Deeper learning for tamaiti through Siva Samoa

Tamaiti and faiaoga at Richmond Road School have a strong sense of pride in their culture.

Tamaiti of Mua-i-Malae at Richmond Road School in Ponsonby, Auckland, are a little jittery. The big day is here and after three terms of preparation, they are going to perform for their peers and aiga.

All 60 tamaiti are dressed in bright and beautiful costumes and sit cross-legged as they watch aiga, most clutching cameras, file into the audience section. It’s a special occasion to have family in the school, the first time since pandemic restrictions have lifted. And it is extra special to share what they have been working on all year – Siva Samoa!

This is a Creatives in Schools project led by Mua-i-Malae togafau Filo Tu-Faleupolu and two local artists, Cilla Brown and Albert Tupuola.

Cilla is a choreographer and dancer, and the project leader of Pacific Dance New Zealand. She created the programmes and timetables for the project.

Albert is a dance tutor from Pacific Dance New Zealand with a passion for Samoan aganu’u (culture) and siva (dance).

Students learning songs and dance, and how it relates to Samoan legends of love, war, and history

Filo, a second-year teacher, is also an artist who has been choreographing dance, performance, and drama since he was 10. He’s also a classically trained pianist and has studied flute and violin.

“I developed a love and passion for Samoan aganu’u and siva when I was young and have led workshops and overseen projects both locally and internationally to promote understanding and comprehension of Samoan culture and its unique style of dance.

“The goal of our project was to ensure that our tamaiti were given the opportunity to learn and understand our Samoan culture through song and dance. Each vasega (class) was to learn one form of Siva Samoa to showcase at the end of the project.”

Each of the three vasega spent two hours a week with creatives, time they spent learning songs, dance, and how it related to Samoan legends of love, war, and history. All learning aligned to Mua-i-Malae inquiry topics.

Filo says the impact on tamaiti has been extremely positive, that they are noticeably more confident, and their cultural knowledge has been greatly increased.

“The creative tutors who have been a part and parcel of this journey have taught with an integrated curriculum approach which has seen an increase in the confidence of our tamaiti to be able to sing with pure enunciation, read without fault, and understand the relevance of words and rhymes.”

Students learning songs and dance, and how it relates to Samoan legends of love, war, and history

Tamaiti dressed in bright and beautiful costumes for their performance in front of peers and aiga. 

Faiaoga greatly inspired

Faiaoga (teachers) have also greatly enjoyed the project, with Filo saying, “They have been deeply affected by this opportunity to not only see their teachings come to life through literacy, social sciences, health, and physical education but also to work with the creatives. It has been a great reminder and inspiration around teachers’ approach, preparation and planning, questioning, and behaviour management skills.”

Mua-i-Malae togafau Filo Tu-Faleupolu.

He adds that the demand on teachers to be flexible, adaptable, and pivotal is a lot to take on, but parents and community see the intensity of the work and continue to be willing to support and do what they can within their free time.

“Having the support of a kura with leadership that sees beyond the pages of a curriculum, has been encouraging and uplifting from both a professional perspective, but also a cultural one too,” says Filo.

“We were fortunate in this round to receive such a blessing, and we will continue to source and look for more ways in which our tamaiti benefit from such resources.”

Building pride

Principal Jacqui Tutavake says the Siva Samoa project enabled the school’s Samoan community to build upon what they have: a strong identity, a strong language, and a strong sense of pride.

“I think it means a lot to the students, parents and teachers to know that the funding is external, that there is value in what the Ministry of Education is doing around Pacific culture and language,” she says.

“There are a lot of opportunities for tamaiti to see mirrors of themselves, Samoan role models that they won’t always see in mainstream, and I think that has been quite powerful. And during Samoan Language Week they saw children (from the other units) wanting to take part in the Sasa, to learn it and perform it, and that would have gone a long way too,” adds Jacqui.

Richmond Road School is unique. There are four separate and distinct units – Māori, English, Samoan and French – and ākonga travel from across Auckland to attend, mostly to maintain connection to their homeland and to mix with like-minded whānau. There is a long waiting list for enrolment.

Jacqui says the culture is the taonga of the school.

“People want to learn about everybody else around them. They integrate naturally. It’s interesting when I have visitors come in who say, ‘Wow, I can hear all the languages and then all your children just play together’. But to our children, that’s just how it is, learning about each other’s cultures and identities is normal for them.

“We are thinking about how the Creatives in Schools funding can be used across the school for all our students because we can see how much it has contributed to our Samoan culture and language here.”

Culture is the taonga of the school.