Kaitiakitanga
Kaitiakitanga Program and Network
Te Whaiti Nui-a-Toi children
guard and share Whirinaki,
their culture, language and values
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Kaitiakitanga |
Kaitiakitanga Program and Network |
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3.1.1 Kura Opening - Project Details:
We thank the Minister of Maori Affairs Parekura Horomia, Minister of Education Trevor Mallard, Secretary of Education Howard Fancy and many Ministry officers for joining us at the big Powhiri on Waikotikoti Marae at Te Whaiti.
Since then our Transition Board and staff have been flat out recruiting staff and making arrangements for the new school. which comprises our Minginui Village total immersion junior site, and our bilingual transition site at Te Whaiti. which together cater for our growing roll of around 85 students. Students leave our school with the ability to walk tall in both the Maori and Pakeha world. Our Principal Whaia Genevieve Doherty and our teachers have not had much of a holiday this summer as they have had to prepare to extend the curriculum from level 8 to level 10, because we are now an area school providing secondary education too. Now the Kura is open and the staff are working hard to assess exactly where every student is at, so that they can work out programmes that will maximise learning. By the end of the year the whole place including all our students will be humming, but in the meantime it is hard work making do with what we have. This fast track approval process means that we are still waiting for the additional buildings and other resources we need for the expanded school. We are all on a steep learning curve and involved with lots of change. We thank the Ministry of Education for their confidence in us. We hope that some of the lessons we have all learnt in this process will support other schools and communities who want to "take over the reins" as far as the education of their tamariki is concerned. We all thank a community team led by Jimmy Goldsmith and supported by the senior class students at the Kura who made all the arrangements for the opening day. Outcomes expected:
(We noted that that on Friday 29th Jan The Minister of Education was in Wairoa announcing school closure programmes, on Sat 30th he was with us and on Monday 2nd Feb he announced that the Governments school closure programme was to be suspended.) Start Date: Oct 2003 Budget: Nominal Project Leader: Jimmy Goldsmith Project Team: Issues Register:
Progress Log
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NOTICES AND ACHIEVEMENTS: Our gift to you - download Free Whirinaki Matariki Wall Calendar What Andree a sustainability writer discovered about Kaitiakitanga Papakainga Development - Matekuare Whanau Project underway |
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| Please note that this site is under development. It is a prototype to help design its structure, content and navigation. An * in a menu is used to show a future function that is currently not yet available. We are working to establish a multimedia organisation in our community to carry out ongoing development. (Our students at Te Kura Toitu o Te Whaiti Nui-a-Toi were awarded third place in the 2003 NZ school web challenge). feedback please to temporary webmaster: |
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On 31st of Jan 2004 we gathered to celebrate the opening of Te Kura Toitu o Te Whaiti Nui-a-Toi.our new merged school in the valley. The whole community turned out together with many of our Tuhoe whanau, the Ngati Whare Runanga, past teachers, ex pupils, and even international friends of our kura who specially came from Canada and the UK. The Ruatahuna Kapahaka group came to support the school students and ex pupils that are included in their team. Their haka and pukana was awesome. 
Swinging taiaha, mere and even a musket they helped make our visitors very aware that our community was one that is good to have on your side. The rain stopped so everyone enjoyed a remarkable day - particularly the positive korero, waiata and the big hangi that was served in a marquee that we put up for the day.
This day was the climax of a long process that started about six years earlier when both schools decided to combine for sports and cultural activities. By 2000 our community had decided that two separate schools each with their own Board of Trustees and administrative services was a wasteful and ineffective way to run education in our valley, so instructed the schools to commence a process of merging. A transition team prepared our vision and an innovative plan. For us the Minister's approval in Oct 2003 was a very welcome gift and the start of a big programme to get things ready for term 1 2004.
