LEITH COMER
Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru (NPeW) Education Trust works with Rotorua schools, local iwi/hapū and community groups to maximise learning potential for all Rotorua learners using technology. This website is a koha (gift) from NPeW to the Rotorua education sector. This is NPeW’s response to the need to ensure that all learners have access to cultural contexts that engage them in learning.
It contains a collection of stories about people, places and events that are applicable to Rotorua and to the people of Te Arawa. This approach has been endorsed by local schools. I am delighted that there is a call from teachers and principals from within the Rotorua education sector to have access to these stories.
nā Leith Comer QSO
Executive Director, Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru Education Trust
THE KAUPAPA
Te Arawa Digital Storehouse - He Pātaka Pūrakau brings some of the well-known and lesser-known Te Arawa specific stories to learners. Our work in schools/kura has helped us identify the need for appropriate resources providing cultural context and local relevance.
Te Arawa Digital Storehouse is an open access website which houses and makes accessibleTe Arawa stories NPeW has collected. Topics will range from the time of the arrival of the Arawa waka through to profiles of influential Te Arawa figures of yesteryear and today.
The aim of this kaupapa is to build an inspiring space that stimulates learners to discover more about the world of Te Arawa and encourages them to consider their place in that world.
incorporating a uniquely Maori world view
Research by Te Arawa academic Dr Angus Macfarlane has shown that there are eight identifiable key qualities which highly influence the success of Te Arawa learners: diligence, humility, identity, values, innovation, wellbeing, relationships and scholarship.
Te Arawa Digital Storehouse utilises these qualities in its cataloguing of available stories, thereby creating a system that is easily accessible to young learners and easy for their teachers to incorporate into teaching.
This resource is intended, not only to introduce learners to Te Arawa stories, but also to encourage user education skills, support enquiry learning and inspire the exploration of existing resources.
STORY Layout
Each story contains approximately 300 words of content and relevant links to external material. It also has least one associated image/illustration, whether it be simple bespoke illustration created by NPeW or historic images (where available and appropriate). The stories are written specifically for late primary school, intermediate and early high school learners. The site contains a regionally specific, common word glossary and other useful resources.
The longer-term view is to have schools and individual tamariki contribute their own stories, illustrations and video files, making it a true `digital storehouse’ which grows in richness over time.
Currently, the majority of stories are written in English, and some available in Te Reo Māori. A goal is to translate a number of the existing stories in to Māori and expand the Māori language resources, over time.
sustainability & partnerships
NPeW funded the initial setup and will look to partner with other organisations and stakeholders to ensure Te Arawa Digital Storehouse grows.
Te Arawa Digital Storehouse is a back-bone resource for Rotorua schools/kura and community. It invites all learners to create their own Te Arawa stories and experiences and offer these to Te Arawa Digital Storehouse.
Tell us about a pūrākau/story that you would like to read about:
To learn more about Ngā Pūmanawa e Waru Education Trust visit: