| 551 Castle Street North – Te Pā Building | |
|---|---|
| Head Teacher | Julie Watkins |
| Phone | +64 3 742 1142 |
| Age range | 0–2 years |
| Hours | Pounamu room | 7:45am–5:30pm |
| Rata room | 8:00–4:00pm | |
Te Maioha
'The Greeting' or 'to greet affectionately' and is derived from traditional times where Māori celebrated the birth of a child into the world. From the first breath at birth the baby was celebrated and the whole tribe would be present to greet him or her into the world.
Nau mai haere mai!
Ngā mihi mahana atu ki a koutou katoa.
Here at Te Maioha, we celebrate every child and whānau that joins our community.
Our vision is to create a learning community where relationships are based on trust, respect and aroha.
We use the image of a koru, this is the Māori name given to the newborn unfurling fern frond and symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace, all of which we value at Te Maioha.
At Te Maioha we take a community/whānau based approach to working with our families and children.
This means that all teachers will be involved in the care routines and the teaching of your child. A whānau based approach ensures that tamariki and their whānau feel a sense of belonging in the environment regardless of whether their kaitiaki is there or not. This approach also supports a te ao Māori perspective.
We recognise that relationships build over time and at the pace of each individual tamariki, so to ensure this process of joining the community happens at the child's pace we begin our settling in process with our kaitiaki.
The role of the kaitiaki is to begin the settling process with your whānau. They will be the person who initially gets to know your child, ensuring that information is shared and understood and that your child has someone they can initially get to know and build a trusting relationship with. As your whānau begins to develop a sense of belonging at Te Maioha, your kaitiaki will support your whānau and child to build trusting relationships with other kaiako, giving you the confidence to participate and feel comfortable and supported by the community that is Te Maioha.
We believe
- It is essential to provide an environment which allows children to discover as much as possible on their own
- That children should have the freedom to make choices and to experience the world on their own terms
- In celebrating what children can do rather than what they cannot do yet.
Te Maioha philosophy
Ko te uho te wairua o te tamaiti. At the heart of the matter is the child.
At Te Maioha tamariki will learn
- To be independent and autonomous so that they are empowered to learn and build the confidence to take risks and persist with challenge
- To build collaborative, caring and respectful relationships with adults and their peers so that they can negotiate, empathise, communicate and listen to others
- To be valued for the individual people they are, and to learn how they can contribute to and participate in their communities and the global world through developing understanding and respect for their own and others cultures
- Knowledge and skills that acknowledge them as 21st century learners, such as creative thinking, questioning, researching and risk taking, while also building curriculum knowledge which will encourage their ongoing working theories and inquiries
- To build on and consolidate their dispositions for learning so that they develop a love of learning and view themselves as lifelong learners
- To be playful and have fun so that learning is an enjoyable experience.
Kai
Our cook prepares nutritious kai for the children. Tamariki sit in small groups with an adult at the table, or teachers will hold children who are not yet sitting independently.
The monthly menu is displayed on the kitchen wall. If your child has any special dietary requirements, please discuss this with kaiako.