On the 29th of July, four students: Molly Magurie, Tiana Gilliland, Mekenzie Allan, and Aliyah Ormsby were invited to experience Te Pou O Rongo Māori Peace Symposium in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) at the Rehua Marae where they were welcomed in with a beautiful pōwhiri.

Schools from all around the South Island attended this event with CSC being the farthest to travel to the event. This gave the students an opportunity to reconnect with their Māori culture. Students looked at different topics relating to Māori culture with the presentations given by a number of speakers. These included Mahina Kingi-Kaui with Cha’nel Kaa-Luke who spoke about “MANA WHENUA '' (belonging) and told us the stories about Ranginui and Papatūānuku using traditional Maori instruments for their performance. We also heard Dr. Kelli Te Maihoroas presentation on Maori Peaceful History “MANA TUPUNA” (Ancestors).

In the afternoon we had a beautiful hangi. We got to socialise with the other students where we went outside to play a traditional Maori game called Pukana. Everyone was really enthusiastic and gave good energy. The afternoon presentations were wrapped up by the Jolt Dance Company and musician Henare Kaa.