Proposed Bilingual Class

Bayswater School is considering opening a bilingual te reo Māori class in 2026 and wants to gauge interest from the community. If you’re keen to know more:

• Join our community hui: 6 - 7:30pm Tuesday Nov 19th at Bayswater School. Whole whānau welcome.
• Get in touch with our tumuaki, Marianne (marianne@bayswaterschool.nz)
• Express your interest through this online form (and we can keep you updated)
   

What does a bilingual te reo Māori class look like?

• One kaiako, 20-30 tamariki (mixed age group).
• Teaching and learning 31-50% in te reo Māori. Tamariki become confident in spoken te reo Māori. The explicit teaching of reading, writing and maths will be in English. This is called an "additive" approach, because students are "adding" a second language rather than replacing one language with another.
• Follows the New Zealand Curriculum.
• This class is fully integrated into everything else at Bayswater School - same lunch breaks, same assembly, same sports team/ extra curricular etc. 

Who the bilingual class would be open to:

• At this stage we are seeing who is interested in joining a bilingual te reo Māori class - both from Bayswater School and from the wider community.
• Your child/ children don't necessarily need to have existing te reo Māori proficiency to join the class - at this stage, we are seeing who's interested.
• If we go ahead, we will work through the details of entry into the class (including year levels, language proficiency etc).

Decision making process:

• August- November 2024 community consultation. We are currently asking all our community members about their interest in a bilingual te reo Māori class. This includes whānau at Bayswater School, and whānau in the wider area who would consider enrolling in a bilingual te reo Māori class at Bayswater School.
• December 2024: Board decision. Based on feedback from the community, viability and long term impact on the school, the Board will decide in December 2024 whether to pursue a bilingual te reo Māori class. 

If we decide to proceed with a bilingual te reo Māori class:

• 2025 Students would be able to sign up for the bilingual class for next year. This is conditional on finding the right kaiako to lead the bi-lingual te reo Māori class at Bayswater School.
• February 2026: bilingual class starts.