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Mauria te reo, Mauria te pono o te Ao Maori
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa!
It is that time of year to celebrate Te wiki o te reo Maori 2023. My thoughts brought me back to where it all started for me as a kaiako to where I am now. First, I am living in the heart of Te Arawa my whakapapa - te maunga, te waka, nga iwi, hapu, marae and most of all whanau that generates Maori history passed on respectively.
As a kaiako I am passing on knowledge of te reo Maori me te pono. Best Start Sunset, Rotorua, will uphold its mana through our centre philosophy founded from whare tapa wha and centre vision, "Mauria te pono - believe in yourself". Te reo Maori is spoken daily by our kaiako / teachers through greetings and farewells, karakia and himene, waiata, waiata tamariki, and phrases. In the Kea room our pakeke (older) tamariki are preparing for school life.
The reciprocal relationship routine begins with a karakia o te ata- morning prayer, tautoko waiata - a song to support the prayer, mihi. Our tamariki build on their self-confidence, and mana to be able to stand with pride and present to their peers their mihi / pepeha.
Our tamariki are learning about spacial awareness by sitting on their personal whariki they have made. This is just the tip of the iceberg on what our tamariki are learning about Te Ao Maori including mauria te reo, mauria te pono for now and our future generations.
Na Kiripounamu Kameta.