Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa – Samoa Language Week

Georgie Archibald, Learning Advisor Pacific

Talofa lava, Ara is pleased to be celebrating Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa – Samoa Language Week, running Sunday 30 May to Saturday 5 June.

This year’s theme is Poupou le lotoifale. Ola manuia le anofale – Strengthen the posts of your house, for all to thrive. The Ministry for Pacific Peoples writes that “When you’re building a foundation for a fale (house) it can’t have a weak foundation or posts. This is the same for the foundations of our families, schools and churches that play an important role in strengthening Gagana Samoa (the Samoan Language). Language is important for the foundations of our overall wellbeing.”

Gagana Samoa is the third most spoken language across New Zealand, and Ara’s Samoan learners are our largest cohort of Pacific learners.

In celebration of Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa there are three events occurring at Ara:

• Opening Ceremony Monday 31 May 12PM CITY CAMPUS RAKAIA CENTRE

PISA (Pacific Island Students of Ara) are hosting a formal ‘ava opening ceremony in the Rakaia Centre beginning at 12PM. The audience won’t be partaking in the ‘ava 😊 but it will be a beautiful ceremony!

• Performance Tuesday 01 June 10AM TIMARU CAMPUS LIBRARY

Come along to the Timaru Campus Library at 10AM-12PM to watch a performance of Fa’ataupati (dance) by Fred Stefano

• Samoa Language Week Activity Tuesday 01 June 12PM CITY CAMPUS LIBRARY

Join us in the City Campus Library 12-1PM to create a Pacific inspired installation that will be hung in the Student Lounge, Tahatika. We have some blank canvas blocks to stretch cool fabrics over to create a larger installation. Be part of the fun!

• Performance Wednesday 02 June 12PM WOOLSTON CAMPUS STUDENT HUB  

Support Shirley Boys’ High School students who will be performing at 12PM in the Woolston Campus Student Hub in celebration of Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa

• Performance Thursday 03 June 11AM TIMARU CAMPUS LIBRARY

Come along to the Timaru Campus Library at 11AM-12.30PM to watch a performance of Fa’ataupati (dance), Revival Pese (singing) and Ma’ulu’ulu (dance) by Fred Stefano

We encourage you to head along to enjoy these events at your campus 😊

Meanwhile, after the political deadlock of recent weeks many of us are waiting with anticipation for Samoa’s newly sworn in (and first female!) Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa to be able to get to work.

Samoa Language Week at Timaru Campus

We will be celebrating Samoa Language Week at the Timaru Campus library from Monday 31st May to Saturday 5th June.

Unfortunately, due to the Timaru campus closure, today’s events (Mon 31st May) will not take place.

Please feel free to come along and take part in our celebrations.

Our opening hours over Queens Birthday weekend

Monday the 7th June is the day we celebrate the Queens Birthday. All campus of Ara will be closed on that day and the Library will re-open at 7am on Tuesday the 8th June 2021.

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II (ER)

Queen Elizabeth II was not born on this day…her actual birth date was the 21st April 1926. Queen’s Birthday holiday is celebrated in New Zealand on the first Monday in June so the date moves year by year.

We hope you have a peaceful day and enjoy the last public holiday until Labour Day in late October.

Cheers

Ramadan comes to a close…

Muslims around the world are currently celebrating Ramadan which is due to close in New Zealand on Wednesday 12th May.

The month-long observance sees Muslims fasting from dawn to sunset, reciting verses from the Quran and attending prayer sessions. For many of those observing Ramadan, it is a time to become closer to God. It is also a time of joy and for spending time with one’s family, and giving to charity and those in need.

When is Ramadan?

Ramadan begins during the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar when the new crescent moon is first sighted. The exact start date of Ramadan is confirmed when the moon is spotted by a sighting committee, often made up of government officials and religious scholars.

The end of Ramadan is marked with the sighting of the crescent moon, marking Eid-al-Fitr, which should be in mid-May.

What is Ramadan and how is it observed?

Ramadan is observed by Muslims to commemorate when God revealed the first chapters of the Quran, Islam’s sacred text, to the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims believe that during this period, the gates of heaven are open and the gates of hell are closed.

Muslims mark the holy month by fasting — considered to be one of the five pillars of Islam — during sunlight hours. The pre-dawn meal is called the suhoor, while the fast is broken at dusk with the iftar, starting with a few sips of water and some dates.

Abstinence during Ramadan isn’t just restricted to food and water, though. It extends to refraining from sexual activity, smoking, and even to jealousy, anger or other negative thoughts. Muslims believe that following these practices during Ramadan will lead to self-purification, self-control and bring them closer to Allah. Many Muslims also attend special prayer services, read verses of the Quran and engage in charity.

During Ramadan, offices and schools in Islamic countries shut early.

Does everyone have to fast?

Not everyone must fast. Islam prescribes that all able-bodied Muslims should fast during Ramadan but exempts young children, expecting and breast-feeding mothers, women who are menstruating, the elderly, and those with health conditions.

Non-Muslims visiting an Islamic nation are not expected to fast, but they are expected to refrain from eating and drinking in public spaces to respect those around them.

How do you wish someone a Happy Ramadan?

You can exchange Ramadan greetings by saying “Ramadan Kareem,” which translates into “Have a generous Ramadan,” or “Ramadan Mubarak,” which roughly translates into “Happy Ramadan.”

On the last day of Ramadan, which is Eid-al-fitr, the greeting changes to “Eid Mubarak.”

To all our Muslim brothers and sisters Eid Mubarak…

New Zealand Sign Language Week

A language of signs

Did you know that New Zealand Sign Language week will be celebrated from 10^th to 14^th May this year?  Most people know that sign language is the language used by Deaf people to communicate and that it is one of New Zealand’s official languages, since 2006.  But what you might not know is that New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL is used by over 24,000 Deaf New Zealanders to communicate every day and it is the 12^th most used language out of the 190 languages most commonly used in New Zealand.  NZSL is a uniquely kiwi thing too.  Whilst there are hundreds of sign languages used around the world, New Zealand Sign Language is unique to New Zealand and there are even different signs used in different regions in New Zealand. 

Many of us have seen sign language interpreters at work, we’ve seen them on the news and over the last year we’ve seen them on all the Covid 19 briefings too.  Many students will have seen interpreters working in their classes.  But did you know that it’s not just a language of hand signs?  Facial expression and body movement are also very important in sign language. 

NZSL has only been used officially in our schools since 1995, although it was being used by Deaf people well before that.  When the first school for the Deaf was founded in Christchurch in 1880 students were all taught orally, and any form of sign language was actively discouraged.  This remained the practice throughout New Zealand until the 1970s when ‘Sign Supported English’ was introduced.  Sign supported English is not the same as New Zealand Sign Language which is a language in its own right.  NZSL was not used in New Zealand schools until 1995. 

So where did NZSL come from?  It was created by and for Deaf people themselves.  It is heavily based on British Sign Language as it was Deaf British Immigrants to New Zealand that brought it with them.  The first recorded teach of sign language in New Zealand was a woman who lived in Christchurch and started teaching NZSL to children back in 1868 and nearly ten years later, she had taught 42 children how to use this language.  But when the first school for the Deaf opened in Christchurch in 1880, Dorcas was not successful in her application to be principal and Gerrit Van Asch became principle instead.  He fervently believed, as did many educators at the time, that all Deaf children should be educated orally, and he would not even accept students into the school who could use sign language.  Similar policies were established for the two Deaf schools that were set up in Auckland.  Of course, children did learn this language and used it secretly whilst at school and then more actively once they left school and became adults.  So, the language grew over the next 115 years, until it was finally adopted first in Auckland at the Kelston Deaf Education Centre and then in Christchurch at Van Asch Deaf Education Centre during the mid to late 1990s.  It is hard to imagine now that anyone would try to educate deaf people without using sign language and the impact on Deaf people of not being taught in sign and having to struggle to be educated orally is still being felt today and is best witnessed by the numbers of Deaf people that never got the chance to study at Tertiary level before the late 1990s and the number who are unemployed today.  The number of Deaf students in tertiary education has been growing over the past 25 years and it is to be hoped that this trend continues, that more Deaf students enter our tertiary education institutions and go on to successful careers in their chosen field, aided by the use and acceptance of NZSL. Blog written by Pauline Melham, Manager of Ara Disability Services.

Join in NZSL and Disability Pride Week at Ara (10-14 May) to help celebrate our diverse community, connect with different ways of doing and thinking, inspire courageous conversations and gain new insights and tools. Look on My Ara, Waituhi or the Library Facebook page for details of events and activities.

It is Star Wars day!