Hītori
Ka hoki ngā kōrero o te orokohanga mai o Te Wharekura o Kirikiriroa, ki te kōhanga reo o Te Kete Kōputu a Matariki.
I tuwhera ai ōna tatau i te marama o Hune, 1985. E mihi atu ana ki te kaha me te māia o ngā whāea nō tō tātou hapori.
Tō rātou kaha ū ki te awhero nui, kia pūmau ai tētahi huarahi reo mātauranga Māori, tētahi huarahi reo Māori hoki mō ngā tamariki o tō tātou hapori. Nā te kaha ū, i tū ai ko te akomanga reo rua tuatahi ki Fifth Avenue Primary School i te tau 1986.
I te tau 1988, i whakatūria te akomanga rumaki reo tuatahi me te kaiārahi i Te Reo Māori, me Whaea Makere Stevens.
Nō te tau 1988 ki te tau 1992, i tipu kaha ai te hiahia o te hapori ki ngā hua o ngā āhuatanga rumaki reo Māori hei huarahi ako mō ngā tamariki mokopuna. Ka mutu, i te 28 o Oketopa, i puta ai te taunaki a Te Tāhūhū o Te Mātauranga kia mana ai te kura hei Kura Kaupapa Māori - ko Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Ara Rima.
Ko Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Ara Rima te kura kaupapa Māori tuatahi i whakatūria i ngā whaitua o Hamutana nei. 31 tau, ōna piki, ōna heke, āna tamariki huhua me ngā panonitanga nō ngā nekehanga a ngā Kāwanatanga me Te Tāhūhū o Te Mātauranga.
I te tau 2023, i whai mana ai te kura hei wharekura, ka mutu i ea ai te wawata nui o ngā whāea, kia pūmau ai tētahi huarahi reo mātauranga Māori, huarahi reo Māori hoki mō ngā tamariki o tō tātou hapori. I mana ai tēnei whakatutukihanga mā te takoha mai o Ngāti Wairere i tō mātou ingoa, i Te Wharekura o Kirikiriroa.
I tēnei wā, e tū ana tēnei reanga tuarua, hei ako i ngā tamariki mokopuna reanga tuatoru. Ko te whakatairanga, ko te whakawhanake i tēnei kura i waiho mai ki a mātou, hei ōhākī ki te āpōpō me te āke, āketanga o te reo Māori.
The story of Te Wharekura o Kirikiriroa begins with the establishment of Te Kete Kōputu a Matariki kōhanga reo whose doors opened in June of 1985. We must acknowledge the courageous mothers of our community at that time. Their resilience, strength and dedication to the community’s aspiration to have a full kaupapa Māori school dedicated to the revitalisation and retainment of the Māori language for their children. It was due to their courage and commitment that the first bilingual established at Fifth Avenue Primary School in 1986. In 1998, the first full immersion reo Māori class was opened, with Whaea Makere employed as the Kaiārahi i Te Reo Māori.
Between 1988 to 1992, confidence saw the demand for Māori Immersion education as a successful schooling option for others. On the 28th of October, The Ministry of Education officially recognised the aspirational pathway created by the community and gazetted the status of the kura as a 155 Kura Kaupapa Māori under the Education Act. 31 years passed, all the kura weathered all its trials and tribulations, successes and challenges, welcomed and farewelled students, whānau, changes in educational policies by successive Governments and Ministry of Education policies.
In 2023, the kura realised a 40year old aspiration. To have its own full kaupapa Māori school dedicated to the revitalisation and retainment of the Māori language for their children. This was marked with the gifting of the school’s new name – Te Wharekura o Kirikiriroa.
Today, it is the children of those who forged this path who are now leading our kura—educating, nurturing, and loving the third generation—further cultivating this enduring legacy of the Māori language into the future and beyond.