We’ve had a focus here at Massey Kindergarten for the past 2 terms noticing, exploring and “strengthening the ways we honour the mana and stories of our people and place”. Our tamariki, kaiako and whānau have been involved in a number of wonderful and meaningful akoranga and it has been such a privilege to be on this haerenga together. There have been many highlights so far, including:
Arataki Visitors Centre trip – Term 4 started with a whānau trip to Arataki Visitors Centre to share in stories of one of our local iwi and whenua, Te Kawerau ā Maki and Te Wao Nui o Tiriwa, The Great Forest of Tiriwa. Over 60 whānau joined us with an incredible amount of rich mātauranga and story being shared about the whenua and tūpuna that have come before us.
He waiata hou – We’ve added a new waiata to our repetoire which acknowledges many of these significant tūpuna and their stories through puoro. These kupu and tūpuna are proudly displayed in our puna with the waiata being sung and shared daily.
Across school whakawhānaungatanga – We’ve been grateful for the invitations we’ve had to share our waiata and stories at 2 of our local kura cultural days, Massey Primary Cultural Day and Lincoln Heights School Cultural Day (West Fest) which were both hugely successful!
Supporting pepeha practice – Learning about the stories of Te Kawerau ā Maki has encouraged us to reflect on the ways we support the sharing of stories through pepeha in our hapori. We acknowledge that from the moment whanau join our communities, they bring with them a wealth of knowledge and many stories of who they are and where they come from and as a team, we’ve asked ourselves these pātai:
– How do whanau share their stories with us?
– What happens with these stories?
– How do we tiaki (nurture, protect, hold) them?
– How do we create space in our kindergarten environment for them to be shared and honoured?
Tame Iti, a rangatira Māori speaks about the connection between story and Mana. He says, “Everyone has Mana. Your Mana comes from knowing who you are, where you come from and your connection to your land (whenua). Mana grounds you.”.
Ki a mātou, this kōrero speaks to the importance of nurturing the stories and rich knowledge each member of our community brings. It is a reminder to us that when you uphold someones mana, you uphold their story and with that comes great responsibility and privilege. As a team and with our inquiry question at the forefront we are tino hīkaka at the opportunities and possibilities that lay ahead of us through this kaupapa. We are grateful for the stories that have been shared so far and we are very excited about the stories still left to discover.