Villa Maria College had a fantastic Teacher Only Day, focusing on how we can better incorporate Mātauranga Māori into our classrooms.

We were grateful to hear from a number of speakers, including Janelle Riki-Waaka, whose career has been dedicated to improving the education journey for all of our tamariki, with a particular focus on enhancing success for all Māori children. She specialises in areas such as: developing cultural competencies, Te Tiriti o Waitangi education and digital technologies.

Janelle spoke of the five aspects to language revitalisation; intergenerational trauma and the importance of success as Māori, not of Māori. We highly recommend getting Janelle into your Kura. She delivers powerful presentations, that are thought provoking and engaging.

This was followed by a presentation by past pupil Maia Matthews from Fush, who also taught the staff how to order kai from the Fush Waka in te reo Māori.

The day continued with various workshops on Maanakitanga, Poi, Rākaihautū Pūrākau, cultural narrative, staff Kī-o-rahi and much more. These workshops were excellent opportunities for all staff to upskill and consider our cultural responsiveness journey.