Te Ahi Kā - He Timatanga Hou
Friday, 28th April 2023 at 7:50am
New Term, New Beginnings
Green Bay High School's new form class, Te Ahi Kā, is up and running! The class is open to Māori and non-Māori students wanting to grow their knowledge and understanding of te ao Māori.
Te Ahi Kā is a vertical form class, from Years 10-13. As well as providing students with the same support and connection as other form classes, Te Ahi Kā will focus on developing knowledge and understanding of te ao Māori. Members of Te Ahi Kā will be encouraged to join kapa haka and attend whānau hui and other events (eg Matariki).
We are excited for the new opportunities Te Ahi Kā will provide such as:
- Daily practice of tikanga Māori in all form time sessions
- Te ao Māori promoted in all aspects of form time
- Academic coaching of students
- Teachings of waiata, karakia and haka during form time
- Tuakana-teina relationships within the classroom to support academic and social development
He aha tēnei mea Te Ahi Kā?
Ahi kā is a reference to the fire that one must keep burning on their whenua, as a symbol or sign of their occupation of that whenua. Ahi kā is a metaphor too for the home people of the pā, who keep the home fires burning. The word 'kā' means to burn, kāinga which means home, derives from the kupu 'kā' - so another rendering of kāinga means 'where the fire burns' - where the ahi kā burns.
Nō reira, the ahi kā of the pā keep the ahi burning so when you come home, you feel the warmth of the ahi, the warmth of our whare.
Nō reira, ko tātou tēnei e te whānau (this is us), keeping our home fires burning, establishing a whare where we can learn about who we are as a people, ahakoa ko wai tātou, nō hea tātou (no matter who we are, or where we are from), where we acknowledge what our tūpuna did for us and continue their relentless, unwavering commitment to ensuring that our language, our culture and our identity burns fiercely within us and at our pā- Te Ahi Kā.
For more information, please email: Deputy Principal, Drew McWhinnie
