The Upper North Island region of Playcentre Aotearoa undertook a pōwhiri and te ao Māori learning experience earlier this year, using an ACE Aotearoa professional development (PD) grant.
Rebekah Marcetic, centre member from Howick Playcentre, says 30 whānau, volunteers and staff from the regional office and local playcentres spent a Saturday at Te Pono o Tāmaki Marae, a community marae located in the grounds of Tamaki College in Glen Innes, Auckland.
“In the past we have visited local marae, but Te Pono o Tāmaki Marae were incredibly accommodating in terms of our needs and requirements, and it was great to start a relationship with one of our local high schools,” Rebekah says.
They were traditionally welcomed onto the marae by Matua Adrian and his high school ākonga. “Over the course of the day we deepened our understanding of pōwhiri and mihi whakatau, engaged in tī rākau (single long-stick games), learnt new waiata mōteatea and waiata poi. We also learnt how to make poi, which was a highlight for our group and it provided a fun team building exercise. Matua Adrian covered lots of tikanga, explaining ways to keep ourselves safe – both in minds and bodies.”
“Regional Manager of Upper North Island Playcentre Kiri McCabe says it was wonderful to make that connection with the school and to feel the aroha from the students. “They made the event special and easy to attend and it added another dimension to the session as we explored and developed a new relationship with another learning institution.”
The Upper North Island region of Playcentre Aotearoa covers the area from North Waikato in the south to Awanui (north of Kaitaia) in the north. Many of the attendees were volunteers at their local playcentres so the ACE grant enabled them to experience a group PD exercise without cost constraints. The grant also enabled a distribution of te ao Māori and Matariki resources to support with growing their te ao Māori mahi at centres, Kiri says.
“At the final kōrero everyone shared their current centre resources and practices and how they would implement their new knowledge and confidence – the opportunities were endless! The session gave our attendees the confidence to feel comfortable approaching their local marae to further explore opportunities to work together, and we will also be continuing our engagement with Tamaki College now that the relationship has been established. We are hoping that in term four we can attend a Maui performance put on by the high school ākonga.”
Kiri says other playcentres have been inspired to make contact with their local marae to see how they can explore relationships. “So, for us it wasn’t just about the wonderful te ao Māori experience, but also about enabling us to explore new opportunities within our local communities.”