In celebration of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori 2016, Education Minister Hekia Parata has announced the release of three new resources to support te reo Māori in classrooms.
Resources include a trilingual digital book for deaf Māori students created by Kiwa Digital. It's also accessible to all deaf students.
Parata says, “The Story of Rūaumoko is the first-ever digital book for deaf Māori students. It tells the story of Rūaumoko, the god of earthquakes and volcanoes, narrated by students from Kelston Deaf Education Centre in te reo Māori, New Zealand Sign Language and English.”
Several other resources have also been launched, such as Paekupu, a website produced by He Kupenga Hao i te Reo that will hold all Māori-medium dictionaries.
Also created is a resource called Hou Mai, a video series featuring whānau talking about their journey learning te reo Māori and committing to their children participating in Māori-medium education. Hou Mai was created by Blue Bach Productions.
“These new resources will support and encourage more students, teachers and parents to ‘Give te reo Māori a go’, which is the theme of this year’s Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.
Māori language and culture are becoming more and more visible in classrooms and homes across the country. Between 2010 and 2015, the number of children and young people learning te reo at school grew from around 133,000 to almost 155,000.
I encourage all Kiwis to take part in Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori and use the language every day in their homes, schools, workplaces and communities," Parata adds.