Palmerston North Intermediate
Region: Taranaki/Whanganui/Manawatu
Art form: Ngā Toi Māori
Project name: He rourou no te Tangata - Basket gifted by Rangitāne
Creative name:
Project information: He rourou no te Tangata means “a basket gifted by Rangitāne” and embraces the passing of knowledge, skills, te reo me tikanga Māori to the students, staff, and community or our kura. As part of the recent SIP (School Investment Package) MOE funding, our school will develop a comprehensive master outdoor plan with the aim to better engage the community in school life. This school has 731 students on its roll, compromising 47 different ethnic groups speaking 21 different languages. Approximately 170 students don't speak English at home. We are a large, vibrant, multicultural urban school, and we want to better reflect cultural diversity in our physical outdoor environment.
Since 2018 we have been on a focused cultural journey with a planned approach to pedagogical, systematic, localised curriculum, and organisational change, which aims to value all students, their whānau, and the community. It can be difficult, at times, to engage whānau and community in their child’s learning and school life. With this in mind, the BOT and Property team partnered with the Whānau Support group, Pacific community, and student leaders to co-design an outdoor plan with local architects. A whare hau (open ended whare), fale, and outdoor performing arts stage are stand-out features of this concept. Our new outdoor area will provide a large space where cultures meet, share, perform and embrace each other through the arts. In conjunction with local iwi, Rangitāne, who hold mana whenua in this rohe, whakairo kaumatua have agreed to work with the school in both construction, artistic direction, and involvement of the whare hau. The art component of the project is the creation of carving and kōwhaiwhai that will adorn the house. Our creative is a master carver from Rangitāne, and he will work with us to achieve our vision. The link to the Arts, Maths (geometry in particular), and our school values will underpin learning that is linked to our curriculum.
Project starting: February 2022
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