PRINCIPAL'S TALANOA
Saane Faaofo Oldehaver
Kia ora koutou, talofa lava and warm greetings to our Weymouth Community, Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and our beautiful Tamariki.
TRIP TO SAMOA -I have also been truly blessed and humbled to spend a week in Samoa to learn more about the language, culture and identity of our children. We went with a group of principals and were able to visit 3 very different schools. The village schools were amazing and even though they were limited in what they had, all the children were extremely happy and absolutely loved school. Some of the classes were very large e.g. a Year 1 & 2 class had 61 children and the teacher was a beginning teacher and there was no teacher aide. They still write on blackboards and not many classes had much furniture. The children worked away quite happily on the floor. Computers are non-existent and internet access is limited. The parents play a huge role in the upkeep of the school as there were no caretakers and the children were responsible for cleaning the classes daily. The values of ‘respect’ and ‘reciprocity’ are easily seen wherever we go. We also have a saying ‘o le ala i le pule o le tautua’ - the pathway to leadership is through service. You could feel this in action everywhere we went. It was also wonderful to see my daughter Tayla Faaofo teaching a Year 6 class and loving teaching in Samoa.
The experience has made me reflect on what we do at WPS and how we embrace all cultures at school. I look forward to gathering more of our parents' voices to make sure we are delivering the best curriculum possible for all your children.
We also had the president of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation join us and she has written an article about her journey in her newsletter which goes out to 2500 schools in NZ. Here is a snippet of what she had to say;
The warm and traditional Samoan welcomes we received were just the beginning of an incredible experience. School staff and students enthusiastically shared the essence of their educational journeys. Conversations with village High Chiefs, PTAs, principals, teachers, and visits to classrooms allowed us to witness firsthand the eagerness of the Samoan people and especially their learners to showcase their culture and their learning experiences. What struck me most was the dedication of school staff, who wholeheartedly serve their communities. Their interactions with students were nothing short of inspirational. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Tautai ole Moana for the invitation and affording me this incredible opportunity to further develop my culturally responsive leadership as the President of NZPF. This journey has provided me with a profound understanding of our Pasifika students and enriched my appreciation for their culture, heritage, and customs.
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