Blog
Our ocean, our planet
In the media"Our project is about sustaining water: sustaining our ocean, as well as our planet" - Harneet Singh, Otahuhu College. Cohort 2018 Programme Participant Sarah Wilson ran an investigation with her students into the local natural environment, comparing pollution levels in Otahuhu and the Waitakere Ranges.
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Want to change the world? Try teaching.
News itemsAs we address the shortcomings of our education system, Teach First NZ: Ako Mātātupu Chief Executive Jay Allnutt reminds us not to forget the important role that teachers play in transforming our society. "Teachers can lead the way in transforming our society into a fairer and more equitable one." *This article originally appeared on https://educationcentral.co.nz/.
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Six Impactful Questions with Dr Jim Mather
In the media"Always put people first." An interview with Professional Director, CEO and Māori Development Specialist (and our new Board Chair!), Dr. Jim Mather.
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Social justice in the time of COVID-19
VoicesAt Ako Mātātupu, like the rest of the country, we have been figuring out how best to navigate the current crisis caused by the global COVID-19 Pandemic. CEO Jay Allnutt discusses the implications for the organisation, and the communities we look to serve.
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Introducing our new Board Chair, Dr. Jim Mather!
VoicesJim reflects on his own education in South Auckland, his motivations for joining the Ako Mātātupu waka and takes a moment to acknowledge and thank both past and present members of the Ako Mātātupu Board. Welcome to the whānau, Matua Jim!
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Meet Tracie!
VoicesKairapu storyteller and te reo kaiako Tracie Pile joined the Ako Mātātupu movement as a part of the 2015 Cohort, teaching Te Reo Māori at James Cook High School for four years. She is now teaching English at her son's Kura in Otaki.
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Takaia ki te reo: Wrapped in the language
VoicesThirteen year old Takaimaania Ngata-Henare is a national table tennis champion, who has travelled around the world playing competitively. To fundraise for this, Takaimaania is giving the gift of te reo Māori by founding Mau Designz. Repping the marae is just like repping the country. 🏓
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“If you’re too big to serve, you’re too small to lead!”
Voices“If you’re too big to serve, you’re too small to lead!” Introducing the newest member of the recruitment whānau, Agnes Pele.
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From Otara to NASA!
In the media🚀 TO INFINITY AND BEYOND! 🚀Our young change-makers - Heta Fa'asisila, Navneet La'akulu, Rykien Rowe and Sivihiva Kivalu - from our Otara partner school, Tangaroa College, will be at the NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Camp in July 2020!✨
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Kairapu Spotlight: Odd Daphne Season 2
News items"As Pasifika people we're storytellers, and so the way we connect to our own is through stories. The hope behind this production is that more Pasifika families really start to talk about mental wellness in their homes [...] so that we can hopefully help those going through similar experiences." - Joshua Iosefo.
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Breaking in the right way
VoicesFelicity Powell is in her first year of the Teach First NZ Programme. Her day job is a Computer Science teacher, and she’s also a Google Innovator, IP Law specialist, certified yoga teacher, wine educator, Shaolin Kung Fu kid, founder of a publishing company, an ex-Glacier Guide and penguin enthusiast. This wahine toa shares her journey with Ako Mātātupu; how falling apart allows the right pieces to fall together with purpose, and what educational neuroscience has to do with it.
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Building partnerships to disrupt inequities in NZ education
Partner stories
“Ehara taku toa I te toa takitahi. Engari, te toa takitini.” My strength is not the strength of one; it is the strength of many.
Forming partnerships to have wider impact and create sustainable change is an important part of Ako Mātātupu's strategy. In this edition of NEXT Outlook, our CEO Jay Allnutt explains how those partnerships work, why they are needed and what role philanthropy plays.
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Woolf Fisher Kairapu: Taylor Hughson
In the mediaA huge congratulations to Kairapu (alumnus of Cohort 2016), Taylor Hughson, who has received a Woolf Fisher scholarship to continue his research in education. Described by one of his referees as “someone who has shown immense commitment to serving his community”, Taylor will head to the University of Cambridge to complete his PhD in Education, investigating the current state of teacher policy in New Zealand.
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Te Taitokerau people walking the talk to keep reo Māori alive
News itemsKia Kaha Te Reo Māori! Our Ako Mātātupu whānau are up to incredible things! Check out this incredible hīkoi to commence te wiki o te reo Māori: to celebrate, to raise awareness, and to normalise Te Reo Māori outside of the classroom or Marae. Over 2000 people stepped out, literally, in hīkoi whakanui to celebrate our nation’s language, te reo o tō tātou whenua, and our shared Aotearoatanga.
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Young Brown Scholars
VoicesDr Michelle Johansson presents ten pieces of advice for young brown scholars, as well as ten pieces of advice for the teachers of young brown scholars. With a focus on performing arts, Michelle highlights the tendency for the success of Pasifika peoples in this area to be devalued, where practices stemming from deep and intrinsic cultural literacies may be mislabeled as "natural" abilities.
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Alumni Destinations: “How I became a Policy Analyst.”
VoicesRuby Hale, alumna from our inaugural 2013 Cohort, is currently working as a Policy Analyst at the Ministry of Education. Here, she shares a few words about her journey, her motivations, and some advice to live by.
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Wāhine Toa: We Are Warriors
VoicesWāhine Toa: We Are Warriors was an evening full of mana! We laughed together, cried together and were witnesses to the moving stories of our wāhine toa who shared their brave experiences being educators and facilitators of learning.
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Opinion: Jay Allnutt – It’s not the route you take; it’s the difference you make
In the mediaTeach First NZ chief executive Jay Allnutt argues that it is not the route you take to qualify as a teacher that matters, but about the difference you make for children.
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