1991 : In 1991 Māori whānau living in Westmere requested that a bilingual programme be established. Tamariki graduating from local kohanga reo needed a kaupapa Māori environment in which to pursue their education and support their Māori language development. The initiative was a community response to te reo revitalisation efforts throughout Aotearoa and the belief that mainstream schooling was failing Maori students. Educator Pa Achlee Fong guided whānau in setting the vision for NUONI and affirming their status as tangata whenua within the school, in accordance with the rights and responsibilities enshrined within Te Tiriti O Waitangi.
1996: The establishment and sustainability of the programme wasn’t without obstacles. Area 4 had been the home for the first bilingual class, but with a steadily increasing roll ( 40 students by 1994) students had to move into the hall. Parents approached management to consider the relocation of a building onto the grounds. Agreement was given, but the MOE declined property funding for students in what was designated a “Special Programme” . Undaunted, the community fundraised to purchase an old Hospital Board building which was moved onto the site in 1996, renovated, opened and named Te Hononga O Ngā Wai (The Meeting of the Waters) by NUONI teacher and kuia Whaea Dianne Adams. The name references the streams which originate near Maungawhau and Owairaka and flow through Te Rehu to the Waitematā. The whare housed two classes, a teina and a tuakana and teachers in those early years included Mike Dunleavy, Jill Buckley, Anne Smith, Robyn Carruthers, Shane Edwards, Lorraine Taogaga, Ed Tuari, Hera Linter-Cole , Elsie Heke, and Toru Tara.
In 1999 Jane Cooper joined Whaea Toru as the teina teacher at a time when the unit’s roll had dropped to 25 tamariki and the school zone demographic was changing. Westmere was bulk funded and the viability of NUONI was threatened the following year by a proposal to cut its staffing to 1.6 teachers. This would have left one kaiako responsible for the education of all teina and tuakana students for one of the week days and every afternoon. The whānau petitioned the BOT to retain two teachers, reiterating Treaty obligations spelt out in the National Education Guidelines, the school’s Charter commitment to Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga and the overriding objective of enabling Maori educational achievement. Common sense prevailed and NUONI has maintained a successful working relationship with the BOT, a “common venture” in which the right of NUONI whānau to determine the educational priorities of their students is acknowledged and the equitable resourcing necessary to achieve these is assured.
2002: Long-standing Westmere resident, Ripeka Nukunuku, known as Nanny Ma, whose children and grandchildren attended Te Rehu retired after many years teaching at Ritimana Kohanga Reo. Born in Whangaparāoa of Te Whānau a Apanui and Ngāti Porou descent, Nan graciously accepted an invitation to work for the school, officiating as Kaumatua and teaching within NUONI. Nanny Ma sat on the paepae at every school pōwhiri and major event, named and blessed all new buildings and structures and offered guidance and expertise to students, teachers and parents alike. The spiritual backbone of NUONI, students were privileged to have a native speaker to converse with and to hear her stories of an East Coast rural upbringing. Nan passed on in 2014 and her tangihanga was led by NUONI in the school hall, Te Whare Kotahitanga, where hundreds of mourners gathered to recognise her contributions to Māori education.
2009 : In an effort to better meet the developmental needs of New Entrant students, a proposal was submitted to the BOT to establish a Nohinohi class, whose students would feed into a Teina Y2/3 class and finally graduate to the Tuakana Y4-6 grouping. At this time the NUONI roll was capped at 56 students by the MOE and so the BOT agreed to subsidise the third teacher’s salary . Whaea Rachel Pierard joined the kaiako team under the leadership of Whaea Jane .
2012 : At a strategic planning hui, NUONI parents and caregivers discussed the possibility of establishing a new configuration for Māori medium education at Te Rehu. They envisaged a parallel pathway programme that would offer either bilingual (L2) or immersion (L1) education for their tamariki.
2013 : Kaiako trialled a L1 (Y3-6) immersion class taught by Whaea Jane and a L2 (Y3-6) class taught by Whaea Toru. The nohinohi became a Y0-2 grouping taught by Whaea Charlotte Manga.
2014 : After years of pressure from central Auckland Māori medium schools and the APPA, the MOE finally agreed to provide property funding for out of zone students in “Special Programmes”. This breakthrough coincided with an agreement to increase the ceiling on enrolments within NUONI to 80 students. The BOT was therefore able to employ a fourth kaiako and establish a Y2-3 bilingual grouping.
2015 : With the development of the new school, the old hall and Te Hononga O Ngā Wai were moved across the school grounds to nestle in between Te Papa Kāinga and Te Whare Poipoi.
NUONI now had 4 class spaces and two purpose built rooms with kitchen facilities, a science/art space, a resource room, a hui/performance area, decking and gardens. Whaea Laura Alpe was employed to teach the Y2-3 L2 class . The whānau was able to see many of its educational objectives finally coming to fruition.
2016 : The rapid changes of the previous years saw a need for consolidation. Whaea Jane came out of the classroom to take up a position as Paeārahi of NUONI. Whaea Toru had moved to work in a middle school Studio in 2015 and therefore two new Provisionally Certificated Teachers were employed to work in the tuākana classes - Te Mete Lowman as the rumaki reo Y 4 - 6 kaiako and Whaea Waina Prime as the bilingual Y4 - 6 kaiako.
2018 : Whaea Tui Ross took up Whaea Laura's position as the teina kaiako. Matua Te Mete took up a managerial position at another school and Whaea Jane taught the Tuākana rumaki class.
2019 : Whaea Laura returned to teach the nohinohi in a job share with Nicky Swan, as Whaea Charlotte had been awarded study leave.
2020 : With kaiako moving out of Tāmaki or leaving teaching, 2 new graduates Whaea Maxine and Whaea Kahi were employed as tuākana kaiako, mentored by Whaea Jane. Whaea Louise took over the nohinohi class. The Covid epidemic and lockdown meant students were taught online for much of Term 2. The Paeārahi submitted a proposal to the Board to create a fifth immersion Year 3,4 class in 2021, which was endorsed.
2021 : Whaea Keegan joined the immersion pathway as a new graduate kaiako and NE teacher Whaea Rebecca brought her expertise to set up the nohinohi class in a reconfigured larger akomanga space. Former Te Rehu administrator, Whaea Deborah Peace, returned to work as a Learning Assitant. Under Whaea Jane's leadership as Paeārahi, Ngā Uri o Ngā Iwi now enjoys the largest kāhui kaiako and student roll since it was established 30 years ago.