Current Programmes

Te Aho Paihere runs a primary group, a secondary school group, a mentoring programme and whānau tutorials.

Please click on each relevant programme to find out more, or to register using Google Forms via the link on each programme.

Regardless of programme, everyone must also register to the Te Aho Paihere database in the link above.

Teaching a collective group of passionate young Māori people inspires the desired outcome of a strong-minded, well-informed, like-minded, supported group of future leaders in the community.

The aim of this programme is to expose the tamariki to a variety of kaupapa Māori mediums in the hope that something specific might resonate within them. This will help increase confidence in their identity, skill, and ability to work as part of a whānau and help them create networks within their peers who are interested in similar kaupapa.

Though most of our members are not mana whenua to Ōtakou, many have lived here with their whānau for generations and will always have a connection to the hapori, even if they chose to live elsewhere. Creating positive relationships now, will hopefully strengthen the hapori in the future.

The desire for this programme is to bring tohunga of different arts to share the working space with the teina and share their mātauranga to better equip our tamariki with the tools they need to move forth in their Māori world.

Wānanga in te reo Māori, kapa haka, titonga, te ao puoro, hākinakina, tākaro Māori and tautohetohe would all be advantageous to developing skills amongst these young people- and our hapori houses many masters of these arts. Our belief is that each hapori has the ability to resolve their own conflicts and this can be done by supporting the people that come from and love those hapori, and who have a desire to help and support the people within them.

This programme is primarily offered to the registered whanau of Te Aho Paihere. It is a kapa haka orientated week-long holiday programme.  This programme is being offered during the 2nd week of each school holidays, with a performance and hākari at the end of the week.

The aim of this programme is to have a dedicated space for the rangatahi (teenagers) to express themselves through waiata, haka, korero, karakia and theatre, where they are encouraged to share their opinions, view-points, emotions and ideas in an accepting forum dedicated to valuing their input.

There is considerable benefit in providing supported spaces for learning for our youth. Clive Barlow states in his Tikanga, Whakaaro publication that sheds light on the key concepts in Māori culture;

“Children need to be continually encouraged, motivated, and excited about the prospect of learning and developing appropriate skills so that they can provide for themselves and assist future generations. “

This programme is primarily offered to the registered whānau of Te Aho Paihere. It is a continuation of the mātauranga gained during teina wānanga with the added teachings in theatre, public speaking and responsibilities of leadership, teaching and facilitating the teina group.

The Te Aho Paihere tuakana will also be running facilitated workshops as part of their responsibility as a tuakana. This mantle offers them responsibility and purpose as part of a whānau, with the desire of taking these skills home to their whānau and assisting them into their future development and career paths.

te aho paihere- whānau

This programme is a community-based initiative aimed at nurturing a positive learning space to support whānau in connecting with their Māoritanga, connecting with each other and working together to create and develop opportunities and experiences for tamariki that ensures they are better equipped to move forth in the world, as Māori.

Kapa haka is the main vehicle for this learning within Te Aho Paihere.  Tamariki are encouraged to sing loud enough to hear their own voice and not be afraid of what they may sound like. Once they can hear their own voice, they are able to work with it and learn about it, promoting confidence, courage, and pride.

Waiata-ā-iwi are explored to help support the tamariki in connecting with their identity, with the wider intention of igniting the fire within them to seek their whakapapa, thus taking this fire home to their whānau and promoting wellness within their home environments.

This programme is also aimed at creating a safe space for those who are not Maori or unsure of their whakapapa to come and experience what it is like to be a part of a whanau and further explore their love for Māoritanga.

This time is used for training and whakawhānaungatanga through kapa haka and group activities that promote developing healthy relationships. Each whanau now pays a term fee to enable the tutorials to take place. This fee assists with venue hire, wānanga, resources, kai, and tutor expenses.

The framework used to assess the progress of the Te Heretaura tutors is based on Dr Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapawhā Māori Hauora model- which breaks down Māori wellbeing into four intrinsic categories te taha hinengaro, te taha tinana, te taha wairua and te taha whānau.

• Taha hinengaro, our mental and emotional well-being, speaks of the ability to express our thoughts and emotions, as well as think logically and consistently.

• Taha tinana, our physical well-being, refers to caring for our physical health and development. It also encompasses the sacredness of our physical bodies in respect of our wellbeing.

• Taha wairua, our spiritual well-being, acknowledges the importance of caring for our beliefs and values. Our taha wairua is nurtured by our environments.

• Taha whānau is a sense of wellbeing around relationships within whānau and close friendships. It is about offering safe environments that promote feelings of self-belonging and identity.

The tutors are currently tutoring in 7 different primary schools in Ōtepoti and continued to tutor via Zoom during the COVID19 lockdown period. During this time weekly te reo Māori Zoom sessions for the tutors also began and continued until the tutors returned to school.

FUTURE ASPIRATIONS;

At this beginning phase of Te Heretaura and Te Aho Paihere, considerable time must be spent in creating a framework for teaching kapa haka in Ōtepoti, with the focus on tamariki Y1-8 in the local primary and intermediate schools.

This framework will be the foundation of teaching the tutors of the Te Heretaura programme.  Richie Ratahi, a local teacher in both te reo Māori and kapa haka, has offered his time to help develop the framework for the programme and to manage and teach the Te Heretaura programme to the tutors.

As there was considerable disruption to the Manawa Kapa Haka programme over lockdown, the programme is now only operational in 7 schools, with the intention of offering the 2021 programme to local schools at the end of Term 3 2020.

Therefore, for Term 3 2020, the push is for the development of the Te Heretaura and Manawa Kapa Haka programmes, with four weekend wānanga, weekly tutorials and weekly community classes for ten weeks.