Te reo on the agenda . . . Cultural services collaboration group members (from left) Chloe Searle, Sophia Leon de la Barra, Lisa Potaka-Ross, and Philip van Zijl stand outside Oamaru's library where te reo Maori classes will soon begin. PHOTO: RUBY HEYWARD
An Oamaru cultural services group wants to build its staff and volunteers’ te reo Maori skills this year not plan on stopping there.
In collaboration with the Oamaru Language School, Waitaki District Libraries plan to deliver new te reo Maori classes for the professional development of library staff and volunteers.
Library manager Philip van Zijl and language school founder Sophia Leon de la Barra are working with senior library assistant and te kairuruku o nga ratonga Maori (Tikanga Maori co-ordinator) Lisa Potaka-Ross and Forrester Gallery and Waitaki Museum and Archive curator Chloe Searle as part of a “cultural services collaboration group”, to build te reo skills “cross-organisationally”.