Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa
Nau mai ki Te Kura o Wairau
Welcome to Te Kura o Wairau.
Mā mātou te Wairautanga e whakaoti
1884 Te Awe Awe.T
On the statue of Rangatira, Te Peeti Te Awe Awe in Te Marae o Hine (the Square Palmerston North / Papaioea), are left some parting words which were, “Kua Kaupapa i a au te aroha, mā koutou e whakaoti - I have laid the foundations of friendships for you to build upon.” This came about after a peace settlement was negotiated between Rangitāne and the neighbouring tribes.
In consultation with our Rangitāne Iwi, together we formulated the whakatauaki above for all of us to build upon and pursue at Te Kura o Wairau. We use Wairautanga to represent our identity, values, and principles of our kura.
At Te Kura o Wairau....
• We value and celebrate the identities and aspirations that our Whānau have.
• We nurture the well-being, confidence and creativity of our tamariki.
• We enhance understanding of being excellent kaitiaki for our learning and our environment.
At Te Kura o Wairau, we show manaakitanga by being respectful, kind and supportive. We will demonstrate manaakitanga to develop trust, equity and sincerity with others.
At Te Kura o Wairau, we show Whānaungatanga by building strong and postive relationships with each other. We will maintain high expectations with honesty, empathy and commitment so that we can support each other in our shared learning experiences.
At Te Kura o Wairau, we show kaitiakitanga by guarding, caring and protecting all aspects of our kura, te reo Māori and tikanga Māori . Learners will know their whakapapa, their tūranga waewae and their connection to Te Kura o Wairau.
• We all belong to Te Kura o Wairau.
• We know our whakapapa and tūranga waewae.
• We are kind, positive and include others.
• We are proud of our successes and the success of others.
• We value and take responsibility for our environment and community.
• We learn by working together with others.
• We take ownership of our learning, teaching and our behaviour.
• We will respect and protect each others mana.
• We strive to be the best that we can be.
• We support and give compliments to others - manaakitia nga tangata katoa.
The school is made up of three major teams, senior team, middle team and junior team. Each team is likened to one of the many children of Tāne Mahuta the guardian of the forest.
He Whakatauākī
"Iti rearea teitei kahikatea ka taea"
The Rearea (bellbird) is one of the smallest birds in the forest, yet it is capable of reaching the top of the kahikatea, the tallest tree in the forest. In the traditional Rangitane view, plants and animals were rich in meaning. The diverse heights, girths and other features of trees suggested the variety of human dimensions.
Children were named after the trees, plants and birds and peoples characters were likened to features of the forest.
Kahikatea is the name of the senior team. In the local history of Rangitane the area was found to be very swampy and the kahikatea tree was very predominant. The tree it is self is tall in status strong in virtue and is native to this land of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
He Whakatauākī
"Taute te titoki, whero te Rata I te waru".
The titoki fruit is ripe, and the rata is red in the eighth month.
This proverb makes reference that the fruit of the Rata tree needs time to mature and ripen.
Rata is the name of our middle team. When the ancestors of Rangitane arrived in the district, they found it was very different from their Polynesian homeland. They had been primarily seafaring people, but on these larger, colder islands, they also needed to know about bush. Understanding the forest was vital to life. They explored and learnt much about the forests. Tane, the guardian of the forest, found an important place in their tribal history and traditions.
The Rata tree is tall and strong and it seemed fitting that our middle school be named after this tree.
He Whakatauākī
"Kua ura to ao kowhai"
The kindling of Kowhai blazes
Rangitane used the kowhai's attractive, hard an durable wood for paddles and adzes. They made poultices for the bark and applied them to wounds and tumours, and infusion (tea) of the bark to treat internal pains, bruises and broken limbs. The kowhai's flowering in early spring told Maori it was time to plant kumura Referring to the trees ability to burn fiercely.
The Kowhai tree has been specifically chosen to represent our junior team. In on our school grounds we have several gorgeous native kowhai that blossom into beautiful young yellow putiputi (flowers).
Our junior school students are likened to the kowhai, small, bright, precious, and fresh looking.
Keep up to date with the latest school news and notices on our school face book page.Te Kura o Wairau.
Each team at school has setup a facebook group to share the latest school news with their children's Whānau.
Kowhai is the the Junior team, in rooms 11 to 14. Rata is the Middle team, in rooms 7 to 10. Kahikatea is our Senior school team, in rooms 1, 2, and 6.
Please click on the picture below to join the facebook group that your child is in.
A big thanks to Inspire for the web sponsorship
Te Kura o Wairau © 2024