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Te Ao Māori at Turitea School

Kura Pepeha

ur kura pepeha is a way of acknowledging the main landmarks of where we stand in Aotearoa, New Zealand. 

In this, we recognise:

  • The Tararua Ranges as the peak that we look up to in our rohe (region).
  • The Manawatū River which flows through our area.
  • The Kurahaupo canoe that brought the first people here.
  • Rangitāne as the people who were on this land first.
  • Turitea as the name of the nearby stream that connects to the Manawatū River, where our school gets its name.
  • Palmerston North as the name of our city in which we reside.

The final lines send a warm greeting to you all. 

Our pepeha was given to us to teach our tamariki by Nuwyne Te Awe Awe-Mohi (Rangitāne) and designed by Aroha Tamihana from Maimoa Creative.

Our Pare (Lintel)

As you walk into our tari (office) you will be greeted by this beautiful whakairo (carving) above our door. It was done by Craig Kawana (Rangitāne rāua ko Ngāti Apa) in 2004, taking him 120 hours to complete. It was restored to its former glory in 2022 by his son, Mahina Scott-Kawana (Rangitāne rāua ko Ngāti Apa).
Te Marautanga o Turitea (The Curriculum of Turitea)
This carving above articulates our journey and place in the region. We have converted it into a graphic which tells this pūrakau (story) and we have made it into our local curriculum for our tamariki to learn about. You will also see this in our matapihi (window) beneath the carving, and you can click on the image below to see the full-sized story.

Turiteatanga (Our School Way of Life)

Mihi Whakatau (Informal Welcome)

We always welcome new whānau to our school through a traditional Māori process called a mihi whakatau. This starts just after 9am on the first day of each term. All whānau members are more than welcome to attend, even if they aren’t new to our school.

  • We will have the paepae (seats) set up in the quad between the pool and the classrooms for tangata whenua (staff) and the children all sit on the steps. Men in front and Ladies in behind. The paepae for the manuhiri (new whānau) will face them.
  • Our whaikorero (speaker) for the manuhiri will be a parent representative or one of the male members of staff can stand in. They will wait with all of our new whānau at the flagpole and will bring them on to the paepae.
  • Tangata whenua will remain standing as our manuhiri enter and take their seat but remain standing until the whaikorero for the tangata whenua sits and everyone will sit once they sit.
  • The whaikorero will stand up and speak on behalf of our kura in Te Reo Māori and will welcome our new whānau. The tangata whenua will stand as soon as they are finished and sing a waiata tautoko (song to support) what they have said. They will signal for everyone to sit.
  • The whaikorero from the manuhiri will then stand up and return the korero (speech) to the school. The rest of the manuhiri will stand up and tautoko what has been said by singing a waiata, which is usually Te Aroha.
  • The manuhiri will sit down and the whaikorero will place down a koha (gift) and acknowledge that they come in peace, placing it in the middle between the two paepae.
  • The tangata whenua will go and retrieve the koha and will welcome our new whānau to come across to the tangata whenua side of the paepae
  • They will invite the manuhiri to come across to us and seal this with a hongi (pressing of the noses) with adults if they are comfortable and high fives/fist bumps with the tamariki.
  • We then all go and get our brain food snack and return to the quad to share some kai together to help us move from the heightened spiritual state to a state of noa (normality). New whānau come to the staffroom to share kai together. 
Karakia (Incantation)
The purpose of karakia is to set the correct mauri (vibe) for the day. Doing this first thing in the morning brings a sense of noa (peace) and this is called a karakia timatanga. Finishing the day with karakia resets the mauri and ensures everyone gets home safe. This is called a karakia whakamutunga. In the morning, the karakia is always followed by a waiata (song) to give it mana (presence). It is usually done altogether in the quad during our morning hui (meeting). Before our children eat their food they will always do a karakia kai to bless this as well.
Karakia Timatanga (To start the day:

E te whānau,
Whaia te mātauranga
kia mārama,
Kia whai take
ngā mahi katoa,
Tū māia, tū kaha,
Aroha atu, aroha mai,
Tātou i a tātou katoa.

For this group,
Let us seek knowledge
for understanding,
Have purpose
in all that we do,
Let us show respect,
For each other.
Karakia Whakamutunga (To end the day)

Kua mutu a mātou mahi
Mō tēnei wā,
Manaakitia mai
mātou katoa,
O mātou hoa,
O mātou whānau,
Aio ki te aorangi.

Our work has
now finished,
for the moment
Blessings to us all,
Our workmates,
Our families,
Peace to the universe.
Karakia Kai (To bless our food)

Mō ngā hua o te whenua
Mō ngā hua o te tangata 
Nāu i homai e te Atua
Nā Tāne
Nā Rongo
Nā Tangaroa
Ko Ranginui e tū iho nei. 
Ko Papatūānuku e takoto nei. 
Tūturu whakamaua,
Kia tina, Tina!
Haumi e, Hui e, Tāiki e.

For the produce of the land
For the produce of the people
Given to you from the Atua 
From Tāne Mahuta 
From Rongomātāne 
From Tangaroa 
Ranginui stands above. 
Papatūānuku lies below. 
We affirm our intentions!
We gather together
In agreement
Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Teaching)
Our goal is to speak Te Reo Māori for at least 3 hours per week. Whaea Anneliese is running a Level 3 Māori Immersion Class in Tōtara and the ākonga in her classroom will have between 3-5 hours of instruction in Te Reo Māori per week.
Pae Kōrero (Morning Programme)

Every morning, each class starts their day with Pae Kōrero. This is designed to replicate the same tikanga (customs) as what you would experience when entering into a wharenui (meeting house) on a marae. It looks different in each akomanga (classroom), with the process being ‘levelled up’ as tamariki move up through the kura over their time here. A paepae (row of seats) is set up at the front of the classroom with usually 6-8 ākonga (students) sitting on them and the rest of the class sitting and facing them. The basic format of this is as follows:

  • Ākonga opens the above Karakia Timatanga and everyone joins in.
  • They all sing a Waiata Tautoko (Supporting Song).
  • Everyone recites our Kura Pepeha as listed above and then 3 ākonga share their own Pepeha.
  • They all sing a Waiata Tautoko (Supporting Song).
  • Ākonga shares Ngā Pānui o te Rā (Daily Notices) 
  • Ākonga reads the Wātaka (Daily Timetable)
  • Ākonga or Kaiako (Teacher) lead pronunciation of Te Rerenga Kōrero (Phrase of the Day)
  • Ākonga says a Mihi (Thank you) to everyone for their sharing.

Mihi atu ki te kura o Cloverlea mō tō whakaohooho. (Thank you to Cloverlea School for inspiring us to do this)

Hui o te Ata (Morning Assembly)

Every Wednesday morning we start the day together in our Quad and we do a modified version of the aforementioned Pae Kōrero together as a whole kura. The tuakana from Tōtara or Kauri lead us through this. This segways nicely into kapa haka which occurs afterwards.

Kapa Haka (Traditional Māori Song and Dance)
Turitea School has a kapa haka every Wednesday morning run by Whaea Tūrehu Simon-Mokai (Ngā Paerangi, Te Atihaunui a Pāpārangi, Ngāpuhi me Ngāti Tūwharetoa) and Pā Anaru Simon-Mokai (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Pūkeko me Ngai Tūhoe). In these sessions, ākonga learn waiata and haka to perform at various events each term. One of our main performances is our annual Te Pae Tamariki festival at the Regent, which is usually in Mid-Late June.