Addington Primary School Te Kura Taumatua – Our journey with Houhere
What was the project about?
The project's intention was to support a school to express local cultural narratives through creative arts. This would involve:
Sharing a local narrative/pūrākau
Ākonga sharing the stories through a variety of art forms
Sharing and celebrating stories with and between whānau and the school community.
Addington Primary School Te Kura Taumatua agreed to be involved in this project. Nicki Tempero and Gae Thawley, Grow Waitaha facilitators, met with Donna Buchanan, the principal, Nicole Baxter Warren, the kaiako, and Liam, the learning assistant, from the bilingual unit. Nicole was very keen and wanted to focus on ‘Me Hanga,’ the class waiata Liam wrote. Nicki and Gae worked with Nicole to develop a plan to support the class to explore the meaning of their classroom waiata, connect it with their school narrative, and creatively express this through a creative medium of their choice.
Developing local cultural narratives and fostering creative arts through storytelling provides a meaningful way to connect tamariki, kaiako, whānau, and the school community. By sharing and celebrating local narratives and pūrākau, we strengthen pathways into, between, and out of schools. Storytelling can also contribute to a connected, collaborative, coherent, and learner-centred schooling system.
Facilitators worked with Houhere, a newly established bilingual class at Addington Te Kura Taumatua, on a project designed to support transitions and support the building of the class climate and culture.
A key focus of this initiative was empowering ākonga to explore and share their class waiata through various art forms. Visual arts, digital media, and performance enabled tamariki to retell the waiata in authentic and innovative ways.
To achieve this, we prioritised building connections through whakawhanaungatanga – spending time with the class and deepening their understanding of the themes and cultural significance of the waiata. Facilitators and kaiako worked closely with tamariki, providing hands-on support to engage with the meaning of Me Hanga and participate in creative sessions that brought its essence to life.
The journey
Our journey with Houhere was both enriching and inspiring. The waiata written for the class by their kaiako was central to the work and became the foundation of our collaborative learning experience.
We began by unpacking the meaning of the waiata, with kaiako sharing the cultural narrative of the kura to help ākonga understand its importance. Ākonga explored the waiata themes and the connection to their identity and cultural narrative through oral and written language experiences.
Their comments bring the meaning of the waiata to light.
“Building a waka together as a family.”
“Ropes pulling people together.”
“We are not related but we are whānau.”
“Crayfish don't jump into your net. You have to work to catch them.”
“Older people are the older net with wisdom.”
“Young children are the new net.”
“Grateful to be Māori and learn te reo.”
“Proud to be Māori.”
“Being able to accept and respond to new knowledge.”
“The old net gets cast aside, the new net takes its place.”
“Spiritual.”
This deeper understanding motivated ākonga to express the meaning of their waiata creatively. Ākonga worked in groups to design their project and chose the medium to express their ideas, with support from facilitators and kaiako. A truly collaborative approach!
Over a series of sessions with facilitators and kaiako, using digital tools and mixed media, ākonga created projects that brought the waiata to life in ways that were meaningful to them.
The step-by-step creative process
Kaiako and the facilitators began by fostering whanaungatanga by welcoming the facilitators into class and spending time with ākonga to build knowledge of classroom culture and relationships.
The creative process included:
Singing and discussing the waiata.
Kōrero about the meaning of the waiata, and kaiako shared the school cultural narrative.
Looking at creative possibilities such as stop motion, green screen and book creator to inspire ākonga.
Ākonga formed groups around their chosen story-telling mediums.
Planning and storyboarding the story – from the beginning to the middle and end, including highlighting important points and deciding if their plan reflected the waiata properly.
Kaiako offered writing support.
Ākonga selected their medium and assigned roles within their groups.
Ākonga began the process of recording and creating, editing, making adjustments, and responding to feedback.
Each group shared with the class, received feedback based on what ākonga liked, and offered feed-forward to other groups.
Ākonga creations included stop-motion stories, videos, a mural and board games.
Future developments include plans to share the creations with:
ākonga transitioning into class
the school at assembly
local ECE services.
Both ākonga and kaiako valued the diverse approaches used to support them, which honoured their class tikanga and integrated their preferred teaching and learning methods. This approach fostered a collaborative and respectful learning environment. The facilitation team felt honoured and privileged to be involved in this mahi with the class.
Ākonga voice
One group sought feedback from their classmates. The feedback focused on their interpretation of the waiata, particularly highlighting some missing aspects of it. The group listened carefully and responded by adding another character into their story.
Here are some of their comments about this process:
“We need to take in feedback from others and respond to make it better.” “We work together to make something good.”
Once all projects were completed, each group shared their work with the class. This allowed everyone to give and receive feedback, fostering growth and learning together. This sharing supported class unity and a sense of belonging, as ākonga connected with each other and the messages in waiata.
Each presentation was videoed and inserted into book creator to enable everyone to share and see each other’s mahi.
Kaiako voice
"Taking a waiata and putting it into another form is hard. Seeing parts of the waiata and metaphor brought to life in many ways by ākonga is impressive."
Impact
Through their journey, ākonga have developed a deeper understanding of their waiata and its connection to the school’s cultural narrative. This learning has strengthened their sense of identity and belonging to their newly formed class as observed in their engagement and connection with each other, and their pride in being in the bilingual class.
Kaiako were impressed by the level of engagement shown by ākonga and noticed an increase in confidence among some tamariki – a significant step forward for them. The resources, art materials, opportunities, and support provided motivated ākonga. Kaiako commented that those who were often not involved were very engaged. The idea of working together and fostering kotahitanga, or class unity, is a concept that kaiako have been encouraging throughout the year, alongside whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga, and mana motuhake. Kaiako appreciated the opportunity to observe ākonga in action and noticed the progress ākonga made during this mahi, which was both rewarding and validating for their efforts and intentional teaching strategies.
Final comments from ākonga
“The waiata means to me our class and our Māori culture, and our class is proud to have the waiata, it also means to me that our class is grateful to be in the bilingual class.”
“The waiata means to me, our Māori culture and our environment around us.”
“This class and song they mean a lot to me and I feel as if it shows how far we've come to make this a possibility and even though I'm not Māori I get to learn and support this language.”
Next steps
Although the class intends to share their projects with early years services, the kaiako felt it was more of a priority to support the transition ākonga have made into the bilingual unit this year, and for those who will join the class next year.
The class worked hard to complete their projects and share them with each other. The next steps will be to share their waiata, and how it links to the school cultural narrative and their projects. The stop motion videos and the mural will support those who are about to transition into their class in 2025. The class is a mixed age range from year 3–6. Next year there will be more ākonga joining the class from year 2.
Sharing with the school will be an important next step for cohesion and collaboration within the school.
Sharing with other teachers in the school to support understanding and advocacy for the bicultural unit and in discussions with whānau who are interested in their tamariki joining the bicultural unit.
Future opportunities
Connect with other bilingual classes and share their waiata and creative projects.
Providing resources and support to these ākonga was motivating, exciting, and mana-enhancing. It empowered them to explore their creativity and take pride in their work. A possible next step would be to support another creative project with these ākonga, supplying the resources needed to further develop their skills, deepen their understanding of cultural narratives, and continue fostering their confidence and sense of identity through meaningful and collaborative learning experiences.
What could other schools do?
Identify and share local narratives or pūrākau that connect to the school’s cultural history and community.
Connect with other bilingual units and co-create and design a project together.
Encourage ākonga to explore cultural narratives through visual arts, music, drama, or digital media projects.
Provide resources for tamariki to create and present their interpretations of waiata or pūrākau.
Use technology to document and share these projects across communities, such as through videos, websites, or exhibitions.
Use projects like these as a stepping stone to participate in wider initiatives, such as cultural festivals.
Top tips
+ Whanaungatanga was key to the success of this collaborative project, fostering strong relationships and a sense of unity among all involved.
+ Respect for different ways of working, particularly mātauranga Māori, was vital for ensuring the project was meaningful and culturally relevant. This approach strengthened the connections between kaiako, ākonga, and facilitators, and also created a space for shared learning and growth.
+ By integrating these values, the project became a powerful example of collaboration, respect and cultural responsiveness.
