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Nau Mai, Haere Mai!

Ko te reo whakamiha o te whānau o Te Tuhirau e mihi kau ana.
Tau tuhi mai rā!

about | vision | goals

Te Kaupapa o
Te Tuhirau

Te Tuhirau was developed by Tiare Teinakore and her 9 year-old daughter Te Kahurangi Teinakore-Huaki in 2019.

Te Tuhirau was developed out of the passion and love that a 9-year-old girl has for her reo Maori and mahi tuhituhi. Te Reo Māori is the spoken language of her home, so she approached her Māmā and asked if she knew of any other tamariki who loved writing as much as she did. The pātai was put out to the digital motu. Her Māmā wanted to know if parents, whānau and their tamariki would be interested in a Māori penpal kaupapa, an initiative to encourage tamariki to interact with each other via Māori letter writing. The response was overwhelmingly positive and quickly gained the interest of tamariki and their whānau from all over the motu.

Te Tuhirau stemmed from this idea and was created and developed for our Tamariki of all reo fluencies to re-engage their excitement for reading and writing. Te Tuhirau is based on the “Te Tuhi Māhorahora” free writing programme. This concept allows the tamaiti to write whatever and however, they wish to write. Ko te rere o te reo me ngā whakaaro te aronga matua. Our plan has always been to start our writers off with a free writing programme and then progress with support around more structured writing that can be developed at home, which we started to provide during Covid lockdown.

Fast forward to today, the initiative has continued to grow with writers writing to each other in te Reo Māori from all around Aotearoa and the world.

Watch a video here

Hono mai ki te Whārangi Pukamata

Once you register, our Facebook group is a great place to ask questions and share your journey to encourage others.

Rauemi Tuhituhi

Rauemi tautoko i te tamaiti me te whānau.

Find some helpful tips and resources to help you and your tamariki get letter writing.

Te Toa Tuhirau

He rauemi tuhituhi mā te tamaiti.

We’ve developed some fun Te Tuhirau stationery to support your tamaiti to write.

He hoa Tuhirau mōu?
Rēhita mai!

Anei ngā whakamārama

Te Mahi Tuatahi

Fill out all the information required in this online form. Please note that you need to fill out one form per child if you have multiple children you want to register.

Te Mahi Tuarua

The Tuhirau kaiarataki will collect the information and assign penpals to each other accordingly by using our pairing system. In our pairing system we look at age, gender and reading/writing ability.

Te Mahi Tuatoru

We make contact with the parents/kaitiaki (the person who’s details are in this form) by email. We will add both sets of parents/kaitiaki to the one email E-Introducing you both to each other. It is at this point that we let you know who your tamaiti has been paired with and the information needed for that pair to start writing to each other. From this point onward the parents/kaitiaki are welcome to communicate with each other if needed.

Te Mahi Tuawhā

With your assistance the tamariki start writing to each other and letters are sent to penpals.

Kai parāoa!

Please note: Articles and resources are restricted to Te Tuhirau members only. To access, please signup here — it’s FREE.

Register your interest here

Ngā Kupu Tautoko

“ Ae, they’re loving it and we hope the letters have reached the tamariki but I’m unsure due to levels and lockdown ”

“ Yes, he loves getting letters in the mail. It is fantastic as they share whakapapa. ”

“ Āe rā. It’s so exciting for them to receive a letter in the mail and learn about their hoa at the other end. ”

“ He pai ki a rāua. Kua kitea te whanaketanga o te tuhituhi i roto i a rāua, ā, i mihia a Tuhirau e ō rāua kaiako īnāpō i ngā māwhitiwhiti kōrero (parent/teacher uiui). Ka hari koa rāua i te whiwhi reta, te whakautu me te tuku reta atu ki ō rāua hoa. ”