My latest EdTalks: Developing cultural responsiveness in schools

Developing cultural responsiveness at Cobham Intermediate from EDtalks on Vimeo.


Last year when I was the Deputy Principal at Cobham Intermediate, I was asked to be filmed for an EdTalks special on cultural responsive practice and what this can look like in action in a school setting and how we were going about developing a culturally responsive environment. 

I focused my discussion on the way this happens from a relational position and how the staff at Cobham Intermediate began this journey together working on their practice, and then spread that learning to their classrooms. I tried to outline how important it has been for staff to consider the tikanga in the school and that the values they are developing around this practice will be beneficial for all, while reminding us all that the kaupapa of a school is developed as part of a school’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and being part of a bicultural nation, and that this is an important position for all schools.

Cobham Hangi 2016 was a huge success!

Cobham staff, students, whānau and community members enjoyed a delicious hangi lunch together last Thursday.

New waiata possibility for next year

As part of our mihi whakatau process and work on a school graduate profile, we have been discussing what we feel is important for our Cobham graduates to have in their kete when they leave us to move onto high school.

We have now embedded tikanga and te reo practices across our whole school that means our kids know two karakia tīmatanga (starting blessings) and two karakia whakamutunga (ending blessings) as well as waiata Manu Tiria, a Ngāi Tahu waiata, who are mana whenua here.

I saw this waiata shared on Youtube by a fellow teacher colleague that is part of my Twitter and Flipped Classroom practitioners network and thought it might be a great one for our kids to learn too - he aha ou koutou whakaaro e hoa mā? (What are your thoughts my friends?)

Matariki - what do you know about this time of year?

Kua puta Matariki ka rere Whānui.

Ko te tohu tēnā o te tau e!

I have been thrilled to have my babies come home from their school this week excitedly talking about Matariki.  They are proud to tell me they "know lot's about Matariki" and we have been getting up early to go outside to try and find ngā whetu o Matariki (the Matariki stars).

Matariki is the Māori name for a group of stars known as the Pleiades star cluster. Contrary to popular belief, there are nine stars in the Matariki constellation instead of seven. The Māori New Year is marked by the rise of this star cluster and the sighting of the next new moon. This year, 2016, Matariki started on 6 June.

There are some amazing resources out there to support teachers sharing the kōrero and importance of Matariki. Firstly, try to connect to your local Māori community to find out if there are any events or local tikanga or history you should know about Matariki (like this awesome Matariki celebration happening locally where I live).

All teachers should check out this webpage on New Zealand Curriculum Online too which has an abundance of great links to YouTube clips and supporting websites and resources:
http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources/National-events-and-the-NZC/Matariki 

And if none of that helps you learn about the Matariki story, here is one of my daughters telling you what she has learned about Matariki so far...DISCLAIMER: please don't take it as gospel but rather a super cute version of a 5 year old from Aotearoa trying to summarise all the cool new things they have learned about Matariki this week!  :)

Meeting the needs of Māori in English-medium schools

This week I read a CORE Education blog post by Alex Hotere-Barnes called "Developing warrior-scholars, rethinking success".   It was mainly devised from an interview Alex did with Kia Aroha College Principal, Dr Ann Milne, of whom I have been a huge fan of for some time.  The blog struck a real chord with me, the concept of 'white spaces', holistic achievement and really just about how Kia Aroha are approaching teaching and learning from a cultural identity perspective.  I would strongly encourage you to read Alex's blogpost as it was hugely insightful and bang on in terms of radically re-thinking innovative educational change that meets the needs of our Māori learners.




  Tamara Bell: Te reo Māori in English medium schools from EDtalks on Vimeo.


I was reminded of this Ed Talks I filmed way back in 2012 when she discusses 'Whitestream' rather than English-medium schools and how the majority of our Māori and Pasifika kids are in these schools, not immersion, something I have always been acutely aware of and concerned with.  How are we meeting their needs?  How can we do better - this is a huge focus for our school again this year and we have just finished constructing our school wide goal, which is trying to build on the steps we took to work towards our 2015 school goal.  As you will see below, our focus is strongly targeting the needs of Māori - and you won't get any apologies or regret from us for that.



Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui e hoa mā - if you want to make a difference for your Māori learners and whānau, put them to the front, no excuses.

Celebrate and communicate Māori success!

One thing I have learned throughout my years in education is open and regular communication with your Māori community is a must if you want to establish a positive and meaningful relationship with them.

I strongly encourage schools to take up this wero but many ask for examples of this in action - so here is one we are trying at the moment.

As part of our commitment to increased and improved communication with our Māori community, this year at Cobham Intermediate, we have created 'Pānui Ako', a term report sent out to all of our parents via the school newsletter and our Facebook page and emailed directly to all Māori whānau. We also send copies to all school whanaunga e.g. Burnside Primary, our MoE Senior Advisor, BoT, our local hapū-Ngāi Tūāhuriri, our cluster co-ordinator and other members of our wider school community.

Pānui Ako is designed and written by members of our whānau advisory group, which is made up of several staff, Māori students and some of their parents.

We hope you enjoy learning more about Cobham and our amazing tamariki -koia kei a rātou!