Maori Language Week

MAORI LANGUAGE WEEK

TE WIKI O TE REO MAORI

(1 – 7 July 2013 - Week 9)

This week is Maori Language Week so be ready for some exciting activities around te reo.

Lets have fun and learn together!!

The theme is Nga Ingoa Maori – Maori Names

Arohatia te Reo (which means to cherish the language) remains the tahuhu, the base for Maori Language Week, however the ‘ingoa’ theme asks us to consider important matters such as correct pronunciation, understanding the meaning of place names, and using Maori names more often. The teachers and students are going to have a challenge this week to pronounce New Zealand place names correctly and to greet each other in the mornings using ‘kia ora’, ‘ata marie’ or ‘morena’. It would be great if you could join us in this challenge. A good website to help you practice your pronunciation is www.korero.maori.nz/forlearners/basics/pronunciation.html 

Matariki

Wow, we have had a busy week learning all about Matariki which is our very own Maori New Year. It is associated with the celebration of harvest, of gifting food, and planning or preparing the ground for the new year's crops. Matariki is a time to come together as whānau (family) and a time for celebration. This year it is also about celebrating the people in our lives we look up to. The shining stars in our school community – the role models who share qualities with Matariki and her daughters.  In Ruma Kotare we made vegetable soup and invited our buddy class to come and share it with us. We also worked in the garden and put the compost in to get our soil ready for planting. We shared stories about the past and legends about Matariki and her sisters. 

Have a look on our blog to see our garden journey or what the photo peach slide of our soup sharing with our buddy class.