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ABOUT US

Ko wai mātou: Who are we?

"Kei hea taku manapou, taku manatawa?"

This whakatauki speaks of the origin of te reo Māori that was brought to Aotearoa in the beak of the kākā bird who then dispersed them throughout the land to grow and to flourish into the treasured reo of our people.

 

We embody this whakatauki in our aim to cherish and nurture our reo and mātauranga Māori so that Aotearoa can flourish.

This is the guiding vision for the creation of Poutawa Reo and what we aspire to achieve.

The name Poutawa derives from these two seeds te manapou and te manatawa

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Aronga: Purpose

"Kei hea taku manapou, taku manatawa?"

This whakataukī speaks of the origin of te reo Māori that was brought to Aotearoa in the beak of the kākā bird who then dispersed them throughout the land to grow and to flourish into the treasured reo of our people.

Te Tūruapō: Vision

"Rukia ai ngā purapura poutawa, kia tupu ake ai"

 

Gather the knowledge of the world beyond abundance.

 

To see mātauranga Māori thrive in its essence, delivery and perpetuity.

Ko Poutawa tēnei: Our People

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GENAE THOMPSON

Ngāpuhi & Ngāti Tūwharetoa

Genae is the Managing Director and Principal Consultant of the company. She is an experienced te reo Māori teacher having led a number of departments around Te Ika-a-Māui.

 

Genae is the lead developer of our resources and teaching and learning programmes.

 

She also works alongside Marae and whānau in the area of marae strategic development and planning. Genae works with a variety of contracts alongside the Ministry of Education as a member of the NCEA Te Reo Māori Subject Expert Group (SEG) that is responsible for creation and development of the new NCEA Change Package as well as being on the NCEA Review Panel.

 

She is a passionate teacher and learner and is currently studying Te Tohu Paerua o te reo Kairangi.

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TAHAU THOMPSON

Ngāti Hauā & Ngāti Pāoa

Tahau is a Lead Consultant and facilitator of Poutawa Reo. He is a highly experienced te reo Māori teacher and kapa haka exponent and composer.

 

Tahau’s area of work focusses on the facilitation of projects that uplift and revitalize the mana of Mātauranga Māori and development.

As well as delivering some of our online classes, Tahau is also the current Head of Māori at St Paul’s Collegiate in Hamilton.

Tahau is a skilled orator and translator and is a graduate of Te Panekiretanga o te reo.

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RANGINUI RIKIRANGI- THOMAS

Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao & Ngāti Ranginui

Ranginui is a passionate advocate for Te Ao Māori who is dedicated to the revitalization of this taonga as he has been immersed in it his whole life. He is fortunate to be a product of the initiatives that were established for the revival of the Māori language, being Kōhanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa Māori, Wharekura and on to Tertiary Education, which then paved his career pathway as an exponent of the Māori language.

 

Ranginui has experience in developing and delivering programmes in a variety of education settings, including, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, in both full-immersion and mainstream. His current role as a Pouwawao Mātauranga at Te Taumata o Ngāti Whakaue involves the delivery of Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori programme.

 

Ranginui enjoys hunting and diving for his community as well as practicing the holistic nature of well-being from a Māori perspective

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KATARAINA BRUCE

Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi & Ngāti Maniapoto

Kataraina is one of our kaiako and resource developers who is essential to our Poutawa team. She is a qualified te reo Māori kaiako and is integral in our daily operations. Working behind the scenes to ensure our daily organizational needs are looked after.

Kataraina is passionate about Te Reo Māori and Educational resources bringing her wealth of teaching knowledge to build new and engaging resources across all levels.

With her background in education and teaching Kataraina is also passionate in the fields of Growth Mindset and ngā mahi Toi Ataata and is a graduate of Te Pīnakitanga ki te reo Kairangi.

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