General
Section outline
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Tena koutou katoa, welcome to term 1 of our Year 7 Global Studies experience in 2021. Our learning context this term is built around the idea of: Tūrangawaewae - ‘Where do we stand?' Māori World View This idea can be understood in the following Māori proverb: He Whakataukī: “He waka eke noa!”
Metaphorical: A waka we are all in together. We rise together, fall together, work
together and keep going together!
Literal: Working in unity and leaving no-one behind.
Where is my place? Tūrangawaewae are places where we feel especially empowered and connected. They are places linked to the stories of the tūpuna and are woven through the identity of an individual, hapū, and iwi. You may feel that you have your own tūrangawaewae, and this can be investigated and shared to give context and a personal connection to the concept. You may also be students (Māori and others) who don’t have a sense of tūrangawaewae. Do not worry! We can still show and strengthen our connections to our tūrangawaewae. This may include exploring the physical and natural environments of the local area, researching personal and family histories, and including parents and wider whānau in discussion about what tūrangawaewae means to them.
In the coming weeks we will be exploring our personal connections to the stories of ‘our place’ here in the Flatbush community through constructing our own pepeha and learning a new waiata, these will become an important part of our visit to the marae. Our first important event is a visit to Te Whare o Matariki, the local marae located in the Howick Town Centre.
Te whare wananga o Wairoa is situated on the grounds of Emilia Maud Nixon’s Garden of Memories 37 Uxbridge rd, Howick, Auckland Haere mai ki Te Whare o Matariki & Te Whare Taonga (museum), nestled amongst the beautiful gardens & native bush. Te whare Wananga o Wairoa is offering a cultural & history experience for Playcentres, Kindys, daycare & schools, consisting of a Powhiri, history of the gardens, bush walk & a cultural programme run by whaea Taini Drummond. We do have available spots for your parents to accompany you (using their own vehicle) on the day, they only need to bring a gold coin ($1-$2) as a koha - which is required by tikanga (protocol).
This week we will begin our pepeha construction and learn a little bit about the history of the whare we will visit. Below is a photo of the opening of the marae, taken in 1936 and under that a more recent picture is included.
The tūrangawaewae of local iwi and hapū is often represented in a physical sense by the marae at which important hui, celebrations, and farewells are held. For students, visiting the local marae provides an accessible way to explore tūrangawaewae and begin an historical investigation. To prepare for a marae visit, students can develop their own pepeha, a way of personal introduction that emphasises where they are from. With the students, develop a pepeha of the local area and visit all the places mentioned, trying to understand what it is about these places that work together to create tūrangawaewae.
Homework:
Watch the clip below and create 3 questions to submit to Matua Dobson in class next week.
