I forwarded the request for contact with indigenous schools
from Dirk Vermeulen to several Maori schools in Aotearoa (New
Zealand). Below is a response from one school, if you have
Internet email you can reply directly to Beau at:
As I am in the process of setting up a network for Maori groups
here in Aotearoa, I would be very keen to see Maori
schools here networking with other indigenous groups
overseas. So I would be happy to act as a (local) contact and
facilitator for an international student network. I can be
contacted at:
gford@hindin.co.nz
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Thu 9 Sep 93 19:54
Beau Reweti
11 Stewart St
Raglan
Ph/Fax 07 825 8813
Kativik School Board
Quebec
Canada
We were interested to read of your desire to make contact with
other schools around the world as part of the Year of Indigenous
people. Our school is situated in a seaside town on the western
coast of the North Island of New Zealand and is known as Raglan
Area School or in Maori, Te Kura a Rohe o Whaingaroa. Our school
Board of Trustees recently adopted the Maori name as an official name.
Our pupils range from New Entrants (5 yr olds) up to Form 7 (18
yr olds) with a school roll of about 470 pupils at the moment.
48% of our pupils are Maori, although very few of them are native
speakers of the Maori Language, with in fact English being their
first language. However we do have what we call partial immersion
classes, where they are instructed for between 50-80% of the time
in the Maori Language. So far we have about 50 pupils receiving
their education in this way. We will have in the next 2 yrs
pupils who will come to school with Maori as their first
language.
Our town is noted for surfing in particular, and one of our
pupils(a Maori) came second in the World Under 16 Surf champs
held recently in Bali.
We would love to make contact with you. We have access to email
on Internet and would love to open our pupils up to the Global
world. We look forward to contact with you.
Beau Reweti
breweti@hindin.co.nz
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