Category: NZ Certificate in Te Reo Māori

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Te Ūranga Waka Senior Lecturer honoured with Te Tohu Reo Māori Award | EIT Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

7 mins ago

EIT Te Ūranga Waka Senior Lecturer Hiria Tumoana (Ngāi Tūhoe) has been awarded the Te Tohu Reo Māori Award.

EIT Te Ūranga Waka Senior Lecturer Hiria Tumoana (Ngāi Tūhoe) has become the first recipient of the prestigious Te Tohu Reo Māori Award.

Presented by Ako Aotearoa, the Te Whatu Kairangi Awards celebrate outstanding educators who make a profound impact on their learners, their whānau, and the wider community.

Hiria, who will receive the award at Parliament next month, is overwhelmed by the honour.

“It’s amazing. They have a lot of people to work through. So, for someone like me, I must be doing something really good. I think I’m just really privileged and lucky to get this,” the 70-year-old said.

Hiria’s journey with te reo Māori began in Ruatoki, where she was raised in a community where Māori language and culture were central to everyday life.

Te reo Māori was her first language, and it has remained the foundation of her life’s work.

“For me, English doesn’t tell me who I am. Only te reo Māori does that,” Hiria reflects. “I will never stop teaching te reo Māori and hope to continue until my time is up.”

Hiria began teaching Te Reo Māori at Victoria University in 1977.

Since then, she has gone on to gain her BA Honours, train and examine translators for Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission), and co-design and teach te reo Māori on Radio Kahungunu and across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Her passion for revitalising the language has driven her more than 40-year career at EIT, first starting in Wairoa, and now at the Hawke’s Bay campus in Taradale.

Hiria is renowned for her engaging teaching style, which blends humour, tradition, and modern techniques to create an inclusive environment for learners of all ages.

She believes that helping students discover their full potential is her greatest achievement.

“I want them all to be successful and I want them to know their full potential. They don’t always know what they know but when they understand, they feel good about who they are and what they can do.”

Pareputiputi Nuku, Pouarataki, Te Uranga Waka, says: “Hiria is an inspiration to all staff of Te Ūranga Waka, the majority of whom she has taught over the years and now they themselves are teachers”.

“Congratulations Hiria as the inaugural winner of this very significant award. E poho kereru ana mātau i a koe!”

Ako Aotearoa Deputy Director Māori, Dr Joe Te Rito says the proverb, ‘Te puna o te kī, te whītiki o te kī’ describes Hiria most aptly.

“She is an authority on the Māori language, as a native speaker and linguist, and she has a special gift for teaching it. Hiria is an icon for her life-time commitment to the revitalisation and teaching of the language dating back to the 1972 te reo Māori Petition.”

Hiria Tumoana will join the 10 other Te Whatu Kairangi awardees at Parliament on November 4 at the official awards ceremony hosted by the Hon Penny Simmonds, Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills.

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EIT journey starts as student and continues through to senior staff role | EIT Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

5 mins ago

Tash Hau was recently appointed as Assistant Head of Te Ūranga Waka.

Tash Hau’s journey at EIT began when she enrolled in the NZ Certificate in Te Reo Māori (Level 2) and 16 years later it is still going strong, with her recent appointment to Assistant Head of Te Ūranga Waka.

Since 2007, Tash (Ngātiwai) has gained much experience in the education sector, having recently returned to EIT after three years as Professional Learning and Development Facilitator with the University of Waikato. There she was responsible for supporting Kāhui Ako clusters, principals and teachers to deliver educational opportunities that accelerate success and support equitable outcomes for Māori students.

Prior to this, Tash worked at EIT as a Programme Coordinator/Tutor for more than 10 years. She is also a graduate of all the qualifications from all levels of the te reo certificate, Bachelor of Arts (Māori) and Bachelor of Arts Māori  (Honours)  as well as the Master of Professional Practice (shared with the School of Education and Social Sciences).

Tash, 44, who grew up in Wairoa, says that her interest in learning te reo was sparked when she was about 12 years old and attended a Kapa Haka wānanga at Rangiahua marae.

“Everyone had an opportunity to share with the group and as one of our elders spoke in te reo Māori, laughter filled the wharenui. I remember vividly wishing I was able to understand and it was at that moment I knew learning my native language was something I needed to do. I realise now, that was my tīpuna (ancestors) guiding me”.

“And although it took probably 25 years from where the journey actually started, during which time I had my children, that I realised what pathway I needed to take”

After finishing school at Wairoa College, Tash spent some time in Gisborne before she travelled to Australia for five years where she has family. Coming from a small town, she felt it was important to see “what else was out there”. It was there that Tash started her family.

Tash moved back to New Zealand with her two eldest children, Alayh and Ibanez which has been a rewarding decision.

“My two youngest daughters Kheyz and Jhrsey have both been part of the Te Ūranga Waka whānau, with Jhrsey accompanying me to classes during the certificate level from eight days old. I was really grateful that within te ao Māori our babies are able to be included and cherished. I believe that as māmā, we shouldn’t have to choose between parenting and education, we are most definitely capable of both”.

She says she felt a number of emotions when she started learning te reo.

“The journey of reclamation was a combination of feeling overwhelmed in the initial stages and a calm sense of being exactly where I needed to be, a healing journey I was unaware I needed.”

“I just fell in love with the place, the people and the kaupapa.”

She is also grateful for the support she had right through the levels of study.

“I have to acknowledge my peers and the tutors across the years who supported me to actually achieve all of this.”

The transition from student to part-time tutor of the certificate programme is something to this day she is grateful for as it presented a pathway to give back to the place that has given her so much.

“I am indebted to the belief that our special kui, Nan Materoa Haenga had in me to pursue this pathway”.

 “When we’re students, sometimes we can lack the belief in ourselves and our own abilities, but what I really appreciated was that as a kaiako, Nanny Materoa could see the potential in us and offered opportunities to nurture that.”

Being a Nan herself now to two beautiful mokopuna, Tash plans to continue sharing those teachings with them.

Since then it has been journey forward for Tash, with her efforts recently being rewarded with her appointment as Poutuara, Assistant Head of Te Ūranga Waka.

“EIT is home for me. I’m really invested in the people and the place. I’d like to thank my colleagues, friends, family and my partner Matenga for their ongoing support. It really does make all the difference.”

Pareputiputi Nuku, Pouarataki, Te Ūranga Waka and Te Whatukura, welcomed Tash back to her “whare”.

“We are so happy that Tash is returning to us not only with the amazing skills she left us with, but also the new knowledge and expertise she has gained over the past three years.”

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Student’s wife enrolled him in EIT Te Pūkenga and now he is graduating with diploma | EIT Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

14 hours ago

CJ Pineaha-Burns (Ngāti Kahungunu) is graduating from EIT | Te Pūkenga with a Diploma in Te Reo Māori.

CJ Pineaha-Burns (Ngāti Kahungunu) delayed completing the final half of his Diploma in Te Reo Māori, so his wife enrolled him – now he is graduating from EIT | Te Pūkenga tomorrow (Friday 18 August).

CJ says he began his te reo journey as far back as 2013, completing the NZ Certificate in Te Reo me Ngā Tikanga [Level 4] and half of the Diploma in Te Reo Māori (Immersion) [Level 5]  before he and his wife moved to Australia. When they returned in 2019, his wife Savannah decided to study for her Bachelor in Māori Studies at EIT | Te Pūkenga.

The 28-year-old says it was important that he continued his studies.

“Te reo Māori was becoming so much more prominent in our house. All of our four kids go to Te Ara Hou, which is a full immersion Māori school. And so they were learning te reo Māori, my wife was in level six of her te reo Māori journey, and I was the only one in the house not on that journey.”

“And so, I got a phone call from EIT saying, ‘It looks like you want to enrol back into the diploma’. I didn’t know anything about it. It was actually my wife and my twin brother that rung them and told them that I wanted to be a part of it. And that’s how I got back in there. So I didn’t want to, I was pushed, and definitely grateful for that now.”

Te ao Māori (the Māori world) was a big reason for moving back home from Australia.

“It was a big part of what was missing when we were in Australia.”

His wife and twin brother Ethan will watch him graduate on Friday, and then next graduation, it will be their turn to walk the stage as they are due to both complete their Bachelor in Māori Studies at EIT | Te Pūkenga.

CJ says Te Ūranga Waka (Māori Studies) at EIT | Te Pūkenga has been so accommodating and supportive to him during his studies.

“Because I’ve got kids, they’ve helped me through that. And I ended up actually quitting my job recently so that I could go back to full-time study, because I did my diploma during night classes once a week. But when you’re learning te reo Māori, and you’re only doing it at night-times, it’s not enough. And because my kids were already in a Māori school, I needed to progress twice as fast, and I needed it daily. So now I’m full-time, and the whole dynamic of it has changed. It feels like I’m immersed in it all day now, which is perfect for my progression.”

“We’re all on the same page, and I can help them on their learning journey, and they can help me. We feed off each other now.”

While he may be graduating on Friday, his studying will still continue as he is enrolled in the Bachelor of Māori Studies.

While he has had other jobs in the past, including as a chef, CJ says he has finally found something he is comfortable in, and enjoying.

“It’s been an awesome journey. When they say ‘find something you enjoy doing’, I’m finally in that space. So I’ve just been offered a job as Kaiawhina (assistant) just going into level two classes and helping the tutors there. And that just helps me with my te reo Māori journey too, because I’m helping teach it.”

He joins his wife, brother and sister Desma Culshaw-Kaisa, who are all tutors at EIT | Te Pūkenga.

Pareputiputi Nuku, Pouarataki, Te Uranga Waka, says: “The Kahungunu whakataukī ‘Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini’ describes how achievements are not due to the efforts of one but of many as in the case of CJ and his talented whānau.”

“It isn’t uncommon to have students from the same whānau studying with us but so many and all at the same time, is quite rare. It is also very powerful. CJ is a great role model for his tamariki and our students.”