Taha Māori was implemented at Matakana School in order to provide our students with the understanding, attitude and skills they will need to understand and demonstrate our commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi. It also aims to fill the need for our students to feel a sense of belonging as they connect to their personal identities. 

Our staff are dedicated to building students’ knowledge and use of basic te reo, waiata and tikanga by using everyday commands in te reo, singing waiata, acknowledging protocols and working with students to say their individual mihi.

Our dedicated Māori team further encourages students and staff to increase their knowledge through the Māori word or phrase of the week, which is shared with the school community, regular te reo activities during the year. The team continues to support the development of all staff at Matakana School by developing and sharing useful resources, and promoting important events such as Waitangi Day, Matariki and Te Wiki o Te Reo.

A key part of Taha Māori is our talented Kapa Haka group, which has become so popular amongst our students that the group has become very large. The group, led by Fiona Clarkson and Shannon Sweetman, meets on a weekly basis to practise waiata for the various opportunities to perform in the school and local community throughout the year. We welcome you to come and see us practise or perform! 

An exciting new initiative for our Year 3-6 students in 2021 is the introduction of a Te Ao Māori course delivered using Education Perfect. The Education Perfect platform supports and promotes the acquisition of beginner to intermediate working knowledge of Te Ao Māori to assist kaiako (teachers) and akonga (students) to confidently develop a deeper understanding of general tikanga (customary values and practises), common kupu (vocabulary) and their pronunciation, kīanga (phrases) and how to use this mātauranga (knowledge) in everyday life. A more hands on te reo and tikanga course is being developed for our Year 0-2 students. All teachers have also chosen to undertake a 6-month te reo course in their own time.