Launch of Te Reo Mâori in the NZ Curriculum

Parekura Horomia launches first te reo Maori curriculum for English language schools.

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Race Relations Day
Newlands College, Newlands, Wellington

E nga mana whenua, Te Atiawa, Ngati Toa Rangatira tena korua.
Koutou o nga kura o te rohe o Horokiwi, tena koutou.
Tamariki mâ, kia ora

Tena koe Joris. This is a significant day - Race Relations day. I want to acknowledge your commitment and support. You have always used your role as Race Relations conciliator to promote te reo Mâori as a language for all New Zealanders.

Tena koe, e Karen. Tena koe e te whanaunga e Apryll. I am happy to see that the Ministry is in such capable hands.

To the principal of Newlands College, Grant and your board members, thank you for opening up your school. to us, and to the wider community for this very special occasion.

I see your new wharenui being built out in front of the hall. I have been told by my officials that the staff, the kura whanau and the students have been working hard to get make that happen.

Good luck with the opening.

I am also very pleased to see the tamariki from Newlands Primary, St Brigids School, Newlands Intermediate, Raroa Intermediate and of course Newlands College who are here to participate in this day.

They remind us of why we should always strive to do the best job we can.

Our combined work should ensure that these tamariki and their brothers, sisters and cousins get the best education they possibly can. Tçnâ koutou tamariki mâ.
Today we are here to launch the draft guidelines, Te Reo Mâori in the New Zealand curriculum. They will guide the teaching and learning of te reo Mâori in English-medium schools that is primary and secondary schools, where English is the main language of instruction.

In New Zealand we have a total of 2,600 schools, catering for 760,000 students. Most of those schools, more than 90% of them, are English-medium schools. So potentially they could all use these curriculum guidelines to help their students learn te reo Maori.

Today is a major milestone in the teaching and learning of Mâori language in New Zealand schools.

Since 1996, there have been te reo Mâori curriculum guidelines for students, whose first language is Mâori.
That has not been the case for students in English medium schools.. Until today.

I want to encourage all New Zealand students, be they Mâori, Pakeha, Chinese, Samoan, French, Japanese, American or even Australian, to learn some te reo Mâori.

In a global world, Te Reo Mâori is one of the things that makes New Zealanders unique.

These new guidelines give mana to the teaching of te reo Mâori in schools. They will help ensure that Mâori - one of New Zealand's official languages - is on the same level playing field as other important subjects. "He mana anô tô te Reo".

Te Puni Kôkiri's research shows that there is an increasingly positive attitude towards te reo Mâori amongst both non-Mâori and Mâori and that New Zealanders are supportive of Mâori being used in public settings.

"We are now in the most reo-friendly environment that we have ever experienced, which means that te reo can flourish even more.''

Before I wrap up, I just want to point out that this is the draft version of the reo Mâori curriculum guidelines. They are out for consultation. The Ministry wants feedback from you, the users, so that the best document can be produced in 2008.

I want to thank everyone who has been involved in the development of these reo Mâori curriculum guidelines over the last three years. I know that many, many people have been involved and some of you are here today. Thank you.

It is appropriate that we launch this document on Race Relations Day, with the theme New Zealand Aotearoa, a land for all of us.

Without a doubt, te reo Mâori is a language for all New Zealanders.

Kia kaha tâtou ki te ako, ki te korero Mâori.

Tçnâ koutou, tçnâ koutou, tçnâ koutou katoa.

ENDS

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