Breens Pasifika students will feature in an upcoming publication due to be released next year. Pasifika author and educator Dahlia Malaeulu has been working with Miss Pole and our Pasifika group to help publish Pasifika Poetry.

Malo, Talofa, Kia orana, Bula, Kia ora and Hello,

At the start of the year we were given the opportunity to work with Dahlia Malaeulu to help create some writen work and poetry pieces. Dahlia is a Wellington based educator and Pasifka advocate who has many titles published over the past few years

The work is called Pasifika Navigators and Dahlia is creating a book to capture student voice from Pasifika students around the country.

This is a special opportunity for Breens as we are the only school in the South Island to be considered for the publication.

Miss Pole has been working with the Pasifika group as part of our Friday programme and students have been working on an array of poetry ideas. These poems have then be shared with Dahlia who has been giving online feedback from her residence in Wellington.

We have just received the news that 7 individual poems as well as a group poem will be included in the publication which is due to be released early next year.

Dahlia has a range of texts about Pasifika and Samoan stories and history . Her website can be found here https://milasbooks.com/author/milasbks/

Below are a sample of some of the poems that our amazing Pasifika students have been working on.

Fa'fetai lava!

Poems

Eliana, always be proud of who you are and where you are from

Be proud of yourself for being a Pasifika

Ellie, don’t forget to always embrace your culture

When performing, Eliana Ata Ata Mai

When praying, Tatou ifo ma tatalo

Always show respect to your elders

Faavae Samoa i le atua - God is our foundationRemember your family is with you in all you do

Put God at the forefront of your life

Always put your BEST into everything you do

(Eliana Taula  - Pasifika Leader)

Faa’aloalo

Foundation of my being

Taught to me from birth
Through listening, watching, doing
Duty to serve with alofa
Out of gratitude

A core value of the Samoan Culture
At my core

Respect for my grandparents

Appreciation
For the sacrifices they made
coming to the land of Milk & Honey

Leaving their home
all they knew behind
For me

Respect for my parents

For doing what they have to
For the time they are away

Working hard to provide for us
Giving us all the things they did not have
growing up
Now grown

Respect for myself

Knowing me
Seeing me for me
Mirror for my parents
My younger siblings
And the world around me
I am an afakasi princess
Blessed and proud

Born to a Samoan King & Kuki Airani Queen

(Elise Taula )

People sharing their culture

Always helping out

Spending time together

In it together

Family over everything

Interesting facts learnt about other cultures

Keeping the values on our treaty

Awesome dances

Pasifika Haiku

Warming break of day

A beautiful ocean sing

Watching the palm trees

Dances:

Rhythmic movement

Graceful siva, dancing, song

Move elegantly

Language:

Teaching our language

Proudly sharing gagana

Keeping it alive

Spending time together:

Saying tatalo

Cultural Taaloga

Fia fia nights

Always helping out:

Fufulu lpu

Faamama le lapisi

Fai ou tiute

Church:

Singing and praying

Worshiping and fellowship

Charity and love

(Raelyn Tuitamai)

Showing respect to our elders

Attending church every Sunday

Manu Samoa

Obeying parents and using manners wherever we go

Amazing culture and food

Showing respect to others

Always having fun. Always showing respect

Making new friends and making sure everything is clean

On task most of the time and trying our best

Always being kind to each other. Learning new languages and things about our culture

It is part of my culture and family.

(A.J. Tuitamai - Pasifika Leader)

Aiga

Aiga is everything to me as I put my respect and effort into my family. No matter what, you put your family first.

Aiga can be known in a lot of different ways like love, kindness, respect. Respect is a big thing in faasamoa and aiga. You should always respect your parents and elders. If you walk past them you have to say Tulou, in English, excuse me. You do what they ask of you. They have wisdom. They know what is right.

Aiga is if you are in a Samoan family or any other Poly family you have to let the elders eat first. When they’re finished you get them an apa/bowl and towel for them to wash and dry with. Then take their plates back.

Aiga is before dinner we gather in the lounge for a quick song and prayer. We harmonize. Everyone has their parts. Then it’s family talk about how everything is going? What has everyone done in the day? We share stories. After that we set up the table for dinner.

Aiga is chores. Every morning we have to wake up and clean the house before our elders wake up and open the curtains. If we have enough time we clean the toilets. We wash our eyes, brush our teeth. Off to school. Always do your chores!

Aiga is church as every Sunday morning we help Mum with the kogai /lunch before the church service. We dress in white and go to church.We know everyone. We are proud to pray, sing and dance together.We learn and laugh. After church we go home or if there is a church fono we wait and then go home. At home it’s cleaning and food!

Aiga means we are all one. If one of my family members has an issue with someone else, we all have an issue with them cause we are one. We don’t let anyone go through something alone! Especially if they’re family. We always respect the va between the tama and the teine as we would have to respect the boys personal space and the boys would have to respect the girls. It's a rule in faasamoa.

Aiga is inspirational. It is my everything.

(Cialla Loto - Pasifika Leader)

Polynesians are fearless and proud. We're like the players on a rugby field and know where we stand as a team and as individuals.

Rugby games are where we express ourselves most. With gigantic flying flags and eccentric costumes, we sing hymns that echo all around the stadium, voices filled with spirit and pride.

Inter-island competitiveness is natural and happens often. But off the field, we come together to offer help and guidance as friends, not opposition. A massive part of all our cultures is that we support each other, are proud of who we are and wear our colours, even when others want us to believe and feel different.

During our lives, we all have times when we get tackled down to the ground and don't know whether we'll be able to get back up. Part of being an Islander is that we are thick-skinned. We take all the criticism the world throws at us and get back up, again and again. It's like being in the Finals for the Pacific Nations Cup, going for the winning try, then you knock it on 5 metres from the line. The crowd screams their disappointment, but you pick yourself up, and with the support of your team, you get the ball back and score with 3 seconds remaining.

Everything in life is unexpected. There will always be new and exciting challenges around the corner: that's the reason for life. And when the bad times hit, we will always have our families, our "team". They join together to support us through our troubles and help us get back on our feet and carry on.

As a collective, Polynesians show the world that though we come from small countries, we are here and are proud to be who we are as a people, and there is nothing that can or will ever change that.

(Olive Williams-Partington)