Te Taiao

Te Taiao is the winds Tawhirimatea, the rain, the currents, the clouds, Tamanui-te-Rā, Rangi and Papa, Ngā Maunga, Roto, Awa, Whenua, Ngahere, Tangaroa, Ngangara, rakau, putiputi, iwi, hapu, ika, tohorā, paikea, tītiī, Kōkopu, Tane Mahuta, Rata, Ngutu Kaka, purerehua, kiwi, kina, paua, kaimoana, hoiho, namu… 

At Kāiti Kura, we have grown our understanding about how important this connection to Te Taiao for our people is. 

When we say our pepeha, it is connecting our tamariki to their land, their awa, their maunga, their whakapapa, their iwi, their hapu. Through our curriculum and learning experiences, we strengthen that connection with Te Taiao, to their bush, their trees, their Moana, their whenua. 

Some big ideas and pātai we explore:

• Why is it important to look after our Taiao? 

• What lives in our Taiao, what are their habitats? 

• With colonisation, what impacts have humans had on wildlife in our Taiao and what can we do to help? 

• How did our ancestors live in unison with their Taiao and protect this important part of their ao? 

• What stories do we know about our people and their Taiao?

Out the Gate Programme

Each week Matua Fergus from Sports Tairawhiti takes a group of our students and one staff member ‘out the gate’ on our school Pahikara to explore Te Taiao. The purpose is to deepen our learnings and explorations of Te Taiao and journey out into our taiao to explore and learn about our community through physical activity!