Nga Kakano Puawai

Last night we held our first Nga Kakano Puawai hui for the year.  Literally translated "Nga Kakano Puawai" means, "The Blossoming Seed."  This group is open to any family of any nationality within the school community who is interested in supporting us to continue 'growing' things Maori throughout the school.

At the end of last year, the members of Nga Kakano Puawai helped us to plan a day for staff and interested community members at Waiwhetu Marae.  We all had a wonderful day learning about the history of the marae, unpacking the intent of the Treaty of Waitangi from a school perspective and planning our Enviroschools work for the year.

As part of our mahi looking at the Treaty principles, we explored the intent of the "3Ps"

Partnership

The New Zealand Curriculum envisions young people who will work to create an Aotearoa New Zealand in which Māori and Pākehā recognise each other as full Treaty partners, and in which all cultures are valued for the contributions they bring. 

Protection 

The principle of protection is about actively protecting Māori knowledge, interests, values, and other taonga. Identity, language, and culture are important expressions of what it means to be a culturally located learner.  

Participation

Participation is about equality of opportunity and outcomes.  Students need to learn how to participate and contribute as active citizens through opportunities to explore and appreciate the rich and diverse cultures, languages, and heritages that shape their identities as New Zealanders.

We shared our thinking from the day at Waiwhetu Marae with those at Nga Kakano Puawai last night, and they added to our ideas with a view to consolidating our ideas about what the Treaty Principles  might look like at class, School and wider community/whanau levels.  Here is what we have come up with:

Treaty Principle 1 - Participation

At the class level:

·       Equal opportunities to participate, share, contribute – provide different context/settings for this

·       No-one gets missed out

·       Being listened to

·       Speaking – Listening – CONNECTIONS

·       Whanaungatanga

·       sharing our Maori learning on classroom blogs

At the school wide level:

·       Kapa haka – all included

·       Noho marae

·       In-service days (like staff only day at the beginning of 2015)

·       Whanaungatanga

·       celebrating/taking pride in all things Maori – learning new waiata etc

At the wider community / Whānau level:

·       Hui – two-way

·       Tamariki

·       Communication

·       In-service days (like today)

·       Whanaungatanga

Treaty Principle 2 - Partnership

At the class level:

·       Two-way

·       Co-established tikanga

·       Tuakana-teina

·       Ako

·       Peer co-construction

·       Learning together

·       use Nga Kakano Puawai’s connections to bring people into the school as guest speakers etc

At the school wide level:

·       Consistent across whole school

·       Feedback / Feedforward

·       Staff sharing their knowledge

·       Suggestion – Staff tuakana-teina

At the wider community / Whānau level:

·       Talking/communication

·       Relationship-building

·       Mutual respect

·       Consultation

·       Nga Kakano puawai

·       Feedabck / Feedforward

Treaty Principle 3 - Protection (Aroha)

At the class level:

·       Behaviour rules

·       Policies/procedures – awareness

·       Teaching Te Reo / Kapahaka

·       Tikanga

·       Caring

·       Know our kids – positive relationships

·       Whanaungatanga

·       Teachers feel safe to be learners in all things Maori

At the school wide level:

·       Shared kawa

·       Know where our families come from – their whakapapa

·       Start Hui with mihi

·       Open-door policy

·       Whanaungatanga

At the wider community / Whānau level:

·       Communication

·       Valuing culture/input

·       Whanaungatanga