Mihi
Tīhei Mauriora Ko te mihi tuatahi me mihi rā ki ngā Atua Māori nā rātou i whakatūwhera mai ngā kūaha o te ira tāngata ki te whai ao, ki te ao mārama. Ko te mihi tuarua me mihi rā tēnei kaupapa i whakamahana i te wairua Māori kai roto. E ngā mate puta noa i te motu, haere, haere, haere atu rā. Haere atū kōtou ki a Rehua i te rangi. Tērā te wā o te mate, ka huri ki te wā o te ora. Me mihi ka tika ki a koutou katoa i whakatinanahia i tēnei kaupapa. Tēnei rā te Te Pā o Te Kōtuku e mihi kia kōtou katoa. Kia mau kia ū ki ngā tikanga, kia puawai he tiare Māori hou. “He Māori ahau, e noho Māori nei ki tōku Ao Māori. Mā runga i tēnā ka Tōhea e koe.”

Mātai aho tāhūnui,
Mātai aho tāhūroa,
Hei takapau wānanga e hora nei.
​
Lay the kaupapa down
And sustain it,
The learning here laid out before us.

​Huri noa tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Purpose of Te Pa o Te Kōtuku “Leading change through a Māori lens”
​ “To promote and perpetuate the traditions of our ancestors which further develop and enhance self-esteem and pride. This then promotes effective and efficient cultural competency in the use of ourselves as leaders and potential leaders in families, in our communities and in world Māori affairs.” The programme as a whole strives to allow the students to look into their identity first, before entering into any part of the curriculum. The student’s identity plays a major role in all future perfect academic achievements. Within Te Pā o Te Kōtuku the students will be able to reach the full potential of our whakatauki. “He Māori ahau, e noho Māori nei ki tōku ao Māori. Mā runga i tēnā ka Tōhea e au.” 

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Approach
The approach we use in Te Pā o te Kōtuku is  a Tuakana-Teina approach and a kaupapa centred approach. Our classes are vertically grouped, year 1-3 and year 4-6. Often the year 1-3 and 4-6 classes learn together. We follow the New Zealand curriculum, but we use a Matauranga Māori approach to assess our understanding of learning. Assessment will be based on Mōhio, Mārama and Tau.

Mōhio - Know. It is that a student will know about the topic at hand. For example the student knows that 1x1=1 but does not yet understand that 1 divided by 1=1.

Mārama - Understand. It is that a student will know about the topic at hand. For example the student knows that 1x1=1 and also understands that 1 divided by 1=1.

Tau - embedded. It is that the student will know about the topic at hand and understands all areas of the topic. E.g. 1x1=1, 1 divided by 1=1 and also 2-1=1

​Our ākomanga learn within a bilingual environment. We strive to have tamariki using Te Reo Māori at least 30% of the time. Our expectation is that you can also support them at home to develop their reo by using Te Reo Māori at home.

Further Information about our unit can be found in our prospectus.

Prospectus