Each year all our Year 10 Social Studies classes stay at one of our local marae as a central part of their learning about Aotearoa New Zealand.

This year we will be visiting Puketeraki Marae at Karitane in Week 8, 18 June to 21 June. This is a beautiful marae and very warm meeting house overlooking the sea about 45 km north of Dunedin. Classes will also visit either the Orokonui Ecosanctuary or Otago Museum, looking at evidence of early communities in the area and studying sustainability in New Zealand.

Each class will leave school at 8:50am and travel to either the Ecosanctuary or Museum. From there we will then travel to Puketeraki Marae and be welcomed by the hosts or the previous group. Each group is farewelled in the early afternoon the next day, returning to school by 3:15pm. 

At the marae, students will learn about culture, values and customs, language and history, sustainability and economics from the perspective of Kai Tahu. They take part in a variety of activities, such as visiting the historic pa site, the church and cemetery, sharing mihimihi, and art and craft workshops. Students are working at Level 5 of the New Zealand Curriculum with an emphasis on effects of cultural interaction on societies, factors that influence access to resources, the development of cultural identity, and environmental and social sustainability.

The timetable for classes is as follows:

Monday 18 June 10He and 10Ru 

Tuesday 19 June 10Ta and 10Ki

Wednesday 20 June 10Ra and 10Ha