to get things ‘right’, and the learning is difficult at times. However, when I have done something hard, like a day-long wānanga, or a workshop around sentence structures, I feel such a great sense of accomplishment. Some key learnings I have had this year on my te reo course:

• Kīwaha are Māori sayings or idioms. They are hard to learn because you can’t translate them literally, but they are rich in meaning and often humour. My favourite one so far is me poho kererū - be proud. It tells you to puff out your chest like a kererū, and I love that image.

• It is hard being a learner! For an adult who is used to being in charge and in control, feeling somewhat out of control is scary.

• All Māori words end in a vowel. How did I not notice this sooner?

• There are so many people around me who are also on the journey of learning te reo Māori, and people are so welcoming when you try to use it. (There is a bus driver on the Number 1 route who loves greeting passengers in te reo, and gives a huge beaming smile when you answer back using reo.)
  

And finally, a huge ka pai (well done) to everyone in our community who is also on their own te reo journey. Well done to our kaimahi (staff) who are on one of the language courses this year, and thank you for giving your time to learning more. Kia pai mai hoki, that’s fantastic. Here's hoping these courses continue to be funded for educators, so we can all continue on our reo journey and ensure our schools in Aotearoa New Zealand are rich in language, both te reo Māori and English.

Heoi anō tāku mō nāianei, that is all for now. Have a lovely weekend.

Ngā mihi nui,

Urs Cunningham