Manaiakalani Digital Teacher Academy Orientation
18th January 2016 T his was our first day together as the 2016 Manaiakalani Digital Teaching Academy (MDTA) cohort. As a team building activity we embarked on a 12 kilometer walk. During this walk visited the schools in the Manaiakalani cluster, notable landmarks and public buildings. Throughout our journey we considered the various socio-economic, political and environmental factors that had an impact on our community. A large part of this was concerned with the Tāmaki housing redevelopment. This development is particularly apparent at my school, which is currently surrounded by areas of vacant land where houses once stood. These absent houses are also representative of whānau and children who were part of my school community. However, we also witnessed the rate of construction of the new houses and predicted that it would not be long before new buildings and families occupy the empty land. We discussed this redevelopment in great detail and I will ...