We believe that by strengthening and growing each pononga within Matatū, Matatau and Mataora, we are empowering them with the skills to walk in both worlds with both confidence and competence.
Tēnā tātou e te whānau o Te Pā o Rākaihautū
At Te Pā we have our three Pou that make us who we are, that create the template to strive for balance and the ability to address our pononga holistically. We believe that by strengthening and growing each pononga within Matatū, Matatau and Mataora, we are empowering them with the skills to walk in both worlds with both confidence and competence.
Mataora aims to nurture the whole person, ā tinana, ā hinengaro, ā wairua and ā whānau to develop mentally sharp, physically strong, resilient and well rounded pononga.
It embraces and aims to reconnect us with Atua Matua, reclaiming our health through hauora kai, developing strong and influential leaders.
Mataora is essentially a very large umbrella for some hugely important kaupapa, and our goals at Te Pā are to also share our knowledge and journey with our whānau as much as our pononga. With this in mind, we will share in each Mōkihi a snapshot of either something we are doing, something we have learnt or something that inspires us within the world of Mataora at Te Pā o Rākaihautū!
Our kaupapa this term has been WAI.
Wai has endless reasons as to its importance to Māori, and within Te Ao Māori - how we view the world. In fact, as Māori health statistics begin to rise and we become over represented in negative categories across the motu, this is also reflected in the health of our wai. As pollution and contamination plague both Tangaroa and Parawhenuamea, so too does the frequently heard conditions such as diabetes, obesity and heart failure to name a few. Whether it be for kai, transport or the cleansing properties of wai... who are we without it?
The childhood we had of swimming in the rivers, jumping in the lakes and eating from our oceans are becoming kōrero of the past rather than reality for our tamariki and mokopuna.
The health of our people has been declining as is the health of our water-ways. This similarity is not a coincidence, but a reflection of the spiritual connection we have with wai... whether we realise it or not.
Ngā mihi ki a koutou,
Whaea Sharon.