Te Wiki o Te Reo - Māori Language Week

Ko Tātou meaning ‘all of us’ is a diverse council of passionate students ranging from Year 7 to Year 13. We plan, organize, and advertise student-led events within the school to celebrate and recognize Māori culture. 

The use of Te Reo Māori within our school whānau and community has increased through our encouragement and the example set by our own use of it. It’s always a delight to hear the increased daily use of Te Reo here at KingsWay and to see the change in the corridor talk of our school with more and more students casually using it every day.

During Te Wiki o Te Reo in Week 9, Ko Tātou organized and hosted poi making worships every lunch at both the Senior and Junior Campus. This provided a fun activity and an amazing learning opportunity where all students were welcome to make their own poi, learn some simple tricks, and know some more about Māori culture. Students bonded through these poi making workshops as we helped each other tie and weave, whilst singing waiata and dancing with the poi we had carefully crafted. 

Another thing we did during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori was conduct quickfire interviews at lunchtimes, asking random students around school simple Māori questions such as ‘What are 3 ways you can greet someone in Reo Māori?’ These little activities throughout the week helped us celebrate the important week and gain more attention for Māori language and culture around school. 

One of the greatest accomplishments of Ko Tātou 2023 was establishing a Kapa Haka team within the council. This team was consistent with weekly Thursday meetings and practices throughout the year, where we bonded together and created a special performance for our school Whānau. Mr. Robertson, our kaitataki (lead guitarist), and the Kapa Haka team performed ‘Te Iwi E’ at the Senior School Leadership assembly and Middle school assembly to celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. The students in our Kapa Haka group performed at a very high standard and we are very proud to know how admired and inspiring our performance was for the student body. These performances have been the first ever Kapa Haka items performed at a KingsWay assembly, taking great courage for each member to get up, perform, and represent Ko Tātou on the stage in front of such a large audience.   

Arahina Kirifi
Prefect / Kaiāwhina Leader of Ko Tātou