Overview
Te Whare Matauranga o te Atawhai was established in 2002 by Te Roopu Atawhai the school’s governing body who apply for and provide funding, administrative support and conduct regular assessment and bench level standards for the school.
The school is located in the Western Region community area of Victoria where the student population is predominantly second generation and from a diverse Maori and multicultural background.
Te Whare Matauranga o te Atawhai (School of Learning), the only Maori organisation in Australia accredited to the Department of Education.
Maori Language School
Our Philosophy
Ensures that we cater for a broad range of social and cultural expectations that are apparent in our Maori-Australian multicultural community. It is based on the firm belief that our learners learn best when:
- They are treated as individuals with their own needs and interests;
- They are provided with opportunities to participate in the communicative use of Maori in a wide range of activities;
- Exposed to Maori communicative data which is comprehensible and relevant to their own bilingual/bicultural needs and interests;
- They are exposed to Maori socio-culture data and direct experience of Maori culture embedded within their Maori language teaching and learning;
- become aware of the role and nature of Maori language and culture in their lives. They also learn the place it has as a heritage language;
- They are provided with appropriate, ongoing feed-back about their progress;
- They are provided with opportunities to manage their own language;
- They focus deliberately on various Maori language forms, skills and strategies in order to support the process of language acquisition;
- Lastly, we have developed a sequential Maori performing arts program which incorporates extended dance and music, thus strengthening the cultural importance implicit in learning a heritage language, whilst providing a broad range of language activities for learners to develop their Maori language proficiency skills.
Our Tutors & Support Staff
The staff of Te Whare Matauranga o te Atawhai provide an atmosphere of warmth and friendship and are extremely proud of the open door policy which applies to the school community.
They believe that learning and maintaining Maori is a shared responsibility and works in partnership with whanau to promote a supportive second language environment for everyone.The Staff will develop programs to educate and inform whanau in areas related to current Maori second language teaching practices.
This will result in whanau playing a more active role in Maori learning and subsequently assist in improving LOTE CSF learning outcomes for students by reinforcing and further developing the strong partnership between whanau and our school.
Meet Our Tutor
Te Reo Maori Tutor (Maori Language Teacher)
Ka toto te puna i Taumarere,ka mimiti te puna i Hokianga. Ka toto te puna i Hokianga ka mimiti te puna i Taumarere: Hokianga in te West, Taumarere in the East. What happens to one, influences the other.
Ko Mataatua ratou ko Ngatokimatawhaorua, ko Mamari ōku waka: Mataatua, Ngatokimatawhaorua and Mamari are my Canoes;
Ko Ngapuhi ratou ko Ngai te Rangi, ko Te Rarawa ōku iwi: Ngapuhi, Ngai Te Rangi and Te Rarawa are my Tribes;
Ko Kapowai ko tōku Maunga: Kapowai is my Mountain;
Ko Waikare ko tōku Awa: Waikare is my River;
Ko Kapotai ko tōku Hapuu: Kapotai is my Sub-/tribe;
Ko Waikare ko tōku Marae: Waikare is my Marae;
Ko Te Huihuinga ko tōku Whare Tupuna: Huihuinga is my Ancestral House;
ko Tiki Reti raua ko Violet Downs (nee Rudolph) ōku Matua: Tiki Reti and Violet Downs (nee Rudolph) are my Parents.
Tihei Mauriora!! The breath of Life is with me!!
BACKGROUND:
Moenagroa was born in Peiwhairangi,Taumarere/ Bay of Islands and raised in Te Nehenehe nui /King country. Having attended Pureora primary school, her whanau eventually moved to Tokoroa where she attended Tokoroa intermediate. She later attended Hamilton Church College for a year, with her final high school experiences ending at Tokoroa High school.
As a child growing up, she always wanted to learn Te Reo Maori and that dream finally came to fruition after the birth of her last child who attended a local Kohanga reo. It was while she attended kohanga reo with her baby, that the desire to to pursue her dream of Te Reo Maori was reawakened “ki te ako i te Reo Maori me ona tikanga”. She discovered the kaupapa of Ataarangi, where she spent 2 years learning through this method.
The desire to further her learning of Te Reo, lead her to enrol at the Whare Wananga o Waikato to pursue a Bachelor of Arts “Te tohu Paetahi” through the medium of te Reo. She later gained a diploma of teaching and a postgraduate diploma in literacy. She has since taught for 13 years in Bilingual and total immersion units.
She now lives here in Australia, where the aspiration to promote and foster the Maori language is still strong.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- BA Maori
- Diploma of teaching
- Postgraduate Dipolma in language and literacy education
- Taught at Tokoroa East school 2000-2002
- Taught the “Total Immersion” Unit Mangakino 2003- 2012
Te Reo Maori Contact Form
The Te Reo Maori Contact Form can be found here