Carey Baptist College students and staff had much to celebrate at the Māori Achievement Dinner, held in November 2017. The pass rate for Māori students was the best yet at 92%, with almost a quarter in the A grade range. Carey also had the first Māori student complete a thesis for the Master of Applied Theology, and he was the first to use a distinctively Māori methodology for his research. E ngā tauira, ka mau te wehi!
The annual dinner was started in 2014 as a part of Carey’s bicultural journey and is a collaboration between Manatū Iriiri Māori and the college. The event celebrates the students and their success, but also acknowledges their achievements as belonging to the entire whānau. Whānau are encouraged to attend and they come in significant numbers.
A distinctive feature of Māori students at Carey in recent years has been the whānau groups who have chosen to train together. The college has had the privilege of training for leadership many of the Kaa-Morgan, Haurua, Sola and Te Kahu whānau, as well as those that come as individuals.
“Carey welcomes other whānau who might want to train together,” says Sandy Kerr, the college’s Kaiārahi-Rangahau Māori (Māori Research Guide). “Māori achievement is encouraged by the staff, but whānau supporting each other through the trials and rigours of theological education is an ideal way to complete studies. We invite you to come and see what God might do if you and your whānau choose to train at Carey in 2018. Nau mai, haere mai ki Carey.”
