Ngā Hua

Māori Medium Education at Birkdale Intermediate School, Ngā Hua ō Te Purapura Pai

Kua whakatūria e mātou he whare haumaru mō te āpōpō hei ako, hei whanake, hei pupuri i

te reo Māori me ōna Tikanga i roto i tēnei ao hurihuri, hei whakatīnana hoki i ngā kupu a Tā

Apirana Ngata “E tipu e rea mo ngā rā o tō ao. Ko tō ringa ki ngā rākau ā te Pakeha hei ara mō tō tinana. Ko tō ngākau ki ngā tāonga a ō tīpuna

Māori hei tikitiki mō tō māhunga”

Ngā Hua ō Te Purapura Pai is the whānau learning class at Birkdale Intermediate School. We offer bilingual education at a range of fluencies, from beginners to fluent speakers. We place an emphasis on whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, mana tangata and rangatiratanga. In Ngā Hua, we reflect the language, culture, values and aspirations of all members of our community.

Ngā Hua provides students with an opportunity to develop their self-confidence in a caring whānau environment by encouraging their views and sustaining our Māori Culture and Language in a bilingual atmosphere that nurtures the student’s desire to learn and succeed. Our tamariki are taught to take pride in their identity and utilise this mana to strive for excellence in all subject areas.

We encourage the extended whānau to be an active part of all whānau occasions including hui to discuss the progress of the tamariki and plan for future events, fundraising and haerenga throughout the year.

Student engagement comes in many different forms and our kaiako and kaimahi in Ngā Hua are trained to recognise and encourage students, providing them with learning opportunities and support that meet their specific needs. ,

Amendment to School Enrolment Scheme – Community Consultation

Due to the fact that we are the only Intermediate on the Shore offering Māori Medium Education, we have applied to the Ministry of Education for Special Programme status. This would mean that students who live outside our zoned area who want to attend our school in order to access a reo rua education for their child can do so providing they meet the entry criteria outlined below.

Criteria for entry

The criteria for enrolment are

Students who are fluent speakers of Māori
Students who have attended a Māori bilingual or immersion primary school
Students who want to be in a Māori medium classroom AND have parental support to learn te Reo

Priority for enrolment

The priority groups for enrolment in the programme are:

First Priority – Students who are fluent speakers of te Reo
Second priority – Students who have attended a Māori bilingual or immersion programme at primary school
Third Priority – Students who have a sibling or whanau member who attended the school and was part of the Māori bilingual program
Fourth Priority – Students who have a parent who is a speaker of te Reo Māori and can support a new learner
Fifth Priority – Students who have whanau who are actively willing to support a new learner in te Reo Māori
If there are more applicants than places in a priority group, places will be allocated by ballot

Process for enrolment

Students will apply for a place on the programme and will be accepted based on the priority groups described above.

We are consulting with the community on these criteria and welcome your feedback – please email office@bis.school.nz if you have any comments or queries about this.