Term 1 Learning - Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Last term we had a focus on investigating the driving question:

How can we as historians use the lessons from Te Tiriti o Waitangi to create a supportive learning environment at school?

Some of the big ideas we focused on learning and understanding were:

* Māori history is the foundational and continuous history of Aotearoa New Zealand

* Colonisation and settlement have been central to Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories for the past 200 years

As a result of their learning our tamariki know:

• That Te Tiriti o Waitangi is the founding document of Aotearoa

• Why Te Tiriti o Waitangi was created

• That there were many differences between the English and Te Reo Māori version of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi

• What life was like for the tangata whenua before and after signing the treaty

Some of the activities our tamariki participated in were:

* Retelling a story about Te Tiriti o Waitangi

* As a class creating a Aotearoa map to show the different places Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed

* Collaboratively creating a visual timeline showing events surrounding Te Tiriti o Waitangi

* Asking questions to find out more about the treaty and then using a range of resources as a class to help answer their questions

* Creating a class treaty and Junior School treaty together to ensure we can learn and play as a group successfully (Juniors)

* Creating a class treaty to identify the attitudes and values that motivated the people in the past and compare the with today when creating our own treaty  (Seniors)

We have six important school values we encourage, model and explore within our school. These values sit under the overarching concepts of Kaitiakitaka/Kaitiakitanga and Manaakitaka/Manaakitanga.

These values are:

Kaitiakitaka - RESPONSIBILITY, HONESTY, INDEPENDENCE, PASSION FOR LEARNING

Manaakitaka- RESPECT, KINDNESS AND CARING

We use Focus Assemblies each week to explore what behaviours and attitudes we might see if they were thinking and acting in a way that reflects our values. We continue to use the teachable moment in our daily interactions to reinforce our school values and the way we need to remember these as we interact with each other. Behaviour Education at Macandrew Bay School is based on our school values.  Our tamariki are getting very good at reflecting on how they feel they are meeting our school values and talking about what values are most important to them.  

Our classes also found out about local Kai Tahu chiefs, Korako and Karetai signing Te Tiriti (Herald Bunbury sheet) on June 13th 1840 at Taiaroa Heads.  

Did you know that they were amongst the seven signatures for Southern Māori. The premise in their hearts and minds was that they accepted that under the Treaty they would retain their lands and have equal protection and rights as British citizens. The ongoing political struggle over the total disregard to the promises agreed to in Te Tiriti o Waitangi would continue for over one hundred and fifty years. (source https://www.otakourunaka.co.nz/)