How have experiences from different people and places shaped the culture and identity of Aotearoa New Zealand?

This term Pōhutukawa will be exploring the history of people in our place. We will start by studying the journey of Kupe and the history of voyaging. As we focus on our place on the peninsula we will look at the historic use of land and what is on our doorstep. We will then delve into our own stories and history of the growth of international communities in New Zealand. Throughout our studies our overarching themes are to understand that everyone has different perspectives, lots of people have migrated from different places to New Zealand, and that different groups of people have different attitudes and values which shape their response to issues.

We will finish our term with a big focus on Matariki. We will be exploring the history of the celebration and how it has changed over recent years and what this tells us about culture evolving over time. We will also look at the meaning behind each of the stars and the traditions of matariki.