Thursday, September 17, 2009

Hot Topics on NLNZ website

Check out the hot topics on the National Library website - here is the link to the Matariki resources listed there...
http://www.natlib.govt.nz/services/get-advice/school-libraries/hot-topics/matariki

There is also a Hot topic on Pre-European Maori with "information about Māori culture, technology (including travel) and settlement before the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand."

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Maori language week 2009

This post about Maori Language week is from Bridget Schaumann at Kings College.

The Māori Language Week theme for 2009 was "Te Reo i te Hapori - Māori Language in the Community." Check out this website http://www.korero.maori.nz/forlearners which has lots of useful information for New Zealand students whether they are studying Maori or just interested in gaining some more skills.
Other useful websites are:
Maorilanguage.net
Maori.Org
Te Wiki o te Reo (Maori Language Blog for kids)


Insects and spiders website

This is a good website on insects and spiders, good junior level, in English or te reo Maori.

http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/education/insects_spiders/

100 Maori words every NZer should know !

For Maori language week NZ History online put together this resource - a good starting point for non-speakers of te reo Maori...
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/maori-language-week/100-maori-words

Digital NZ / A-tihi o Aotearoa

DigitalNZ is an initiative that aims to make New Zealand digital content easy to find, share and use. This includes content from government departments, publicly funded organisations, the private sector, and community groups. Go to www.digitalnz.org

DigitalNZ is a collaborative initiative led by the National Library of New Zealand. We work with a wide range of contributing institutions and organisations. Without these content providers and their content, DigitalNZ would not be possible.
We test and develop approaches that increase the amount of New Zealand content flowing through the Digital Content Life Cycle. New Zealand is a small place with big ideas, and we need to create and digitise more New Zealand content so we can stay digitally connected to our own stories, creations, knowledge and culture.

Te Puna web directory

The aim of Te Puna Web Directory is to provide a subject gateway to selected New Zealand and Pacific Island Internet information resources that help libraries, their users, and all New Zealanders meet their professional, educational, cultural and personal information needs.
http://webdirectory.natlib.govt.nz/

If you click on Ko te Rārangi Kaupapa Māori or Māori subject list
it will take you to a list of headings eg Maori Arts and literature, Maori health and medicine, Maori history and whakapapa etc and then to websites which have been catalogued under those headings...

Living Heritage / Tikanga Tuku Iho

Have a look at Living Heritage http://www.livingheritage.org.nz/

Everyone has their own heritage story to tell about the place where they grew up. Living Heritage, a free online bilingual initiative, captures special stories through the voices of New Zealand students to ensure these unique insights into our culture and heritage are not lost.

Living Heritage is hosted by the National Library of New Zealand. More than 70 stories from 50 schools are currently available on a heritage taonga in their community - this page gives some examples of the sort of aspect which students might research locally - http://www.livingheritage.org.nz/Participate/Story-ideas

Give it a go and publish your special story on Living Heritage! The team at CWA New Media will provide your school with technical support, story ideas and curriculum advice.

Some of my favourite stories are :

Te Hononga O Ngā Wai Westmere School - Primary – Published 08/12/2008
The students in the teina class of a Māori Bilingual Whānau - Ngā Uri O Ngā Iwi and in their classroom called Te Hononga O Ngā Wai, The Meeting of the Waters wanted to find out what the name of their class meant. They decided to research their local waterways in memory of their first kuia, Whaea Dianne, who also composed waiata for them so they would remember the Māori place names and tupuna of their local area. Read this story

Mangroves: asset or pest?
Hauraki School - Primary – Published 25/07/2008
A school science project gave four students from Hauraki Primary School a chance to explore their local mangrove forest. They studied the plants, trying to decide if mangroves are good for the environment or whether they are a pest. They also investigated local opinion through questionnaires and interviews. Explore their website to find out more. Read this story

Stellin Memorial Park Northland School - Primary – Published 22/08/2008
Stellin Memorial Park is situated near Northland School in Wellington. A group of year 7 and 8 students researched the story behind the naming of the park. Browse their website to find out the history of James Kingston Stellin, a young New Zealand fighter pilot who was killed in France during the Second World War. Read this story

Opiki Toll Bridge St Peters College - Secondary – Published 03/09/2003
A St Peter's College student in Palmerston North has created a website that contains a brief history of the Opiki suspension bridge, from the draining of the Makurerua Swamp, through the swamp's flax industry, the construction of the bridge, its conversion to a toll bridge, to the closing of the old toll bridge, and the opening of the new bridge at Opiki. Read this story

Donald Maclean papers at NLNZ

Sir Donald Maclean was the first Minister of Native Affairs. Since the launch of the MacLean papers website National Library customers can search the 14,500 English-language letters McLean received from many hundreds of correspondents, both public and private.
What is not so well known is, there are also another 3000 letters in the Māori language written by various rangatira. This is the largest surviving series of nineteenth-century Māori language letters. The letters have research value for studying Māori attitudes to land, inter-hapu politics, the social history of Māori communities, the wider history of interaction between Māori and Pakeha, and for the study of how te reo Māori developed as a written language.

Go to http://www.natlib.govt.nz/collections/digital-collections/mp

Ali Brown and flax weaving

Here is a useful website developed by Ali Brown on flax weaving - http://www.alibrown.co.nz/

She has produced a book too, Weaving flowers from New Zealand flax
http://www.alibrown.co.nz/blog/weaving-flowers-from-new-zealand-flax
"It contains detailed instructions for weaving fifteen different flower and foliage designs plus different variations of several of the designs. Many of the flower designs can be woven from a single flax leaf, and are very quick to weave once you’ve had a bit of practice."


How to purchase : http://www.alibrown.co.nz/book-on-weaving-flax-flowers.html#buy A good resource for the library / to have in a school, even though it is spiral bound. It is $31 if paid by direct credit, including postage within NZ.

Maori clip art

Exploring for possible clip art to make this blog more beautiful, I came across this website http://whakaahua.maori.org.nz/ which is part of the maori.org.nz Whanau of sites.
It says "all images here are available for download"

Nau Mai, haere mai to this blog...

Kia ora - welcome to this blog !
I've set this blog up to provide links to resources promoted at the National Library workshop held at Northland College in October 2009.
Here is my email if you have any questions jeannie.skinner@natlib.govt.nz
or my phone number is 09 407 6718.