Talofa Lava Fānau!
Today is the beginning of
Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa
Samoan Language Week
"Alofa atu nei, Alofa mai taeao”
“Kindness Given, Kindness Gained”
At SRS, we have 60 nations represented among our students and
15 nations represented among our staff of 40 people.
As we go about our daily lives, being good
"Friends, Learners, Guardians"
"Friends, Learners, Guardians"
we are always mindful of recognising each other for who we are and what we bring with us as part of our cultural 'kete' - our baskets of knowledge awareness.
During the past holidays, I spent time in Samoa as part of a group of adults who had all trained to be teachers 40 years ago and were in Samoa as part of their celebration reunion.
My husband and I played tour guides to the group and showed them Samoa through the eyes of Samoans.
Celebrating our students' cultures is a part of our school's cultural responsive pedagogy - we try hard to ensure that the languages and cultures of our students are honoured and integrated into our programmes - and that our children can be confident that their language, culture and identity are valued and easily able to be used and shared.
We have a small population of Samoans at SRS but a wealth of enthusiasm and interest for learning about Samoan traditional practices, so for this week, we are celebrating through our theme...
Kindness Given; Kindness Gained
Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa - Samoan Language Week
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| Animals walk freely around the villages |
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| One of the many misty waterfalls on a rainy day |
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| Return To Paradise verandah and ocean |
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| Buying pawpaw for breakfast from a road-side stall |
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| The view from our dwellings for the week |
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| Lesson in weaving a basket to carry coconuts in |
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| Lesson in Waka Ama - team paddling first thing in the morning |
