Year 12 students Zy Bella Hart and Tanner Kopeke have written a reflection on the Puuhoro Wānanga which took place on 11th March at Claudelands.

Zy Bella Hart

Puuhoro is a STEM class for Maaori students that provides extra support in STEM subjects such as free tutoring and STEM activities to further our knowledge. It is also a great opportunity to meet new faces and create new friendships. I was invited by our kura to attend the Puuhoro information presentation, from which I signed up to become a Puuhoro student. 

I got involved because I felt that it was a great opportunity that I should take up as Puuhoro also looks at our iwi and whakapapa which I feel is important to me as I do not know much about my whakapapa as my Dad (who I got my Maaori side from) is no longer part of my life and neither is his side of his whanau making it difficult for me to know about my whakapapa. Also, I have always struggled to connect with my culture as I have been discriminated in the past for being white and Maaori which caused me to quit kapa haka in primary and middle kura and to also avoid any Maaori culture related activities. But, the teachers in Puuhoro have been so welcoming and have made me feel connected to my culture again and I do not feel as insecure as I used to.

Puuhoro Waananga is a fun day out of school where we get to do a range of STEM activities that link to Maaori history and culture. The free kai is a bonus too. We get the opportunity to meet other Puuhoro students from a range of different kura from the Waikato region which is super fun as we get to make new friendships and reconnect with people we know. My favourite part of the Waananga sessions is being able to hangout with other students and the Puuhoro teachers because it creates such a fun and friendly atmosphere where we are all engaging in fun activities together.

Tanner Kopeke Ngāpuhi, Te Ati Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Uenuku (Ruapehu, Waimarino)

Puuhoro is a STEMM-based studying group that focuses on helping Maaori students with their studies and STEMM-related subjects and activities. With Puuhoro Maaori students can rely on free tutors and help with most subjects in a friendly environment. I joined Puuhoro in my year 11 because they came to our school and presented Puuhoro in an assembly, I mainly joined because of the promise of free things, but the longer I stayed the more I loved it and now I stay for the extra help with my studying and all the friendly people you see at the wananga's and on the weekly sessions. At the wananga we did two activities, the first one we did was maurakau, in which we used a large rakau that had a rubber gaur on the end where a blade would usually be and learnt offensive and defensive moves. after practicing these moves we recorded ourselves hitting a plastic pole and figured out the acceleration and Newton's force of it among other things, using physics to complete this part of the session. For the second session, we were tasked with weaving different coloured thread through a 3d printed board to make patterns. We figured these patterns out by using the codes they had given us and solving them. This session was my personal favourite as it was my first time doing it and I was good at it. In both sessions they added a competitive element, the first session the ones with the highest Newton Force or something similar got prizes while in the second session, the group that had the most points won (points were earned through the completion of either a colour or a board.)