Life on The Streets of Mount Wellington
Talented students at Bailey Road School have captured details of what it’s like to live on the streets of Mount Wellington.
Proudly funded by Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board, a video titled The Streets (2023) records students reading their views and highlights of the Mount Wellington neighbourhood to the camera.
The project provided an opportunity for pupils to embrace their neighbourhood connections, be motivated to improve literacy skills and rejuvenate negative connotations to ‘the streets’ through honest and fond observations of the Mount Wellington area.
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board chair, Maria Meredith is impressed by the students’ work and is pleased to be supporting the project.
“We hope that by supporting our youth and showcasing their work they will continue to work hard in school and at their passions,” says chair Meredith.
“Thank you and well done to David Riley for doing this. The children’s video was incredibly powerful, and reminds us of the importance of learning, schools and families working together to build a better future.
“Empowering and engaging with local youth and celebrating our diverse communities are at the top of our priorities for Maungakiekie-Tāmaki – so this project is well worth the investment.
“We’d love to support more of these kinds of initiatives,” she adds.
Bailey Road School is made up of about 46% Pasifika, 23% Māori, 15% Asian, 8% New Zealand European, plus other ethnicities. In their stories students explain their humble beginnings and how they and their whānau arrived at their street.
Former school teacher, and producer of the book and video, David Riley is on a mission is to help under-represented school children be recognised, through encouraging development of their reading and writing abilities and instilling pride in where they come from.
“Local board support is really important for these projects. Thanks to a local grant
provided by Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board, we were able to produce a video of students reading the book, which celebrates Mount Wellington,” he says.
“My goal is to help youth write their own books and shine a light on where they’ve grown up and where their families are from.
“I’m passionate about working with kids as it’s so important to motivate and give them confidence, especially those who have struggles with school. Some of them
really love writing so it’s about giving them a chance to do what they enjoy.”
• These articles were commissioned in response to a commercial partnership. We have produced them independently, to the same standards applied to the rest of our journalism.
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