Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori has announced Tauranga school Te Wharekura o Mauao have been named finalists for this year's Nga Tohu Reo Maori.

There are 36 finalists in 13 contestable categories and Te Wharekura o Mauao have gained two nominations.

The Maori language awards started in 2004 and are about celebrating excellence and long term commitment to te reo Maori from across Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Te Wharekura o Mauao principal Koa Douglas says the kura (school) as a whole were humbled by the nomination and were surprised when they were told they were finalists.

'I think from the outset it wasn't really our intension to be lauded with this wonderful opportunity. The whole idea for us as a school is that we grow the reo (language) in our school in a whole variety of different ways.

'The fact that someone has nominated our school for these awards based on our commitment to the reo in the school and the community, for us that's a real bonus.”

Koa says the school has been nominated in two categories.

'One is Shakespeare and the fact that we have been able to embed some of our tikanga (customs) and our reo into our performance on the regional stage as well as the national stage. For them to acknowledge that this is embedded in our school culture that's really great,” Koa says.

'The second part of that is the resources that we developed in conjunction with the House of Science… We run a sustainable environmental programme and basically the children were concerned with the lack of resources and they prompted the idea that some bilingual Maori resources should be produced for schools who wanted accesses to those types of resources.”

This year the awards will be hosted by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori and Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated.

Te Taura Whiri I te Reo Maori chief executive Ngahiwi Apanui says the orgainsations vision is to hear and see the indigenous language resonate across the nation's landscape.

'There's a lot more to be done to achieve that, we must acknowledge those groups and individuals supporting language regeneration and innovation in their respective sectors and communities.”

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on November 21, at Pettigrew-Green Arena in Taradale, Napier.

Finalists:

AfterDark Designs Ltd

Ako Books

ANZ Bank NZ

Auckland Transport

Callaghan Innovations

Genesis Energy

George FM

Hawke's Bay Regional Council/Hawke's Bay Civil Defence

Kerikeri High School

Kiwa Digital

Maori Multimedia Ltd

Maui TV Productions

Nga Manu Korero – Junior Winner Kaanihi Butler-Hare

Nga Manu Korero – Senior Winner Akuira Tiakiwai

Nga Taonga a Nga Tama Toa Trust

Nga Taonga a Nga Tama Toa Trust

Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc

Noku Te Ao Early Childhood Centre

NZQA

Otago University and AUT

Raukawa Charitable Trust

Scottie Productions

South Waikato District Libraries

Te Hiku Media

Te Kotuku Rerenga Tahi Ltd

Te Reo Irirangi o Pare Hauraki

Te Reo Irirangi o Turanga nui a Kiwa

Te Wharekura o Mauao

Te Wharekura o Mauao (Shakespeare)

Tokoroa High School

Tokoroa High School

Victoria University – Ngai Tauira

Victoria University – Te Kura Maori

Virtual Learning Network Primary School

Waahuu Creations

Wackrow Williams & Davies