Knowing, accepting and acknowledging the strength of working together

  • If one of us succeeds, it’s all of our success; it’s a reflection of all of us Māori because everyone has helped us to do well. All the whānau has helped us do well.

  • I enjoy all aspects of te ao Māori - having all the opportunities to develop my te reo, to be able to immerse myself in kapa haka. My teachers sparked my interest of learning te reo, and they also helped me keep the fire going. My whānau have done so much for me. It’s been overwhelming, having them involved in my education. It really did help for whānau to be involved along this journey.

  • My whānau, they’ve always pushed me along – kept me on the right track. A lot of the teachers, being in a small school, a lot of them are my uncles and cousins. They’re always helping me out.

  • This year has been really good with teachers stepping up and being culturally responsive, and including Māori culture in what we learn in class. And so for me, that’s what I think is Māori success - being able to have that connection in your subjects to really get the proper understanding that you need.

  • Definitely take every opportunity you’re given. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and believe in yourself. Surround yourself with good people. That’ll get you there.

  • Teachers are a huge help, especially at our school. If you need anything, to talk to anyone, just to help you get to where you need to go, to do what you need to do - say sporting, academic, cultural, arts, anything like that - they’ll help you out in any way. My school have helped me to get to where I am, giving me that encouragement to be able to push past and be the best I can be.

  • I’d have to say the biggest help in school is probably my mates. Because if the teacher explains it to me and I don’t understand it, my mates will have my back and explain it to me in a way they know I’ll understand - and that’s always good.

  • You can approach most people - pretty much all the teachers at our school. And they’re willing to drop everything and help you out. They’re always willing to help anyone, even if you are Māori. If you’re not Māori, it doesn’t matter.
  • I’ve succeeded because I’ve had the help of others. Doing it on your own is just not easy, so having those others there, helping you, is essential.

  • Being proud to be Māori, using your culture to drive yourself, to try and benefit yourself and others. Inspiring other students to become role models, getting others to step up and having others help you step up.

  • Having a Māori group in your school is great because you get to know one another, and know more about yourself. They’re like a supportive group for everyone in there. They don’t laugh at you. Like, they laugh with you. You’re being educated about yourself, about your pepeha, your ancestors. You’re able to take that back to your family - spread that knowledge out to friends as well as the wider community.

  • Something that helped me is the whanaungatanga (relationship-building) with teachers, and also friends.

  • They really pushed me to succeed. That’s something that I think supported me, throughout my years at this school. It’s hard not to do well with the support of the teachers and the people around you. They motivate you, and the motivation inspires you to do your best,

  • Knowing that you’ve got somebody in your corner who wants you to succeed, makes you want to succeed.

  • It’s mostly my whānau who tell me never to give up.
  • When we want to succeed, we don’t only want to succeed for us. We want to succeed for our families and everyone who has been there for us. We want to make a better future.

  • Our whole community is behind everyone. They just want you to get out and explore the world, get an education, and then once you’ve reached that point, come back and just give back. That’s how we’ve been raised to be successful - not just for yourself, but for everyone else. They want what we want, and I think that’s what drives us.
  • Our headmaster, the Māori department, and our teachers - they have all been strong supporters of Māori students, our work and our culture. They want to see us prosper and thrive into the successful young people that we can be. One teacher helped me to develop leadership skills; he’s been a strong supporter in my personal life and where I want to go in the future.


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