RUMAKI – Māori Immersion

Our rumaki classes are called ‘Te Puāwaitanga’.

It is unique on Auckland’s North Shore as one of the very few Level One Māori immersion units where te reo is spoken 100% in the first four years and 80% in Years 5-6. In Years 5-6 20% English is taught and spoken.

Te Puāwaitanga has three composite classrooms (due to roll size).

Tamariki may enrol from the age of five years and may start with little or no te reo, however, to enrol from Year 3 onwards the tamaiti must have a good level of te reo to be able to keep up with learning in an immersion setting. There is an expectation that students are immersed as much as possible in the Māori language at home.

Being immersed in their Māori world is of extreme importance to our whānau and their tamariki; therefore new tamariki to our school will be welcomed through a pōwhiri or a whakatau.   After covid disruptions, we are reestablishing our amazing kapahaka rōpū that also perform locally. 

Whānau are active and meet each term to support the direction of Te Puāwaitanga. Every second year, the entire unit head off on their week-long haerenga staying on whānau marae, learning the history of their iwi and their kaupapa. It is expected that, where possible, whānau attend and support their tamariki throughout the amazing experience.

Our curriculum framework is Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, http://www.tmoa.tki.org.nz/Te-Marautanga-o-Aotearoa

Our approach to curriculum delivery is Thinking Based Problem Based Inquiry Learning as we aspire for our children to be thinkers about their thinking, to be solutions focused and to become creative, collaborative life-long learners.