On Monday June 25 Culture Week kicked off with an evening of celebration of Matariki. The night began with a delicious fundraising hangi. We were then entertained with performances by senior kapahaka, Pourua kapahaka, Aiga and a combined performance.

A highlight of the night was the inaugural presentation of seven Matariki Awards. The Matariki Awards have been established to celebrate the New Year and to acknowledge and honour the achievements of Whānau Pūmanwa students within te ao Māori. Each of the awards has been designed to reflect the attributes of each of the Matariki stars and celebrate where we see these attributes reflected in our students.

The seven inaugural recipients were as follows:

Waiti - Eddie Brown

The recipient of the Waiti award goes to the most outstanding Teina working consistently for our whānau.

Waita - Lesen Huiarangi

The recipient of the Waita award goes to the most outstanding Tuakana working consistently for our whānau.

Waipuna-a-rangi - Te Ata-a-rua Hansen-Cribb

The recipient of this award always shows manaakitanga to others.

Tupu-a-nuku - Nadia Smith

The recipient of this award has made the most growth within the whānau this year.

Tupu-a-rangi - Anateiha Dalton

The recipient of this award is renowned for his or her stunning waiata and kapahaka talent.

Ururangi - Ariana Bluegum

The recipient of this award has shown that a positive attitude is key.

Matariki - Mike Ronayne

The recipient of this award has shown leadership and outstanding commitment to the whānau.