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Students at Te Ara Poutama in Pukekohe and Manurewa have been selling t-shirts in a bid to preserve pacific languages and culture.
The students have been busy making t-shirts using a printer at their Manurewa site. Their t-shirts are sold during 12 Pacific Island language weeks in total, including Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Cook Islands and more.
Efforts were in full swing recently during Samoan Language Week (May 31–June 6), but they will deliver ongoing benefits, Te Ara Poutama tutor and community liaison Dornae Ray expects.
“It’s an opportunity for our students to learn about the language and culture. It’s been important because Auckland is a very diverse city, so it’s vital that we celebrate every culture in it,” she says.
“Many people are losing touch with their culture. Families from the islands often believe that having come to an English-speaking country, the next generation should adapt. However, our students seek a connection to their heritage, so we help them celebrate their cultures and languages.”
Specific t-shirts are sold during each language week, but they are also produced on request afterwards. Profits made go towards school supplies and equipment, such as Chromebooks, and end-of-year celebrations.
“It’s important to have these language weeks – the Ministry of Education has made it a priority. It becomes easier to converse when you understand a bit more about other cultures and languages.”
Te Ara Poutama opened 25 years ago in Manurewa before expanding to Pukekohe. Beginning as a school for young people with behavioural problems, it now enrolls pupils with various conditions and issues that may make it difficult for them to cope in larger high schools.
Classes are smaller than average, with 30 in Manurewa and 30 in Pukekohe.
“The government calls it an ‘alternative education’ because it’s not a traditional school,” Ray says. “We’re not bound by the rules most schools have. For example, kids don’t have to work at the same level; everyone learns at their own pace.”
