Holistic approach at Waikirikiri offers a blueprint for schools

by Jessica Tyson, Te Ao Māori News 

A holistic, trauma-informed approach to teaching at Te Kura Reo Rua o Waikirikiri in Gisborne is changing the lives of tamariki and setting a blueprint for other schools around the motu to follow. 

Principal Yolanda Julies leads a wellbeing team of staff providing wraparound support for whānau and tamariki. 

It started before Covid-19 arrived when staff saw an increase in issues among tamariki, including self-harm and depression. 

“A lot of our kids were withdrawn and they weren’t flourishing as they were supposed to,” Julies says.

“They displayed a lot of anxiety, lots of anger, lots of fear, depression. A lot of our kids were vaping and self-harming. 

“A lot of our whānau go through stress ... poverty is one of the stress factors. Then, of course, there are other challenges in their homes.

"I believe intergenerational trauma contributed to some of the stresses that are happening within the home life.” 

The holistic approach is in its third year and results speak for themselves. 

“I used to have three draws of vapes that I’d collected,” Julies says.  

“I’ve got no vapes now. Our kids aren’t vaping. No incidents of vaping, no incidents of self-harm."

The wellbeing model follows two concepts — Rose Pere’s Māori health model Te Wheke in line with Sir Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Whā. 

“We have different components that contribute to the wholeness of our wellbeing model,” Julies says.  

“When I look at social and emotional learning, we teach our kids that they are kaitiaki of their bodies, their minds, and kaitiaki of their waha, te whare waha — the words that we speak, the words that come out of our mind. 

“Te whare hinengaro — thinking about our thoughts, what we think and how we think — and everything that we do at kura aligns with Te Whare Tapa Wha model.” 

The wellbeing team runs practical activities to help develop children’s emotional intelligence. 

Mauritau (relaxation) is one of those and part of the daily life of tamariki at the kura, kaiako Megan Windyback says. 

“Our day always starts with a karakia, followed closely by mauritau. That might look different in each class but everybody is practising it. It’s embedded in our school culture. It might be meditation, yoga, kapa haka, but we see it being as important as maths, reading and writing.” 

Kaiako Te Aowera Kupenga-Tiaki says: “We also do mau rākau (Māori weapon-based art form) ... it’s just getting that cultural aspect and reconnecting our tamariki with not only the taiao (natural world) but our mahi a ā tātou tipuna (ancestors).” 

They also practice “Papatuanuku”. If a child feels stressed, or can’t focus, they are allowed to leave the classroom of their own accord for a break. 

Deputy principal Manny Horua says it helps tamariki develop a toolkit of strategies when they become unsettled or dysregulated. 

“They’re able to manage themselves, talk about their feelings more, and it’s going to help them as they get older. 

“For some tamariki, it might be art, or some may go for a walk around the field. Some kids might get on their bikes and go for a ride.” 

Kupenga-Tiaki says it’s rewarding seeing tamariki “use all these different huarahi (procedures), whether it’s doing press-ups, going to whakapakari tinana (exercise), jumping on the court to shoot some hoops, going for a run around the field, grabbing a rakau (stick/baton), grabbing a poi, even grabbing koauau (traditional flute). 

Kaimahi go over and above at Waikirikiri. Every morning they pick up students at 6am for a workout in the school gym, led by Albie Nepia. 

“We’ve got to remove the barriers ... so if we go to them and pick them up, that’s a barrier that’s no longer there,” Nepia says. 

“A lot of them have struggles in the morning; they come from backgrounds that aren’t ideal. It’s getting them out of that environment nice and early, getting them into a positive environment, especially with them going through puberty and with the changes to their hormones. 

“We try to get their positive endorphins kicking in nice and early, get them having breakfast as well.” 

It has also helped improve behaviour. 

Julies says prior to this approach to learning, the school had 10 to 12 stand-downs a year. 

“I have zero stand-downs at the moment. Our kids are so tau (settled) and calm. They are more purposeful, they’re engaged, they participate. 

“We have classrooms with a 100% attendance every week. That in itself tells me that our kids want to be here, they’re happy to be here.” 

Julies recently completed her PhD in the effects of a holistic approach on children’s learning success. That theory has been put into successful action at her kura. 

“We know that kids who come from trauma experiences are in survival mode and they’re functioning from a trauma brain, which is at the bottom of the brain. 

“They don’t even reach the cortex, which is at the upper level of the brain where all the learning is taking place, because they’re in survival mode.”  

There’s no point trying to teach tamariki before looking after their wellbeing, she says. 

Kaiako Ashlee Maka agrees. 

“If you break down the barriers and take the time to look at the wellbeing of that child, you’ll understand more and you’ll be able to help that child learn better.” 

She uses a child with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) as an example. 

“He’s got ADHD, but you still expect that child to sit there with a book and be still and quiet, which doesn’t work. We look at the areas that that kid is strong in and we try to teach the academic stuff through their strengths.” 

Principal Julies grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and moved to Aotearoa 28 years ago, but can relate to the experiences of tamariki at her kura. 

“I come from a marginalised background as well and, growing up, I can relate to some of the issues that our tamariki have.” 

She lived in the apartheid era and experienced first-hand racial discrimination. She sees a lot of similarities to New Zealand. 

“The land confiscation, that’s one of the things. I was uprooted from my place of birth and was forced to live in a township. I was forced to give up the freedom of the beautiful beaches where we lived due to the apartheid era. We were forcefully removed and placed in a township where we lived close to each other.” 

Julies also has a religious background and shares the same values with Māori. 

“I was brought up in a Christian home, so I have values that align with values that Māori have — values such as manaakitanga; values such as showing respect to our elders and our kaumātua. 

“We place a lot of value on whānau in South Africa and that’s something that I love about the Māori culture. Our kids aren’t seen as individuals, but as part of their whānau, and that is how I was brought up.” 

Julies’ staff speak highly of her. 

Horua says Julies “shows kindness regardless of the circumstance”. 

“Some days we may get intimidating people come through our office and she always shows the same grace ... it’s not just when she feels like it. That’s her ngākau nui (enthusiasm, devotion). That’s what makes her special.” 

She also supports her staff and any ideas they have to help improve the lives of tamariki. 

“She never puts barriers up for us ... she supports our children and supports our dreams for them and their parents’ dreams for them.” 

School counsellor Tui Keenan says a lot of people call Julies “Māori Ngākau”. 

“She’s been here for so long and she’s well respected within the kids, within the staff, within the community.” 

Keenan also helps support tamariki and whānau through kai-based initiatives while also connecting them to the taiao (environment). 

One of the kai-based initiatives is free school lunches. 

Parents Te Ringamau Ritchie and Karolyn Johnson are employed as chefs to make the lunches. 

Keenan says these māmā “are the heart of the school”. 

“If the neurodiverse kids or some kids have had a bad day and need an aunty hug, they don’t go to the principal’s office. They come by the kitchen to see these ladies. 

“There was one occasion where we had a couple of runaways. These ladies took their gloves off, jumped in the car ... they know all the spots where these kids will be hiding, bring them back to school, have a Milo, sit them down.

"They’re not only chefs, they’re counsellors, your aunties. They’ve got a real heart for our kids.”