As many schools grapple with implementing the new Aotearoa New Zealand histories curriculum, Tamatea High School staff have taken it in their stride.
Deputy principal Nicky Anderson, who leads the junior school, says they have had a strong focus on developing their local curriculum for several years.
"Connecting ākonga (students) to local places, narratives and histories is an essential part of our junior curriculum. In collaboration with local iwi and hapū, we are designing a curriculum that is relevant to our students and takes into account their strengths, interests, knowledge and whakapapa."
This work has been developed across the Ahuriri Kāhui Ako. Meredith Ellingham is an across-school teacher who leads a rōpū of kaiako and ākonga across Tamatea High School, Tamatea Intermediate, Tamatea Primary, Porritt Primary, Westshore School and Fairhaven School. They have been working alongside historians Tipene Cottrell and Levi Walford on a journey of discovery, retracing the steps of Māori chief, Tamatea-Pōkai-Whenua. Nicky is the lead principal of the Kāhui Ako and is proud of the collaborative effort of the team in developing a shared local curriculum that supports the learning of ākonga from ECE through to Year 13.
"Te Pepeha o Tamatea-Pōkai-Whenua Mōteatea connects all of our kura together. Learning about the significant places in the Mōteatea (centuries-old tradition of chanted song poetry) allows our students to retrace the steps of their tīpuna and stand in the places where he stood. There is something quite magical when young people connect to the whenua. They beam with pride and emotion. Not only are the students learning stories from the past, they are learning more about themselves, their whakapapa and forming relationships with other tamariki within our Kāhui Ako." Each place visited relates to the food source referred to in the mōteatea that Tamatea Pōkai Whenua wrote while starving in Taihape, longing to be back in Ahuriri.
