Term Three Week 9

Throughout the process of this journey alongside the school, our wider community, ākonga, staff members, and our Māori Council, this has been a great experience that we have had the opportunity, pleasure, and honour of leading. We have been lucky enough to be able to help in striving for a reo Māori/mana ōrite ingoa for our kura which plays a huge part in the revitalisation and normalisation of te reo Māori. Our school has changed throughout the years. It has evolved into a culturally diverse school where all students and their cultures are appreciated by everyone. Students are encouraged to celebrate with us about their traditions and cultural things they do. By having a culturally diverse school we were able to have the opportunity and support to have an addition to the school name with a mana ōrite name. After many voting opportunities it was decided to be ‘Ngā Rau Huia o Ākina’. This addition to the kura has had quite an impact on both Tahatera and myself. We are both proud Māori students and feel as though having a Māori ingoa for our kura makes us feel celebrated, accepted and welcomed as Māori. Having a Māori ingoa could help students have more pride in their own Māori heritage considering that having Māori ingoa will help te reo Māori become a language more frequently spoken throughout our kura. It may only start as the ingoa being spoken but this could certainly help lead other ākonga in the direction of wanting to learn more, not only about te reo Māori but possibly their own Māori heritage/whakapapa. We believe having this ingoa addition could also help strengthen our Māori students and encourage them to be proud of who they are and where they come from.

We would like to give a big thank you to our kura, Board of Trustees, the community, ākonga and all staff members for playing an important role in this journey with the mana ōrite ingoa. We appreciate the tautoko and kindness they have shown throughout the process to achieve this goal.

Jahvelle Kendrick & Tahatera Apatu