TKKM o Nga Papaonekura
Rāmere te 1 o Poutu te rangi 2024
T.A.M 1.2 Tino motuhake enei ahuatanga katoa. Ko tenei hoki te kakano i ruia mai i Rangiätea. E kore ia e ngaro. Engari, ko ta ngä matua, ko ta te whänau, ko ta te kura hoki, he mea awhi, he mea whangai, he mea whakaako i te tamaiti kia tupu ora ai tona katoa i roto, i te tika me te maungarongo.
Tēnā rā tātou katoa kei ngā whānau o Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Papaonekura.
Just a reminder that the whānau hui postponed for a later date this month has now been cancelled. We will hui again next term, the dates for next terms whānau hui are attached below.
This term may well be winding down, but the standard and pace to which the kaiako and tamariki of the kura are working and completing tasks is certainly the contrary. In fact, the entire kura is firing on all cylinders as we look forward in anticipation to next week. Our pīpī kōrero and manu kōrero event will be held at kura next Wednesday the 25th and Thursday the 26th of September. We have had to make changes to the start times beginning at the slightly earlier times of 12.00pm on each of those days. Please see attached the order of speakers. We encourage our whānau to attend either of the days fully, partially or in part as we do understand parents and whānau commitments with regards to work etc.
Our kura is lucky to be guided by the auspices that is Te Aho Matua. Te Aho Matua provides the blueprint for how our kura is governed and managed. Our kura is specifically focused on creating a harmonious and non violent learning environment where all tauira feel safe and have the right to succeed. I have noticed all kaiako working very hard to create a learning focused culture of high expectations aimed at educating our tamariki and closing knowledge gaps. As with all tamariki each child has their own specific knowledge gaps, whānau would be aware of these since the mid year reports and parent teacher interviews. For many of our tauira at kura, these present themselves as gaps in their ability to speak māori, to read, write, and do maths in māori, comprehension skills, listening skills, social skills, following instructions, reasoning skills, values, manners, etiquette and matters of common sense in māori settings and in english settings. The task of kaiako is enormous when you consider their role in educating our tamariki and also facilitating the closing of the learning gaps of 40 odd children, who all have different needs, and require different levels of support. E te whānau, I want our kaiako doing more educating and less gap filling. Te Aho Matua makes clear that homes and parents are our children's first schools and teachers. All of the gaps in our children's knowledge can be traced back to their kāinga, to their whānau, to their experiences, to their lack of experiences, to the discussions and conversations happening at home, to their friends, to their hobbies, the company they keep, to the teachings that they receive or are not receiving from home, to their time on devices or on the PS5, to their not speaking maori before coming to this kura, to their not speaking maori at kura, to their not speaking maōri at home, to their not doing their homework, to their absence from school, to their lack of effort, to their not listening to their parents or doing what their asked or told, to not trying their very best let alone trying at all or to not thinking and using their own brain instead of relying on parents or others to think or do things for them. Gaps become near impossible to close as our children get older. Please e te whānau begin to address these gaps at home as soon as possible. Choose one thing at a time and work to fill that gap, eliminate it, and then move on to the next one. Although it may be tedious it pales in comparison to the mahi kaiako are already doing. These tasks in themselves will be the greatest support you can provide the kaiako and kaimahi of the kura who are already working extremely hard to try and educate our tamariki.
Attendance remains a priority of our Kura. Help set up our tamariki and Kura for success. Please be warned that poor attendance may result in your child's re-enrolment for 2025 to be declined. Our policy of 90% attendance although high, is in line with national expectations for attendance. Kaiako will contact home directly if your child is absent for more than three days and a reason has not been logged into skool loop. For sickness please send tamariki to Kura with a doctors certificate. Poor attendance may well be referred on to truancy services.
To the mātua whom are nearing the completion of their Level 1, 2, 3 & 4 Te Reo Māori classes we acknowledge your efforts. Your efforts to learn Te Reo Māori and to foster the language within your homes not only does wonders for yourselves personally, but it also reinforces the kaupapa of our kura within your children. I would therefore personally like to extend my personal acknowledgements and congratulations to you all on the investment that you are making in yourselves and your whānau by being on this journey. It is a long journey, has its highs and no doubt lows, the benefits though are very real and will compound for you and your whānau in the years to come. Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou.
Next saturday we have our Wānanga Te Aho Matua for whānau and parents of the kura. It is important that whānau attend as this not only reaffirms the whānau commitment to the kaupapa of Te Aho Matua and to Te Runanga Nui but it also gives parents an opportunity to delve deeper into the kaupapa that is Te Aho Matua. On a daily basis we are instilling the values and guiding principles of Te Aho Matua within our children. The result of this work will be well rounded individuals. Te Reo Māori and Tikanga Māori are the vehicle through which we do this. Our efforts as a kura are useless if the mahi that we do at kura is not appreciated, supported, respected and reinforced at home by our whānau. These wānanga provide parents a critical analysis and perspective into the historical impacts that lead to the genesis of Kura Kaupapa Māori and Te Aho Matua and ultimately inform whānau of their rights and privileges but also the expectations, responsibilities and obligations required of parents and whānau to the kaupapa of Te Aho Matua.
I am still very keen to hear from whānau experienced in applying for funding, for grants and to philanthropic foundations. We have a list of sizeable jobs that need doing at the Kura and the only way to fund such tasks in the interim is via funding proposals. Current Kura needs are i.e. purchasing of a ride on lawnmower, landscaping works, electrical works, lighting works, security works, sports courts and some major cosmetic jobs that will ensure our Kura environment remains top tier. Any support and or advice is greatly welcomed.
Pērā i ia pānui, kia kaha ki te kōrero i te reo Māori i ngā wā katoa ki ngā wahi katoa, kia kaha hoki tātou ki te whakaū ngā tini kaupapa nō roto i te kura ki roto tonu i ō tātou ake kāinga - e mana ai tērā kōrero nō roto i Te Aho Matua e mea ana 'Ko te kura hei kainga, ko te kainga hei kura'.
Hei kona mai i aku mihi nui,
Ian Marino - Tauhinu - Tumuaki
