Te reo Maori will be rolling off the tongues of thousands of children this week - and of some police officers too.
Several schools are involved in initiatives during Maori Language Week to upskill students in te reo.
Havelock North Intermediate is embracing the week and has decided to "up the ante" on previous years.
Students are shooting videos of themselves speaking basic te reo along with a number of educational activities with a Maori flavour.
Havelock North Intermediate deputy principal Liz Vanderpump said te reo "is our national language and it's our responsibility to uphold it".
"It is a living part of many of our students' lives."
Ms Vanderpump said the children were "loving" speaking the language.
Irongate principal Fay Wooster said students would be carrying out te reo-themed activities throughout the week.
"Most of our children identify as Maori so it's a very important week for us," Mrs Wooster said.
Among secondary schools, St John's College will be learning Maori proverbs (whaka tauki), ancestral lineage (pepeha) and visiting Hastings' maraes or Nga marae O Heretaunga.
Not to be outdone the Hawke's Bay police are running a daily Facebook initiative to help users brush up on their basic te reo.
The Eastern District manager for Maori responsiveness, Inspector Hirone Waretini, said every day of this working week one of his officers would post a video message with the word of the day.
"It will be a word that we can use or you can use in your every day conversations."
Senior research fellow at Auckland University Joe Te Rito has dedicated his life to the preservation of the Maori language.
Mr Te Rito founded the Ngati Kahungunu radio station in 1988 and said Maori language had become more normalised in today's world.
He said there was still a knowledge gap for the "middle aged" who were not as exposed to the language as the new generation were today.
"The new breed of New Zealanders bodes well for the future of te reo."
He commended Finnian Galbraith, a Year 11 student at Kpiti College, for his recent video emphasising the importance of correct te reo pronunciation.
"It was one of the most impactful statements I've ever heard," Mr Te Rito said. "For a non-Maori to speak so eloquently was very impressive."