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Kids Gallery

PAGE STILL UNDER DEVELOPMENT

ENROLMENT

We welcome new students to our school, and we hope they will enjoy mixing with other students in our school. We also welcome students from other social or ethnic backgrounds to join us. Enrolment is open all year round and parents are encouraged to contact the school if they have questions about the enrolment process.

Parents or carers will be asked to complete an enrolment form when the child attends school for the first time. A Pre-Enroll registration is also available online for parents or carers who wish to make inquiry about the school.

When parents or carers first come to school, you will be asked to complete and sign the official enrolment form for your child. You will be specifically asked to bring information about your child, including the following:

The Child's current Day School

The Child's DOB

The Child's Medicare Card No

And his or her correct address

If child is living with either parent under a shared arrangement, state only the address where child spends more time at. Be sure to sign the relevant sections of the form as the information you provide will be used by the DEC for statistical purposes.

MAORI

LANGUAGE

Since 1950, the number of unique languages spoken throughout the world has steadily declined. Today, there are more than 7,000 languages across our planet, but about 2,900 or 41% are endangered. At current rates, about 90% of all languages will become extinct in the next 100 years (13 Jan 2020) The Language Conservancy

Today, the number of native Cook Islanders able to speak Maori 'fluently' have dropped significantly at least for the last 30 to 40 years. This is due, in part, to the arrival of the white English-speaking missionaries between 1821 - 1890 followed by the colonial takeover of the country by New Zealand, from 1891 to 1965.

Maori or Reo Maori is the true cultural and traditional language of the Cook Islands. However today the language is frequently referred to as "Cook Islands Maori", which is fundamentally incorrect.

The arrival of the English-speaking Europeans (traders, Missionaries) to the Cook Islands played a major role in the gradual denigration of Maori amongst the local populace. In the 50s to late 70s, the NZ imposed curriculum, for example, in cooperation with the local education authority, made it a requirement that all students must speak English while in school. Any student caught speaking Maori or another of the local dialect, faces punishment, that usually require the student to remain after school to do instructed chores.

The vast majority of young people in the homeland uses the English language more often so that local authorities are also beginning to worry. Previous efforts to encourage the population to speak more Maori have failed to succeed due to the high representation of adults who themselves are unable to speak Maori fluently. Other factors for this dilemma include the heavy use of English by local politicians as well as public servants. The transition of Cook Islanders returning home from NZ and Australia, arrive home with their brand of English-speaking skills.

In Australia, the struggle for many parents of Cook Islander background, is the difficulty to impart the Maori language to their children or grandchildren. These are mostly parents who were born in Australia or NZ, or overseas (but grew up in Australia) and had spoken English most of their lives. Here in our small school, we are making some effort to keep the Maori language alive, by teaching the basic fundamentals of the Maori.

We also understand the thinking behind the language and why it is difficult for many parents to reconcile. Here in our school, our teachers will welcome you with open arms. Our interest is to teach the Maori language to any students who enroll.

KIA ORANA (WELCOME)

The Cook Islands Māori Language School (CIMLS) is a language teaching facility based in Campsie, NSW. The facility teaches Māori of the Cook Islands, to students from age 5 to age 15.

Students are taught the fundamentals of Māori by developing students' knowledge on how to correctly pronounce basic Māori words or phrases. Māori or Reo Māori is the cultural and traditional language of the Cook Islands. In modern times, it is often referred to as "Cook Island Māori", which is incorrect.

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