Tēnā koutou e te Whānau

Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki (Celebrate the rising of Matariki)

Mānawa maiea te ariki o te rangi (Celebrate the rising of the lord of the heavens)

Mānawa maiea te Mātahi o te tau (Celebrate the rising of the New Year)

Matariki hunga nui Matariki, (a time to come together)

Matariki ahunga nui Matariki, (a time of bounty)

Matariki manako nui Matariki, (a time of aspiration)

Next week (Friday, 24 June) is the first-ever Matariki public holiday. Matariki is traditionally a very special time in the Māori calendar. As the whakatauki above describes, Matariki signals the Māori New Year. The appearance of Matariki heralds a time of remembrance, joy and peace. It is also time for communities and whānau to come together, share kai and celebrate new beginnings. 

What is Matariki?

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. Iwi across New Zealand understand and celebrate Matariki in different ways and at different times. Matariki is an abbreviation of ‘Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea' (‘The eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea’). According to Māori tradition, the god of the wind, Tāwhirimātea, was so angry when his siblings separated their parents, Ranginui the sky father and Papatūānuku the earth mother, that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens.

Traditionally, Matariki was a time to acknowledge the dead and to release their spirits to become stars. It was also a time to reflect, to be thankful to the gods for the harvest, to feast and share the bounty of the harvest with family and friends.

Our children will be learning about Matariki leading up to next Friday and will be involved in a range of activities and events. As part of your family's Matariki celebrations, you might like to encourage your children to reflect on what they are grateful for and what they have to look forward to in the coming months. 

You can find out more about Matariki by visiting the official website. There is also a number of family-friendly Matariki events taking place in Christchurch that you might like to check out. 

Speaking of historical moments, many of you will be aware that the Ministry of Education is in the process of refreshing the NZ Curriculum. The NZ Curriculum was developed in 2007. This is the first major review since its inception. The review will involve a refresh of each of the learning areas over time. In addition to this, the Aotearoa NZ histories curriculum is being introduced in 2023 across the country. 

This will be an opportunity for us to learn about the history of our nation and form a local, regional and national context. 

We will be providing you with more information about the NZ Curriculum refresh as this develops. 

Finally, a reminder that if you are interested in finding out more about how our School Board operates, you are welcome to join us at next week's meeting (Tuesday 21 June, 6 pm in the Staffroom). Please let our office team know if you are planning to attend. 

Ngā mihi nui

Stuart Cameron

Principal