So'otaga with O Le TA'IALA (Finlayson Primary School Samoan Billingual).

 I had the privilege of attending the So'otaga (connection programme) with Finlayson Primary School. It was a joy to be apart of because I got the opportunity to witness first hand the formal language of the Ava Ceremony performed by our very own year 7&8 Students. The programme was amazing everything ran smoothly, and like all Samoan Language Weeks its a epic opportunity to be apart of. 

What was my take away or thinking process at the time? 

- I was trying my best to think about my change project for my masters and really connect what was going on with what my research objective is. Everything was in the Samoan Language which is what our parents, teachers and community expects from a Samoan Billingual Unit. 

- did the ceremony sound rehearsed?

- Did the students that took part in the Ava Ceremony understand what they were saying?

- is their understanding of the Gagana Samoa surface level? 

- could the students conversate back confidently what they learnt about the ava ceremony? 

-How much of my classroom practice reflect that of a bilingual unit programme? 

- Does my classroom programme reflect effective billingual practices which therefore supports students with understanding Gagana Samoa in a deep meaningful way? these are many questions that go through my mind during the time of the So'otaga. Do I have the right this of these questions? am I thinking too much in to this situation? What I do know is that we need to set up our studens for success. The best way to do this is to change or improve classroom practice so that billingualism is being improved for our students.