Te Tiriti o Waitangi Partnership 2017

Demonstrate commitment to tangata whenuatanga and Tiriti o Waitangi partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ko Ngongotaha te maunga

Ko Utuhina te awa
Ko Rotorua te roto

Ko Ngati Pakeha te iwi

No Rotorua ahau

Ko Jade Fleming toku ingoa 

Prior to the beginning of term 1 the whole RGHS staff attended PLD with Ngati Whakaue focussed on improving knowledge of our local tribe (Ngāti Whakaue).The majorty of our students are of Ngāti Whakaue descent, therefore it is important for me to have an understanding of their identity, language and culture in order for me to be able to build successful relationships with them. The Te Rangihakahaka programme which we participated in for this PLD involve two wānanga, the first of which is the noho marae which we have just attended. The noho marae involves all staff staying on site at Paratehoata marae (Tunohopu) in Ohinemutu and learning about the history of Rotorua and the local tribes of the area - specifically Ngāti Whakaue. 

I found this PLD extremely valuable, especially after having been away from Rotorua for 10 years. I felt that the time at the marae helped me to feel connected to Māori culture and language, which I had not had a lot of exposure to while living in the south island for the past 10 years. It was really helpful to learn about the iwi and understand more about where our students come from - the whakapapa, tikanga and whenua. It was great to have support from both the PLD facilitators and other staff throughout this PLD as it made me feel confident that there was a lot of support available to me in the area of Māori language and cultural understandings. The other highlight of this PLD experience was getting to know the staff that I will be working with this year. Although I already knew a few people from my practicum last year, there were a lot of staff I did not know at all, so it was great to have this experience to build relationships with staff. 

I am looking forward to continuing my learning in this area when we attend the second wānanga later in the year.

Following the Te Rangihakahaka noho marae we began planning the Te Rangihakahaka unit for our year 9 and 10 Future Focussed Leaning classes. The unit was focussed around students connecting with our local area through learning about the history, identifying current issues and then working to create possible solutions and ways to move toward a brighter future. As the project developed, a more environmental theme emerged and the concept of kaitiakitanga was a key focus to the work that students were doing. We looked specifically at water quality of our local lakes and rivers and worked with experts, both locally (Rotorua Lakes Trust) and from Victoria University (Indigenous Sparks/Partnership through Collaboration). 

I felt that students became very invested and passionate within this project because of it being focussed within their local environment and iwi. Students were driven to learn and to find solutions and ways to improve the environmental issues that the Rotorua area is facing. 

As part of this project and our work with the Partnership Through Collaboration Trust I have been on two trips to Victoria University and one to Massey with 10AWHI. These trips have allowed students to experience science and technology within University laboratories and learn more about the importance of caring for our waterways. The PTC trust is focussed on pairing science and technology with Māori culture, language and values. We have been teaching science and technology embedded within Māori culture - for example the role of local iwi as kaitiaki of local waterways and how science and technology can work as an integral part of improving/maintaining water quality.