Pānui from May

Kia ora e te whānau o Te Kura Tuatahi o Papaioea,

Kapa Haka 2024

Here at Te Kura Tuatahi o Papaioea, Kapa Haka is one of our most prized taonga. We are delighted that we are now able to offer Kapa Haka across all year levels and for children in Te Arawaru (rumaki) and Kura Auraki (English medium). We currently have over half of our tamariki from across the kura participating every week.

One of the joys of Kapa Haka is performance and this letter outlines what our performances will look like this year.

In the Manawatū, we have two main avenues to share Kapa Haka.

The first is held every year at the Regent Theatre and is called Te Pae Tamariki. Te Pae Tamariki is a Kapa Haka festival held in Term 2 which provides an opportunity for Primary and Intermediate kura in the Manawatū to share and celebrate Kapa Haka. It is not a competitive event.

The second is held every second year and is called Ko Whiri Tika Mai. Ko Whiri Tika Mai is the Primary and Intermediate Regional Kapa Haka Qualifier for Manawatū, Horowhenua and Tararua regions. The top Kapa Haka teams from this competition are able to perform at Nationals.

1. Junior School Kapa Haka - Year 1 & 2

Our junior school Kapa Haka roopu has been underway for 6 weeks. This group spends 25 minutes per week with Matua Tawaroa and Whaea Hera on a Tuesday afternoon. This group won’t be ready to perform at Te Pae Tamariki this year, but our aim is to take this roopu in 2025.

Later in the year, we will hold a performance here at kura for this group to perform. This will be an awesome opportunity for you to bring the whole whānau to celebrate our Year 1 & 2 tamariki.
You are also welcome to pop in on a Tuesday afternoon to see this group. They practise from 1:45pm - 2:10pm in the school hall.

1. Middle School Kapa Haka - Year 3 & 4

Our middle school Kapa Haka roopu have also had 6 weeks with Matua Tawaroa and Whaea Hera. This group is full of potential and enthusiasm. This group won’t be ready to perform at Te Pae Tamariki this year, but they will definitely be there in 2025.

Later in the year, we will hold a performance here at kura for this group to perform. This will be an awesome opportunity for you to bring the whole whānau to celebrate our Year 3 & 4 tamariki.

If you would like to pop in to see a practice, you are always welcome. This group practises every Tuesday from 2:10pm - 2:45pm.

1. Ngā Pou o Tararua - Year 5 & 6

This is our senior Kapa Haka roopu who have now been together for over a year. We have approximately 70 tamariki in this group and their enthusiasm for Kapa Haka is contagious. All tamariki in this roopu will be attending Te Pae Tamariki later this term. We will let you know more details as they come to hand. At this stage, we know that Te Pae Tamariki will be held on the 17th & 18th June. We have found out today that we will perform on Tuesday 18th June.

Ngā Pou o Tararua will also be competing at Ko Whiri Tika Mai later this year (often in November). This is an exciting opportunity for us to showcase our kura and to work really hard to reach our vision: Whaia Kia Tutuki (strive to your potential). With Ko Whiri Tika Mai being a competition, there comes certain rules that we need to follow. The biggest of these is that there is only space for 40 performers on stage.

In talking this through with Matua Tawaroa and Whaea Hera, we have decided to enter two roopu into Ko Whiri Tika Mai so that everyone gets the opportunity to perform at the highest level. One team will be whakataetae (competitive) and one will be whakangahau (non-competitive).

The whakataetae roopu will be for tamariki who not only show commitment to Kapa Haka at kura, but also spend time practising during the week at home, who have great presence on stage and have outstanding behaviour at school and at home.

There will be up to 4 weekend practices. We will get these dates to you as soon as possible - but we are looking at 2 days in July and 2 in September (from 2pm onwards).

There will be some tamariki who do all of the above, but still don’t make it in the whakataetae roopu. Please do prepare your child for this possibility.

If you know that your child is not interested in being in the whakataetae group, please let Whaea Therese (tkeo@centralnormal.school.nz) or Whaea Hine (hrokosuka@centralnormal.school.nz) know ASAP.

If we are successful in Ko Whiri Tika Mai, we will be able to attend Nationals in 2025. This would involve a significant amount of fundraising for us to attend.

Te Pae Tamariki

As stated above, all of Ngā Pou o Tararua will be performing at Te Pae Tamariki in June. On top of this, the teina & waenga (Year 1 - 4) from Te Arawaru will also perform. This is a great opportunity for them to share the waiata that they have learnt throughout the year in Wā Karakia.

If you have any pātai, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Ngā mihi nui

Whaea Elly

Tumuaki