Te reo posters a hit at school

Tui Rolleston, Tumuaki at Te Kura o Matapihi School, with pupils Aletheia Papuni, Carly Hall, Te Awanui Yeager and Tukere Stanley-Kaweroa.

Innovative posters in te reo Maori are proving a runaway hit with kids and teachers at a Tauranga school.

Tui Rolleston, the principal at Te Kura o Matapihi School says the posters not only taught youngsters good hygiene habits, they were also proving to be a valuable teaching asset in the classroom.

It was a first for the school to get specific posters in te reo highlighting the washing of hands and other good hygiene practices, she added.

The colourful posters, designed and produced in Tauranga by commercial cleaning company CrestClean, have also gained the backing of the Te Akatea New Zealand Maori Principals Association as an important way to "validate" te reo.

It wasn't always easy to get good teaching material specifically in te reo Maori, Tui says.

"It's great to have new resources in Maori. When you're trying to get the kids to continue with te reo sometimes there's not the resources to be able to do it.

"Crest is actually stepping up and having a go and giving us the resources."

Tui said the posters had saved her staff time and valuable resources.

"We haven't had these in the past. They have always been in English and we've had to make them ourselves but we don't always have the time.

"These posters are professionally done and they look really good."

The te reo posters were the brainchild of CrestClean's chairman of directors, Marty Perkinson.

Marty has a long and close association with Te Tira Hou Marae, in Panmure, Auckland, spanning 45 years.

He was asked why Crest's popular school posters were only in English.

"Someone raised the issue of why we didn't have the posters in the Maori language. I took this up as a challenge.

"We then got the posters translated by key people in the Maori Principals' Association."

He is delighted the posters are helping to push home a message encouraging respect.

"Once you get young children educated into being tidy and respecting their surroundings and facilities they become the ones who will carry on these standards to their own children."

He added: "The posters all have messages. It makes people proud of their school."

Hoana Pearson, Te Akatea New Zealand Maori Principals Association president, says the te reo posters were a great idea.

She praised the cleaning firm for its commitment to the Maori language.

"When you produce something of high quality that has te reo on it, it takes on a whole new meaning. It validates the language and says the language is worthy of beauty.

"For years, many of us in Maori education have been hand drawing and photocopying our resources. To see things that are beautiful and produced in colour for our kids and our communities really validates the beauty of te reo and of them."