Teachers from New Zealand are using Samoa's annual F.A.G.A.S.A conference to showcase how Samoan language and culture are helping shape classrooms thousands of kilometres away.
The three-day conference opened on Tuesday at the Samoa Culture and Arts Centre with an ava ceremony, cultural performances and presentations attended by educators from Samoa and New Zealand.
Among the delegates were Principal Sumithra Maidoo and Associate Principal Christine Hutchinson of Finlayson Primary School in Manurewa, Auckland, where Samoan language education continues to expand.
Hutchinson said the school has 11 Samoan bilingual classrooms, alongside dedicated Māori, Tongan and Kiribati language units, while other students are taught in mainstream classes.
"Within our school we have 11 classrooms of just Samoan children, and then we have a Kiribati unit, a Tongan unit and a Māori nurture unit," she said. "We have another 10 or 12 classes in the mainstream as well."
