Towards the end of last year, our Kindergarten whānau had the opportunity to contribute to a project which aimed to create a community sign. We worked with Roskill Together, a community development organisation, and families came together to draw pictures and tell stories of what ‘Roskill South’ means to them. The purpose of the sign is to bring about a sense of belonging and to identify the area for future reference.

The drawings and stories, along with the ideas gathered from both adults and children in the wider Roskill South community, were sent to a local artist who created the sign. In March this year, two of our teachers, Nadine and Yasu, attended the unveiling of the new Roskill South sign which has been placed on the fence by May Road school. The blue background features greetings in the many languages spoken in our diverse community, and within the words ‘Roskill South’ stands our maunga, Puketāpapa.

Our involvement in this project comes from being part of the community group, Ngā Herenga Waka, and followed on from the project in which a community Pou, Te Pou o Rongo, was created.

Te Whāriki’s principle of whānau tangata was at the heart of our involvement in both of these projects, and the ‘Welcome to Roskill South’ sign will hold a special meaning to the whānau in our community for many years to come.

E raka te maui, e raka te katau

A community can use all the skills of its people