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Harmony Te Raki, 21, says she still feels the impact of being put in the “cabbage class”.
Pressure is building to end academic streaming following a new report that shows the practice disadvantages Māori students. Harmony Te Raki moved from a kura kaupapa into a mainstream high school because she believed it would give her better opportunities. Not long after starting in Year 9, Harmony was told by her classmates that she was in the cabbage class – the lowest stream. “I got put straight into the cab class based on the fact that I went to a kura kaupapa school,” she says. “I just got told that I was cabbage, that I was dumb. I just started falling into it.”
Long-serving Hawke’s Bay educator Shona Pip West has been appointed Principal of Hukarere Girls’ College.
The school’s Board of Trustee’s Chairpersons Heke Huata and The Most Reverend Don Tamihere, along with other Trustees, say they are pleased to announce the appointment.
Shona was chosen from a strong field of applicants by an Appointments Advisory Panel, which was impressed by the calibre of applicants and with the quality of the three preferred candidates.
Shona, who is of NgÄtiporou and NgÄtikahungunu descent, has taught Te Reo MÄori, art, social science, English, and music at Hastings Girls High School since 1985. She is a passionate educator, who is a graduate (B Ed) from Massey University and has been in leadership roles in the Post Primary Teachers Association, representing Hawke’s Bay and MÄori teachers nationally.