‘A thriving, student centred learning environment, educating students for their future.’

“Te puāwaitanga o te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga”

Tēnā hoki koutou ko ngā mātua, ko ngā kaitiaki, ko ngā rangatira o āpōpō hoki. Nau mai, haere mai, tauti mai, whakatau mai ki Te Whanau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga i Te Kareti o Wairarapa.

Greetings and welcome to Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga at Wairarapa College. Please read the following carefully if you wish to become a member of Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga – The

Gifted Family of The Great Forrest of Whātonga or for short, The Whātonga Group Class.

Home of Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga. The Wharenui at Wairarapa College.

This is a living document and will revised by the College parents group known asTe Rōpū Mātua o te Kareti o Wairarapa.

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TE WHANAU O TE TAPERE NUI A WHATONGA - The Whātonga Group Class-

Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga also known as The Whātonga Group Class, is an educational initiative set up to inspire students to strive for academic excellence while encouraging them to be proud of who they are and where they come from. It is an opportunity for Māori to succeed as Māori.

As part of Wairarapa College policy every student must be a member of a group class. These group classes operate for 20 minutes each morning doing school administration like student notices. They also meet every afternoon for 15 minutes of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR). Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga is one of the group classes available at Wairarapa College. All rangatahi (teenagers) at Wairarapa College are able to apply to be part of the Whatonga Group Class.

Te Kaupapa o te Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga (Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga Guiding Philosophy)

Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga’s guiding philosophy comes from the following Māori proverb:

‘ He aha te mea nui o te Ao, ka kī atu au ki a koe, he tāngata he tāngata he tāngata’-What is the most important thing in the world, I say to you, it is people, it is people,it is people.

Encompassed in this proverb are the key Māori values of Manaakitanga and Whanaungatanga. Manaakitanga is a broad Māori concept which encompasses the nurturing of our students so that they can realise their dreams and fulfil their potential.

Whanaungatanga is the Māori concept of family. It represents the strong ties, respect, and relationships needed between a school and its whanau in order to create a culturally enriching learning environment for our rangatahi.

In The Whātonga Group Class this is the type of environment we are trying to create and foster - a home away from home, where students feel safe and culturally valued and a place where our students can hold their heads up high and be proud of who they are and where they come from.

All rangatahi (teenagers) at Wairarapa College will be able to apply to join the Whatonga group class.

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What is Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga?

The name “Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga” literally translates as “The family of the Great Domain of Whātonga”

Whātonga was a famous, historical navigator and explorer who is said to have come to Aotearoa more than 25 generations ago as captain on the waka Kurahaupō. He was born in Hawaiki about 1130. While exploring this new country, he encountered vast forests and bountiful food resources which he viewed from a high point on the Tararua Range just south of the Manawatū Gorge. These forests both east and west of the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges, he named ‘Te Tapere nui o Whātonga, meaning ‘the great district/domain (or food basket) of Whātonga. These expanses of forests on the Wairarapa side of the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges were later to be referred to as the ‘Forty’ or ‘Seventy Mile Bush’ by early European Settlers.

It is due to these great forests, rich in resources, that have enabled people to not just survive, but thrive in the Wairarapa Valley since that time until today. This great domain of Whātonga has ensured the survival here over many centuries of both our local iwi Rangitāne and later Ngāti Kahungunu in the Wairarapa valley. This name was therefore chosen as an appropriate name for the Maori focussed group class at Wairarapa College as our students come from through-out the Wairarapa valley and our school is situated within the great domain of Whātonga and in the shadow of the Tararua Mountain range. Our class members, students and teachers are therefore, the modern family of this great domain. Our family is diverse and made up of local iwi and mātāwaka (other tribes) as well as tauiwi (other nationalities). It is our aspiration here at Wairarapa College to have our students not only “survive, their education but thrive in it” as members of “Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga”.

The image of Whātonga at the top right hand side of the page was completed in April 2014. It took artist Paul Horton several years to create this piece. The contemporary sculpture was funded by the Manawatū Gorge Biodiversity Stakeholder Group. Whātonga has been installed on the highest point of the Manawatū Gorge Walking Track, facing out towards Castlepoint. The sculpture is of an impressive scale reaching 6.2m high, 1.5m across and 1.2m deep and is made of steel. The sculpture also features intricate pattern work which depicts the significant sailing history of Whātonga.

We acknowledge the special place of Rangitāne and later Ngāti Kahungunu as mana whenua of our district.

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Relevance of the name“Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga”

Wairarapa College staff and community have the highest aspirations for their students. This is evident in the schools practice of constantly making a concerted effort to improve;

the academic success of students the sporting performance of students the respectful behaviour of students and the retention of students in the education system so they reach their full potential in all areas of

school life and to ensure that they are well rounded, confident citizens when they leave us.

To this end, the school continually introduce new, forward thinking initiatives which have recently included;

A broad range of staff Professional Learning and Development – To ensure we teachers can meet the needs of our students and stay abreast of the latest thinking in Education

The Sports Academy- A programme to extend high performing sports students PB4L- An initiative to improve behaviour management by focussing attention on good behaviour

The purpose of establishing the Whātonga group class at Wairarapa College is in line with this approach of trying new initiatives to improve the outcomes for our students. It is believed that the Whātonga class will provide an environment that encourages academic achievement within Wairarapa College based on our Māori Cultural Values of Manaakitanga and Whanaungatanga. It was hoped that by providing an environment where Māori students feel culturally safe, it will inspire and encourage them to fulfil their academic, sporting and cultural potential and to gain the qualifications needed to survive and thrive in today’s world.

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The Aspiration to EstablishTe Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga

Aims, Goals, and Benefits Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga

The Goals of The Whātonga Class are based on the wants and needs of the families of Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga, inclusive of Wairarapa tāngata whenua Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne and our wider Wairarapa community. Those Goals are:

1. Most importantly, to provide a culturally safe environment so that the students of Whātonga enjoy being at school and enjoy learning.

2. To provide both academic and cultural opportunities for our rangatahi to fulfil their potential.3. To improve the achievement of our rangatahi.4. To provide a kaupapa Maori environment where Māori are proud of who they are and where they

come from and are not afraid to express themselves and their culture.5. To promote good, safe and healthy behaviour, both inside and outside of school.6. To encourage our rangatahi to participate in a wide range of co-curricular activities, including Kapa

haka.7. To retain and increased the number of Māori rangatahi to Year 13 Level.8. To develop Māori leaders within the school through tuakana/teina roles and to provide other

leadership opportunities such as the MaiBiz Programme.9. To promote Te Reo and Tikanga Māori within Wairarapa College.10. To provide pastoral care through a Māori perspective with an emphasis on Whanaungatanga and

Manaakitanga.11. To assist and encourage parents to support their rangatahi with their education and to become

involved in school life.12. To develop positive attitudes and work ethic and develop a culture of helping each other to succeed.13. To assist rangatahi in goal-setting for the future and to understand the pathways and work ethic

needed in order to achieve those goals.

Members of the Whātonga class will receive focused Māori mentoring and quality te reo Māori learning opportunities.

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Te Whānau o Te Tapere nui a Whātonga

Please print this page off, then fill in all the sections and return it to the school.

Our whānau would like our teenager to join the Whātonga group class next year. We understand this is a five year commitment and there are limited spaces available.

1 Student full name

2 Current School

3 Current Year level

4 Is your teenager taking Te Reo Maori next year?

5 Is your teenager joining Kapa haka next year?

6 Our family member attending the monthly “Te Rōpū Mātua” meetings will be:

Name, email and cell.

7 Please get your student to write in this box why they want to join the Whātonga Class before you both sign below.

Signature of Student

Signature of Parent / Kaitiaki

Date

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