In a first for New Zealand schools, our cluster now has its own Rumaki and Reo Rua facilitator.
Whangarei Intermediate School teacher Neke Adams has taken on the role to support our Kaiako Māori to become digitally immersed in their classrooms.
The position was created to ensure our programme is responsive to every student’s needs.
Schools within our cluster have a high percentage of Māori students, so delivering the programme in Te Reo is essential if all students are to benefit.
Currently there are no local Māori language resources available to Rumaki and Reo Rua classes in Te Taitokerau.
“We want to start something. The ultimate goal is to get every teacher within our cluster collaborating in the Māori digital space,” says Neke.
Neke has been surrounded by te reo all her life. However, becoming a teacher of the language has been a personal learning journey as home spoken te reo is different to educational te reo.
“When it came to my teaching, I had to learn more words to complement that language that I already had.”
Neke’s ultimate wish is for every New Zealand student and teacher to know the basics of te reo so they can converse in simple sentences.
