Kia ora e te whānau. Ko Sarah Patching toku ingoa. I have been on a jouney to learn Te Reo Māori for the last 4 years. It has been hard and to be honest I am making slower progress than I had hoped - it doesn't come easy to me. But all the same, here I am, doing my best and being part of the movement to revitalise te reo Māori.

I'm proud to have been the lead teacher for celebrating Te Wiki o te reo Māori at my kura for the last 3 years. We have had student korero booths every morning tea time, a drink station (where you can have a drink - if you order in te reo), and kahoots where the students earn tickets towards prizes. We even had competitions for the teachers! We topped it off with a whole school celebration, joining together for waiata.

I am grateful for those that have gone before me, and for the opportunities I have been given to learn te reo because of their perserverance and determination. I hope, 50 years from now, even more people are able to speak fluent te reo māori. I certainly hope that my own mokopuna can feel connected to this beautiful language. Ngā mihi nui to those who have gone before....Kia Kaha to those following.