Waitangi Day

As another school year starts, we also head closer towards Waitangi Day, on the 6th of February.  I decided this year to have NZ's special day as the focus for my reading during week 2 of term 1.  I have always meant to spend more time as a class studying this special day as I think it is really important for our students to understand how our nation was formed and the promises each cultural group made to each other.  So this year this focus was the first thing I planned out so I didn't run out of time to study it in more depth.  Looking at the treaty of our nation is quite timely as we will be looking at creating our own class treaty at that stage of the term.

Our study will look over:

• what was written in the treaty
• who the important people involved were
• timeline - how long it actually took
• important buildings at the Waitangi grounds
• flags of the time
• why confusion arose over the treat which led to conflict within our nations past and more recently
• their opinion - is it important to celebrate?, is it fair?, should we keep paying out for something that happened years ago?, how should the treaty be remembered?

Links to the Practicing Teachers Criteria:

3. Demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa NZ

9. Respond effectively to the diverse language and cultural experiences, and the varied strengths, interests and needs of individuals and groups of akonga

10. Work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa NZ

I believe that I have achieve this part of the criteria as these learning experiences help children to grow a respect for our NZ heritage and the cultures of both partners to the Treaty of Waitangi.  It will also allow children of Maori and European descent the chance to hear how their ancestors shaped how our country runs today.