Kia ora toku St Albans whānau,
We have a number of initiatives that we NEED your help with. We are wanting to connect, to consult and to collaborate with our whānau and community in ways that will support our ākonga to THRIVE.
We are working super hard to get our Cultural Narrative completed which will lay the foundation for many other aspects of mahi/work and change within our kura/school. A picture has been added below and a google form for feedback. We are so lucky to have had Carmen Aldridge complete MOST of the mahi to gather BOT, staff, students and whānau voice.
We are very grateful to have Stephanie Richardson our Resource Teacher of Māori liaising with local Iwi and ensuring we are clear about the Mātauranga Māori aspect along with Mike Davey our Kaiako o te Reo who is our resident historian and an essential pūrakau/story teller which is why our narrative is so reflective of not just Te Ao but our local history. We completed the last pare/carving for our Kahū space - Waiora at the end of 2022. All of this features in our beautiful narrative.
And, to add to this, Wiremu Gray from Leadership Lab will be working alongside our BOT, leadership, staff and community to weave our cultural narrative through all aspects of school including his 'Te Whare Mauri Ora model' (a model of well-being to support individuals and communities toTHRIVE).
Wiremu states "I am passionate about all our diverse communities, whānau and rangatahi being able to contribute to society with feeling valued and appreciated".
In the last few years Wiremu has been fortunate to have worked alongside Dr Lucy Hone and Dr Denise Quinlan from the NZ Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience where he delivered presentations at two national Positive Education conferences in 2018 and 2019, with a bicultural wellbeing model he developed called Te Whare Mauri Ora, which has been further supported by Prof Angus Macfarlane and Associate Professor Sonja Macfarlane.
We must acknowledge Ngāi Tahu and Ngāi Tūāhuriri who have supported the school and development of our narrative so that we represent not just tangata whenua but mana whenua.
So - what do we want from you?
Click on the google doc and answer 3 simple questions;
- Does our Cultural Narrative represent the school you want to have your children at?
- Is there a part or are there parts that you really like?
- Is there a part or are there parts that do not make sense or may need some more information or learning?
We will make sure that we spend plenty of time unpacking and explaining our narrative with our community including planned Community Hui with our external experts to support us.
Don't forget to CLICK on the Google Forms and HAVE your SAY.
Kia pai tō rā - Have a good day.
Andrea Harnett
Tumuaki - St Albans School
