Essay Writing

Room 2 students were posed the question "Should Maori Language be Compulsory in Schools?" Their writing structure was based on the Hamburger model, that is, introduction (the bottom bun), filling (middle) and conclusion (the top bun). The class started with a brainstorm to gauge initial thoughts and feelings. Students also used a variety of 'thinking tools' to write down their ideas. This topic generated a flood of opinions and perspectives from my 30 students. Since we had covered the Treaty of Waitangi in Term 1, and then Maori Language Week this term, students had formed a predisposition about this hotly debated topic. It was therefore heartening to read that from the 30 students, Alyssa chose (and rightly so) to argue against the language being compulsory. Alyssa believes..."Outside of school, my family and I are hardly ever involved in any Maori activities. Learning te reo Maori would be an awesome skill, but not as important as the other compulsory subjects such as maths, reading etc". On the other hand Daniel says..."It is important for New Zealand’s heritage to keep the language alive, and if we do not encourage it then only a few will be able to talk Te reo and a part of our heritage may be lost". Stay tuned for some more excerpts from Room 2 students.

Quiz Champions!

Congratulations to these Tauira (students)
from Room 7 who correctly answered the
questions for our Quiz. Tino pai tama ma!

Matua Adam Whauwhau

On Thursday the 30th July, Miriwera were privileged and honored to have Matua Adam Whauwhau come to our school assembly and speak about Te Wiki o te reo Maori. He spoke eloquently and passionately about Maori culture and language and what it means for himself and his whanau (family). He talked about dying languages (in particular Maori) and how out of 390,000 Maori in the World only 40,000 go on to learn the language and out of that 40,000, 5,000 are fluent speakers of Maori (Census). Matua Adam believes that initiatives such as Te Wiki o te reo Maori may go a long way to ensuring the longevity of Maori language and culture within Aotearoa.

Here is some video footage of Matua Adam at Miriwera, his guitar playing and singing is amazing!! - Tumeke Matua!

Maori Language Week Video Competition

Here is Room 1's entry for the Video Competition:



For the competition, we wanted to show how we use Te Reo Maori (the Maori language) in the classroom. Our class does karakia (prayer) everyday and learns new waiata (songs) but we wanted to have a video that was different to other entries, so we chose to show how we use Te Reo in P.E.

Maori Language Week Poster Competition

Well done to all the students who entered the poster competition for Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori. There were a lot of fantastic entries. Here are the finalists of the poster competition:

Quickfire Korero

The long awaited 2nd and 3rd episodes of Quickfire Korero are here!! Enjoy...

Kai time at Miriwera

To celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori, staff at Miriwera were treated to a delicious Hangi! The hangi was prepared by Matua Justin of Room 17 with help from students in Rooms 1 and 2. After lunch, it was very hard for staff to go back to work!! Traditionally hangi is cooked in the ground, special hangi stones are heated to a high temperature and then the baskets of kai are placed on top. Wet bags are then placed over the kai to keep in the heat. Dirt then covers the entire ensemble. Kia ahatia, (however) the world of the hangi has evolved and can now be cooked in gas cookers, much faster and less mess!! Here are some photos of today's feast.

Quikfire Korero

Staff at Miriwera were interviewed today and were asked 'quik quiz questions'. The concept was stolen (oops we mean borrowed) from CODE on Maori Television. Here's just a couple of examples from our wonderful staff at school. Kia ora koutou for being such 'good sports'. Watch out for the interview with Mr Day, a highlight of the week!!!!

Cultural Performing Arts Roopu (Group)

This is footage taken on Saturday 25th July 2009 at Frankton Markets, Hamilton, New Zealand. Our CPA group is practising very hard for their upcoming tour to Ahiterieria (Australia).

Maramataka - Days of the Week

To celebrate Te Wiki o te reo Maori, students from the Year 8 Te Ao Ipurangi class have been in the schools TV studio presenting the days of the week. We have uploaded an example of their mahi (work) Tirohia (take a look).