Hero photograph
 
Photo by Rachel Ono

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori

Rachel Ono —

In Term 3 we celebrated Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week at Te Kura o te Tauawa - Halswell School.

Since 1975 Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori has acknowledged and celebrated the Māori language as a unique cultural treasure for all New Zealanders. 

It was great to see so many of our ākonga | learners getting involved in te reo Māori activities throughout the school during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, and our cultural leaders showed awesome rangatiratanga | leadership.

Meet our cultural leaders 

Image by: Rachel Ono

What do you enjoy about being a cultural leader?

Arrah: Being a cultural leader involves teaching and sharing te reo Māori with all students in our school and it involves leading in the karakia and in kapa haka. I enjoy being in kapa haka as cultural leader and taking in the leadership of it.

Maddie: Being a cultural leader is quite hard work, you have to put forward quite a lot of your time, it also involves attending most of the meetings you are invited to.You also have to dedicate your hard work into kapa haka to make all the people around you feel like that they need to be up to your standards so you make other people shine.What I personally enjoy most about being a cultural leader is leading the whole group in kapa haka and teaching all of the years 0-2 and also the year threes.


What were the highlights of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori this year?

Arrah: My highlight was watching the younger students get involved and preparing our scavenger hunt.

Maddie: My highlight was also the scavenger hunt, and seeing how many people were involved, and took their time out of their day to do it.


What would you like to see in the future at Te Kura o Te Tauawa - Halswell School? 

Arrah: In the future I would love seeing more of te reo being used and just seeing students embrace te reo Māori.

Maddie: In the future I would love to see the students and Halswell School using more te reo Maori, not just when asked, and incorporating it into their daily language use.


Our wero | challenge is now to continue using te reo Māori throughout the year! 

Kia kaha Te Reo Māori! 


Here is a glossary of kupu Māori commonly used across our kura:
Ākonga | Student
Hui | Meeting
Kaiako | Teacher
Ka pai! | Well done!
Kia ora | Hi
Kōrero | Chat, conversation
Kupu | Word
Kura | School
Mahi | Work
Ngā mihi nui | Thank you very much
Tamariki | Child
Tēnā koutou | Greetings to 3+ people (more formal)
Tumuaki | Principal
Whānau | Family