Early learning village names their place in the community

Like a river that ebbs and flows, any great journey is one that constantly evolves and is continuous. Authentic transformation and change do not come easy.

Two Rivers Early Learning Village – Ngā Tamariki ō te Huingā o Ngā Wai manager Elise Gerrits knows this all too well.

When making the decision to rename and rebrand the Ngāruawāhia early learning centre where she works, Elise quickly realised that there were no shortcuts. But she has never been one to take the easy route anyway.

From a very young age Elise knew she wanted to be an early learning kaiako.

“I was the one who looked after the children at our whānau things – I’ve always loved children,” she says.

So as soon as she left high school she went straight into training. She started her teaching career in Hamilton 17 years ago, but when an opportunity to return to her hometown came up, she jumped at the chance.

Over 13 years, Elise worked her way up through the ranks at what was then Kids Time to become the early learning centre’s manager. Elise says during that time there have been three different centre owners and the centre has changed and evolved.

Tempting offers of career development have been many for Elise over the years, but Ngāruawāhia, the heart of the Kīngitanga movement, where the Waipā and Waikato rivers meet, is her home.

Two Rivers Early Learning Village manager Elise Gerrits.

“I felt like I just couldn’t leave Ngāruawāhia,” she says.

“There is something special about teaching in your hometown. I feel connected and driven by making a difference.”

Change in the air

Things ticked along with a focus on the children and a quality education at Kids Time until the centre’s current owner Rick Fourie came onboard in August 2020. Elise says she could sense that there was about to be a massive shift and change in the air.

They had purposefully bought the centre to make a difference and wanted to redesign and rebuild in a way that articulated the rich history and culture of their community. And they wanted Elise to lead that process.

It started with asking many questions about who they were, what story they wanted to tell and where their special place was in their community.

“It wasn’t about changing the way we were doing things but enabling us to be passionate about what we are passionate about,” she says.

Originally two separate buildings, the owners had the vision to condense the centre and build a brand-new space that reflected new beginnings. Well-known and renowned for their work with several Māori organisations, hapū and iwi, TOA Architects were engaged to design the new building.

At the same time, it was clear that if they were rebuilding and rebranding, they needed a new name – a connection to the name Kids Time was no longer there.

The journey begins

Construction of the new building began in October 2021. This was the start of their conversations around "who are we?"

Even though the rebuilding and renaming process began quickly, it didn’t take long for Elise to realise it wasn’t going to be as simple as putting some names in a hat and just picking one.

Starting close to home, Elise met with staff members and the centre’s whānau and encouraged them to put forward their name suggestions. But there were over 40 and it was overwhelming.

It was also at this time that Elise reached out to Te Mahau Tai Whenua curriculum lead, Leah Steens. In June 2021, prior to stepping into her role as a curriculum lead, Leah was still working in the Early Childhood Education licensing team.

Leah received an email from Elise asking if she would be able to connect her with someone from the iwi Waikato Tainui, who could support their naming process. Leah says they wanted a Māori name for their centre that honoured who they are and what they do.

Elise says given that they are based in Ngāruawāhia and have over 50 percent of Māori tamariki attend the centre, it was important to connect to the culture and create a place of belonging. It was something the teachers of the centre felt passionate about.

As a Ngāruawāhia local herself, who has lived in the town for many years and has taught there, she knew of several whānau that attended this centre, both past and present.

She also knew if the centre’s relationships with their whānau were genuine and authentic, that they would already know who these whānau were.

“My response to Elise’s email was, ‘One suggestion that I have would be to look towards your whānau that you have in your centre either past or present who may be able to help you connect to the appropriate person. This would help create and develop the relationship between the centre and the iwi moving forward’.”

Elise chuckles when thinking about how she initially felt after receiving Leah’s response.

“I thought, oh yeah OK then cool, how hard can this be?”

Telling their own story

Elise says one of the mistakes she made at the beginning of the renaming process was assuming that their centre whānau and the community would engage in the way she wanted them to.

The front of the Two Rivers Early Learning Village building.

“I had a list and wanted to do this, this and this,” she laughs.

Individual conversations with people were taking place, and there was initial pushback from the community, in particular with whānau Māori. They wanted to honour the relationships within Te Tiriti o Waitangi and see things through a te ao Māori lens.

“I told our owners that I really didn’t want to do this anymore and asked if we could just choose a name and get it done. Their answer was, ‘It’s your village Elise, keep going’.”

Giving up wasn’t an option, so she put her head down and thought about why they had decided to embark on this journey in the first place.

And slowly things started to make sense.

The main objective of finding a new name was to connect the centre with the rich culture and history of the area. That meant researching and studying local pūrākau and stories.

Our histories tell stories of relationships between people, places, and things. It is often through local stories that we gain rich insights into these relationships and how events of the past impact on today. These stories align to the bicultural intentions of the principles in Te Whāriki. As many times as she had to, she went back to the whānau and back to the local community – her village.

“The community was watching us. Before people opened up it was really obvious that we needed to prove that we were true in our intentions. It was the process that needed to take place,” she says.

Authentic engagement with Tangata Whenua and building trust and strengthening relationships with whānau and the local community allowed the process to progress.

Elise still gets goosebumps when recalling the moment it all started coming together.

“My wow moment was when I realised that journey had to happen. It was about really knowing our local history and our stories,” she says.

“I got scared and I didn’t want to offend anyone. But I learned to be vulnerable and to take things away and not overthink them.

“Everything just came together, but we needed to do the mahi.”

In October 2021 the centre’s new name was approved and Two Rivers Early Learning Village – Ngā Tamariki ō te Huingā o Ngā Wai was born.

Design by TOA Architects showing the shape and design of the building.

On the front of the building reads: “Kotahi te kōhao o te ngira e kuhuna ai te miro mā, te miro pango, te miro whero. There is but one eye of the needle, through which white, black and red cotton must pass.”

The name was inspired by a well-known whakataukī attributed to Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, a Waikato chief and the first Māori King.

Supporting relationships within Te Tiriti

Leah Steens started her new role as curriculum lead in January 2022 and as part of the mahi, she visited Elise at her centre in May.

Leah explains that many early learning services have difficulty finding a place to start to understand, develop and implement Te Whāriki as a Te Tiriti o Waitangi honouring curriculum.

“The process that Elise went through in finding the name proved to be a starting place of understanding for her as the manager and the centre as a whole in terms of what they learned and how the process needs to be.

“A new way of approaching relationships within the Ngāruawāhia community has been both challenging and rewarding. As a result, the centre has begun its learning journey on the history of Ngāruawāhia in an authentic and culturally appropriate way.”

The brand-new building and new name were blessed in June 2022.

Elise says because it was such a massive combined effort with contributions from centre whānau, local kaumātua, iwi and the Ngāruawāhia community, there are too many people and groups to single out and name and thank for their help and support.

“We are so grateful and appreciative of the guidance and support we received during this process. I went into it thinking that I knew a lot and quickly realised that I didn’t,” says Elise.

“Don’t give up, use the challenges to make you feel empowered because the reward at the end is so worth it.” 

The beautiful space used to provide a Te Tiriti o Waitangi based curriculum that fosters children’s love of learning.