Te Ao Māori

1. Manaakitanga | Hospitality

The process of showing respect, generosity, hospitality and care for others. We lift and support all those around us.

Tikanga practices | As Kaiako and akonga we:

• Care for the environment

• Care for and respect resources that are ours to explore and play with.

• Setting up the environment, helping to prepare for meal times

• Care for and respect others | building mana

• Nurture and build on relationships

• Show respect in all we do

• Express kindness

Whakatauki: Manaaki te katoa
Be kind to all He aroha whakatō, he aroha ka puta mai

If kindness is sown, then kindness is what you shall receive

2 Rangatiratanga | Leadership

Chiefly authority, right to exercise authority, sovereignty, autonomy, leadership, control and interdependence. Rangatiratanga is seen through the determination, problem-solving skills, persistence, courage and assertiveness of our tamariki.

Tikanga practices | As Kaiako and akonga we:

• Support the mana of tamariki by doing their daily responsibilities and taking part in activities that support their pathway to school.

• Ensure tamariki are provided the platform to share their special talents and capabilities through music, physical education, and annual production, and to share their strengths, interests, passions and talents with the whānau and the community.

• Have a culture that promotes positive and nurturing behaviour.

Whakatauki - Ki ngā whakaeke haumi

Bring together those who can join the sections of a canoe.  Which is meant to remind us to grow leaders who can bring diverse ideas together

3 Whānaungatanga | Relationships

Kinship, sense of whānau connection and relationships through shared experiences and working together which provides people with a sense of belonging.

Tikanga practices | As Kaiako and akonga we:

• Enjoy positive relationships amongst all who are involved in the Preschool community.

• Encourage positive relationships with whānau and their participation within the early childhood service

• Have philosophy of kinship towards the decision making and planning process to achieve and offer a high quality of service. 

• Ensure everyone in the Preschool community feels a sense of belonging

• Enjoy cohesive teamwork in the Preschool that provides a positive outcome for tamariki, whānau, kaiako, as well as the wider community.

• Instill a sense of identity and belonging through acknowledging the whakapapa of tamariki and whānau.

 Whakatauki: Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa

Let us keep close together, not far apart

4. Kotahitanga | Unity

Everyone doing the same thing at the same time. Unity through diversity.

Tikanga Practices | As kaiako and akonga we:

• Encourage cooperative play

• Encourage unity

• Enjoy eating meals together

• Come together to greet and farewell our tamariki and Kaiako daily

• Work collaboratively

• Support each other

• Value team contribution

Whakatauki: Ko au ko au. Ko koe ko koe me haere ngatahi tāua

I am me, you are you but we can go on together as one.

7 Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho | Sharing of knowledge 

Māori customary practices incorporating culture, custom, etiquette and protocol.

Tikanga Practices | As kaiako and akonga we:

• Treat resources with respect

• Go on trips to explore natural taonga of papatuanuku (bush walks)

• Collect taonga and sharing it with preschool

• Use basic tikanga Māori practices

Whakatauki: Poipoia te kakano kia puawai

Nurture the seed and it will blossom

8 Taha Tiana | Physical well-being 

Taha tinana is our physical wellbeing. It is about how our body grows, feels and moves and how we care for it. Taha tinana is just one aspect of health and wellbeing and cannot be separated from all others. Our mahi is to nourish and strengthen our taha tinana. We recognise when we feel physically well, it helps us to feel mentally well too.

Tikanga practices | As kaiakoi and akonga we:

• Provide provocations and play activities as they encourage and develop both  fine and gross motor skills.

• Waiata a ringa with Talita, Zumba with Ani and other specialists become a part of their regular preschool life that promotes healthy mind and body.

• Promote healthy eating

• Enjoy mindfulness with our kaitiaki

• Ensure our learning environment is accessible for all.

• Team building, social  events and whānau evenings allow us to connect with our hoamahi and whānau.

Whakatauki: Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi

With your food basket and my food basket, the people will prosper

9 Whakapapa | Genealogy

Lineage, genealogy and ancestory

Tikanga practices | As kaiako and akonga we:

• Increase our knowledge and awareness of whakapapa through the use of their pepeha.

• Encourage whānau and Kaiako to share their whakapapa with the preschool through the use of whakapapa books and being a part of the whānau snaps board.

• News Time encourages the tamariki to share their taonga from home and whānau.

Whakatauki: Inā kei te mohio koe ko wai koe, I anga mai koe I hea, kei te mohio koe, kei te anga atu ki hea

If you know who you are and where you are from, then you will know where you are going

10. Kaitiakitanga | Stewardship, protection and preservation

We honour Kaitiakitanga by promoting guardianship and protection of our environment and an awareness of caring for Papatūānuku and, how we can take care to nurture and preserve our natural environment. Based on traditional Māori views, Kaitiakitanga incorporates a strong connection between spirituality, people, and the natural world. 

Tikanga practices | As kaiako and akonga we:

• Kaiako promote caring for our environment by ensuring our resources have a place.

• Our kaiako and mokopuna are responsible for caring for, and putting resources away in their right place.

• We care for, respect and look after our plants and vegetation.

• We are responsible for a worm farm to promote food scraps not going to the landfill, and as a way to nourish Papatūānuku.

• We promote recycling, reusing and repurposing where and when we can.

Whakatauki: Whatungarongaro te tangata toitū te whenua

Humankind will perish, but the land will remain forever.

11. Oranga | Health (survivor, food, livelihood, welfare, living)

The health and well-being of everyone in our early learning community is very important to us. Our policies and procedures guide us to make decisions based on research and best practice. Social and emotional well-being is seen as equally as important as the physical health and well-being of all our akonga.

Tikanga practices | As Kaiako and akonga we:

• Social and emotional well-being is nurtured and cared for.

• Time is allocated for daily mindfulness.

• Kaiako and whānau promote healthy eating and physical well-being.

• Our kaiako are responsible for ensuring our mokopuna have equipment and resources which promote choices which are healthy in mind, body and spirit.

• Our Kaiarataki (Board of Trustees) and Leadership team guide our policies and procedures to ensure we are able to provide an early learning environment which is healthy for all.

Whakatauki: He Kokonga whare e kitea, he kokonga ngākau e kore e kitea

A corner of a house may be seen and examined; not so the corners of the heart.

12. Mahi Tahi | Collaboration and Participation

Mahi Tahi means we are working together as one for the betterment of all in our early learning environment. Our Kaiarataki (Board of Trustees) Kaiako and whānau work in collaboration to ensure positive learning outcomes for our mokopuna.

Tikanga practices | As Kaiako and akonga we:

• Strategic planning, learning priorities, policies and procedures are developed in collaboration with Kaiarataki, kaiako and whānau.

• We see collaboration as a means to show responsibility, accountability and commitment to support and care for each other throughout all decision making processes.

• We partner with whānau to nurture their aspirations (hopes and dreams) for our mokopuna.

 Whakatauki: Me mahi tahi tāhou mō te orange o te katoa

We should work together for the well-being of everyone.

13. Tuakana/Teina | Receiprocol Learning

We foster and support an integrated teaching and learning approach where our younger and older mokopuna work and play together, this means that our younger mokopuna are shown aroha and manaaki as they grow, and older children learn about caring and using whānaungatanga values. Tuakana-teina relationships are learner-centred in nature.

Our Kaiako mentoring programme also supports this Tuakana/teina world view, as our mentorship is a two-way conversation to support and nurture the learning of all our kaiako.

Tikanga Practices | As kaiako and akonga we:

• Our younger and older mokopuna enjoy reciprocol learning opportunities.

• Opportunities are nurtured for our older mokopuna to care for, and look after our new mokopuna.

• Our shared leadership model supports an environment where we are all leaders (tuakana) and learners (ako).

Whakatauki: Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora a mua.

Those who lead give sight to those who follow, those two follow give life to those who lead.