Southern View: March 30, 2023

8
Thursday March 30 2023
Te Aratai College:
Who We Are and How We Get There
At Te Aratai College we have four uara-values that we use to inform what is important in the
teaching and learning that occurs in our space.
The uara-values that we hold dear and
celebrate are: Manaakitanga, Whanaungatanga,
Rangatiratanga and Tūrangawaewae. They
embody our way of being so we encourage
and practise our uara in everything we do, from
our school philosophy through to our teaching
spaces, curriculum and relationships.
We start with Tūrangawaewae as the basis
of our learning. When a student feels a sense
of belonging they can then begin to build
on the other uara. In our tohu-logo we see
Tūrangawaewae in the base, the waka we share
and navigate together.
There have been a number of ākonga-learners
recently demonstrating Tūrangawaewae for
our kura. One group is our Pacific students
representing Te Aratai College at Canterbury
Polyfest. We were so proud to see this group
of performers in a vibrant celebration of Pacific
culture, language and identity through song and
dance.
Manaakitanga and Whanaungatanga are
symbolised in our logo as the awa-rivers,
representing the Ōtākaro and Ōpāwaho rivers,
either side of the central maunga-mountain.
Manaakitanga is the process of showing respect,
generosity and care for others. Whanaungatanga
is a relationship through shared experiences
providing people with a sense of belonging.
These uara are the life force that brings our
students together. When a learner feels
connected to their kura they can create
relationships for learning and life-long friendships.
They also learn how to care for themselves,
each other and their environment. Ākonga who
epitomise these uara are at the heart of what
makes a community.
Recently, Te Aratai learner
Dormay Lasafio represented
Canterbury in the Rugby League
Nines Tournament and received
the MVP, as well as representing
Canterbury in the UC Rugby Cup
last year. Dormay, and her sister
Alexsandra, have also received
Toloa Scholarships. These
scholarships are awarded to Pacific
students excelling in STEAM
(Science, Technology, Engineering,
Arts and Maths) subjects.
These successes showcase
Dormay’s connection to
her community, her teamwork, and her
ambassadorship.
In a similar vein, Ashlin Chandra is a
recent graduate of Te Aratai College who
has featured in local and national media
for her philanthropy. Ashlin was part of
the Generation Give programme that
helps young leaders give back to their
communities, while being a role model for
other youngsters. Her dedication to helping
young people with their mental health,
education, and escaping poverty, helped
raise $20,000 for Generation Give. Her dedication
and passion for helping others was recently
recognised nationally, with her being awarded a
scholarship by the Milford Foundation to help with
her tertiary studies.
Rangatiratanga is our final uara-value.
Rangatiratanga is associated with sovereignty
but extends itself to leadership, autonomy, and
self-determination. In our tohu-logo we recognize
the central maunga-mountain as Pae Maunga
- Kā Tiritiri o Te Moana, the Southern Alps. The
line in the middle represents the pathway
our students take on their journey; their selfactualisation,
the lofty mountain to which
they strive and aspire to.
Te Aratai College nurtures future leaders and
encourages ākonga-learners to demonstrate
Rangatiratanga in everything they do.
Over the last couple of years learners
in our senior Social Science Business
courses have secured spots on conference
trips to learn about entrepreneurship in
China, Latin America, and an immersive
two-day “Entrepreneurs in
Action’’ course in Wellington.
Te Aratai has also had many
successful teams from our Year
13 business classes competing
in the Young Enterprise Scheme
(YES), a competition where
students learn key business skills
and compete against schools
nationally by setting up their own
businesses. Recently, teams
have been featured extensively
in local media and received a
lot of positive feedback from the
community, including local MPs,
news media, and even taking the
title of winners of the 2019 Canterbury Young
Enterprise product launch. This course has
become a hotbed of creativity and leadership in
Te Aratai College.
We have also been honoured with further
examples of Rangatiratanga with our graduating
students receiving an impressive number of
tertiary scholarships. Last year we had leaving
Yr 13s who received over $500,000 (yes, over
half a million dollars!) in university scholarships.
These deserving students demonstrated a wide
range of value requirements across several
universities: academic achievement, resilience,
leadership, excellence, cultural contributions,
social engagement, overcoming adversity, and
many other indicators. These scholarships
provided an amazing boost for these young
people jump-starting their tertiary journey, with
the fees, cash, catered accommodation, summer
school programmes and mentoring support they
provided.
We are delighted that our uara-values contribute
to our learners’ positive pathways.
Ad: 85 Aldwins Road, Phillipstown | Ph: 03 9820100 | Em: office@tearatai.school.nz | Wb: tearatai.school.nz