Tēna tātou katoa,
I te taha o tōku matua
Ko Mataatua te waka
Ko Tauranga te moana
Ko Mauao te maunga
Ko Ngaiterangi te iwi
Ko te whānau o Tauwhao te hapū
Ko Otawhiwhi te marae
Ko Tengarahu rāua ko Kararaina ōku tīpuna mātua
Ko Murray tōku matua
I te taha o tōku whaea
Ko Tainui te waka
Ko Puniu te awa
Ko Kakepuku te maunga
Ko Ngati Raukawa te iwi
Ko Parawera te marae
Ko David rāua ko Dawn ōku tīpuna mātua
Ko Dawn tōku whaea
No Waihi Beach ahau. Engari kei te noho ana ahau i Tāmaki Makaurau inaianei. Ko Maria tōku ingoa. No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā rā koutou katoa.
When there is a need for awhi and guidance beyond what ECE services can provide, sometimes we just need a little extra practical support to inspire and guide us to that next step in our journey. Does your team need extra support to develop kaiako competence in using te reo Māori? Are you looking for additional in-centre support on ways to enhance bicultural practice?
With respect and aroha, I am now available to come in to your service and work alongside kaiako and tamariki (where appropriate) to offer extra support for centres using a role modelling and tuakana/teina approach. I can provide kaiako with inspiration of how to best support te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in their service including support with values in practice i.e Aroha, Whanaungatanga, Manaakitanga and much more to enhance teachers competence and understanding of te ao Māori. As well as waiata sessions and karakia that is connected to every day learning and teaching.
I have a Bachelor of Teaching and 14 years teaching experience. I have worked in a range of services with my main mahi being in full day ECE services, community-based ECE and kindergartens in Kirikiriroa, Waihi Beach and Waihi, Te Aroha and Tāmaki Makaurau.
My Educational Leadership Project (ELP) experience involves collective inquiries in distributed leadership, bravery and companionship. I have admired the work of ELP for many years and feel honoured to have the opportunity to learn, share and celebrate teaching and learning alongside such an incredibly experienced and passionate team of facilitators.
Having spent most of my childhood growing up on my papa kainga and near the moana, I have very fond memories of my whānau coming together, singing waiata, eating kaimoana, te reo Māori being spoken and celebrated, exploring te taiao and the gifts from Papatūānuku to my heart’s content. These integral experiences of connectedness as an ākonga have shaped who I am as a kaiako. Today those experiences continue to flow strongly within me. They are the pou supporting my foundations from which I view and interact with my world and the people I meet along the way.
I am passionate about creating spaces for kaiako and leaders in ECE and beyond that centre mātauranga Māori, indigenous knowledge systems and indigenous voices.
There is an extensively rich whakapapa and wealth of knowledge that existed in pre-colonial Aotearoa. Māori used this mātauranga to navigate their entire world and in doing so thrived for centuries pre-colonisation. Over time those knowledge systems have been lost through a disregard for non-Western epistemologies. This has contributed to significant and detrimental shifts in how Māori live and exist as Māori. Education has and will continue to play a large part in supporting the reclamation of Māori knowledge systems. As kaiako we have an integral role in ensuring the naturalisation and centring of Te Ao Māori in the education system, as part of recognising tāngata whenua and honoring Te Tiriti. For Māori culture and for Māori people to continue to survive and thrive as Māori, reconnection to indigenous knowledge systems is essential. Understanding the role we have as 21st century leaders and practitioners in this process is crucial. Through unpacking our own biases and privileges, we will empower Māori to reclaim their power and give voice to Māori narratives in spaces where they have been previously marginalised.
