Ngā Miro e Toru is an integrated Māori language and English course for 9SK which started this year.

Ngā Miro e Toru translates to “the three threads” which comes from a whakataukī (proverb) said by Pōtatau, the first Māori King, who stated in 1858 that through the eye of the needle must pass the red, white and black threads, symbolising Māori, Pākehā, and the emerging shared culture of Aotearoa.

Last year, the senior leadership team suggested the idea of an integrated class as a pilot to draw common threads between subject areas and encourage collaboration between teachers. Late last year, the kaupapa (idea) of this class was pitched to whānau, with 25 ākonga (students) opting in to join 9SK. Regan, a kaiako Māori, and Jasmine, an English teacher, each see the class individually once a week, and team teach three times a week.

After spending time considering the needs of each of these distinct curriculum areas, a year plan was formed which includes Māori language acquisition that will flow across all classes, the English skills of reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and presenting, as well as Māori tikanga and mythology. Some highlights of the year include a film study of Taika Waititi’s “Boy” as well as a novel study of Witi Ihimaera’s “Whale Rider.” 9SK have connected well as a group and have been a fantastic class to teach so far; Jasmine and Regan look forward to working with them throughout the year. Below are some reflections on the first few weeks of school from Anekin and Nevada, ākonga of 9SK:

“Kia ora, I am absolutely loving 9SK. I get to embrace my Māori side and learn new things every day. I love the fact we do Māori and English together.” - Anekin

“I have enjoyed 9SK sooo much - it's such a safe and caring environment and I feel I can trust Regan, Jasmine and all my classmates. Everyone is so friendly and I'm friends with most of the class already. I've had the best experience entering high school I think a student can ever have.” - Nevada