Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātoa katoa. Ko Nikki Hartnett-Clarke tōku ingoa. He kaiako te reo Māori ahau. Ko Royal Oak Primary School tāku kura. I am privileged to be able to teach children te reo Māori. Not just the language, but tikanga, whakataukī, and many things te ao Māori. At this time, the Māori language has had a great resurgence, It is a wonderful time for the language, even if it is not supported as well as it could be by the current government. Sadly, this government has chosen to take a lot of funding away from this area in Education. I am just fortunate enough to be working at a kura that recognises its value, and teaches it anyway, regardless of funding.

I hope that when this is read in 2075, that the majority of the motu speak te reo, and that it is a normal part of life. I feel like one of my main goals as a kaiako isn’t just about teaching the language, but creating an environment where it is normalised and used as a part of every day life.

My own journey of learning the reo and my whakapapa is another story altogether! Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātoa katoa xx