Today's team meeting was my first opportunity to put into practice my goal of using Te Reo as part of meeting protocol. Despite being non-religious, I used the Hika app to select a variant on the standard prayer used in meetings. I had the option of choosing four aspects to the short opening. I ended up with..."E the Atua, manaakitia ahau, kia maui pai" which is "Dear God, bless us to work well".
The decision to use this, despite being a staple of senior management meetings as well as being a requirement covered in the registered teacher criteria, received an unexpected negative reaction from one person which made it clear that I will need to continue along these lines to promote a positive attitude towards the 9th criteria, 'Demonstrate commitment to bi-cultural partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand'.
