Ko taku reo taku ohooho, ko taku reo taku mapihi mauria
My language is my awakening, my language is the window to my soul
Te Maumaharatanga - Ranginui Walker
Kei raro i te kahui pouri, ka whakaaro tātou, kua hinga te rakau rangatira - Ko Ranginui Walker. It is with great sadness and tremendous loss to us in education that we acknowledge the passing of Dr Ranginui Walker and we pay homage to all that he has contributed to our journey, our knowledge, our struggle and our future. Haere atu ra e pa, moe mai ra, moe mai ra, moe mai ra!
A message from our President
by Hoana Pearson QSM - Ngati Raukawa, Ngati Rangiwewehi
Tena Koutou Katoa e Ngā Rau Rangatira ma huri noa i te motu! Ka nui te mihi ki a Koutou i o koutou mahi whai i te ara tika mō to tātou tamariki kei roto i ngā kura katoa. It is with much pleasure that I sit to write what I hope will be the first of many pānui to network and to celebrate our mahi in our kura. The work of leadership and management in our schools is very complex and I commend you all for either being on this kaupapa or for aspiring to it.It is not a role that we can under take without the understanding and support of colleagues. It requires courage, and it requires us to reach out to each other to affirm our work and to learn from each other.
It is my vision that Te Akatea becomes that support for each and everyone of us, regardless of our pathway, be they Kura Kaupapa Māori, Kura ā Iwi, Kura Auraki, Rumaki or bilingual. When I sit to think about Te Akatea I always recall the words of those who were a part of our inception, our journey and also our future. I recall the hui at Hamilton when we were privileged to have with us Iria Whiu and Pem Bird who shared their stories of this time.
“We had dreams, we were warriors! Passion drove us! We are the drivers...to lead the direction of Māori education...To build our confidence! To realise Māori potential.”
(Iria Whiu – foundation member Te Akatea Hui-a-Tau 2011)
“The challenge – How do we support our tamariki to have educational success as Māori? For as long as the system denies our tamariki to utilise their cultural capital they will always be poor. We are Māori who happen to be principals! We are defined by our Māoriness! We are the solution! We are agents of change – our sacred duty is to challenge and change the status quo! We have a right to create our own destiny and to manage it!”
(Pem Bird, foundation member, Te Akatea Hui-a Tau 2011)
For me, these stories embrace how I feel about the potential of our unity as strong Māori educational leaders under the banner of Te Akatea to realise not only our potential but the potential of our mokopuna and our tamariki, the leaders of our future. For me success for Te Akatea will be when every Māori principal and leader in the schools throughout Aotearoa is a member of Te Akatea and we are walking towards a common cause - our people’s future!
No reira koutou ma, encourage all those you know and even those you don’t to get on board and walk with us on this exciting journey.
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