On Wednesday 14 June we welcomed our Māori whānau to a hui, held in BG4, where our te reo Māori courses are taught by our wonderful Te Pou Arataki Ms. Averil Hiddleston. 

The whakatauki for the hui was Nāu te rourou nāku te rourou ka ora ai te iwi (with your food basket and my basket, the people will thrive). 

This was the first hui we have been able to hold for a few years, and we were grateful to see some familiar and also some new faces as we warmly welcomed all parents to our school whānau to meet kaiako and tumuaki of our kura Mrs Louise Moore. 

There were presentations on the Curriculum Refresh and the key place of mātauranga Māori in the new Aotearoa New Zealand Curriculum Te Mātaiaho. 

Information was shared around Māori achievement at Sancta Maria College, which sees Māori achieve NCEA results consistent with, or higher than, other ethnicities, and significantly stronger than national averages. 

Additionally, Māori students at Sancta Maria College achieve University Entrance consistent with, or higher than, other ethnicities. 

2022 NCEA Achievement (NZQA) 

Again, Māori students’ overall endorsement rate is consistent with other ethnicities and is much higher than in the rest of Aotearoa New Zealand. 

There was a further presentation from Careers, focused on both academic pathways to University and also information on Trades pathways. 

There was an opportunity to gather whānau voice, and for kai and kōrero which is so important in building partnership between kura and whānau to ensure the best possible outcomes for all ākonga. 

The final part of the evening was to outline the plans for the upcoming Matariki celebrations.   

This included a whole-school Liturgy, traditional Māori games and other fun activities, and also a performance from our Kapa Haka group. 

Everybody in attendance was looking forward to the opportunity to enjoy kai together on the last day of term in the form of pre-ordered hāngī, which would also help to raise funds for our planned kapa haka uniforms.