Cultural

Our school values Te Tiriti o Waitangi and we are on a journey for greater inclusion of te reo Māori (language) and tikanga Māori (Māori culture) in our daily lives.

Hui Whānau

Hui Whānau is the name of the George Street Normal School Whānau group that was established at the end of 2020. We meet regularly, form relationships and discuss Māori issues as they relate to both our students and the school as whole. This gathering is open to anyone in our school and is an opportunity to share ideas, skills and knowledge and plan for the future of our children. Meetings are advertised in our newsletters and everyone is welcome.

Te Ao Māori, Matauranga Māori, Te Reo Māori

Wherever possible our classes integrate Te Ao Māori, matauranga Māori and te reo Māori. As a whole school we are on are journey in developing our reo (language) and understandings and we seek to continue growing in this area. Tamariki are given the opportunity to speak reo, learn purakau, tikanga, karakia, waiata etc. and to learn from one another through the development of tuakana / teina relationships across the school. Many of our kaiako team and kaimahi team are learning Te reo Māori are active participants in ako (reciprocally learning from those around them). Our desire is for our Māori students to succeed as Māori in our kura.

Mihi Whakatau

This is the name we give to informally welcome new children, parents, whānau, trainee teachers and Kaiako (teachers) and Kaimahi (support staff) when they are joining our school 'family'. We hold a mihi whakatau at the beginning of each new term and welcome people by performing our haka, singing waiata and introducing each other. It's a lovely way to be welcomed in our school and afterwards we celebrate by sharing some kai together.

Kapa Haka

This year we are making kapa haka available to all children. Practice times etc. will be placed in our daily school notices.

Pasifika Performance Group

This group is open to anyone and in particular we encourage our children who identify as Pasifika to come along and take part. Practices are on Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. and performances are arranged throughout the year.

Contact: Claire Spencer (claire@georgestreet.school.nz)

Events:

This is a list of the events and activities our children will be involved in this year.

  • Matariki

  • Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week)

  • Whānau-iti and Whānau-nui

  • Kapa haka

  • Polyfest (may be a performance group only)

If you have any skills in leading kapa haka or any other cultural aspect, please contact:

Claire Spencer claire@georgestreet.school.nz

Leonie Spencer leonie@georgestreet.school.nz