Celebrating the success of our first ever co-led Keep in Touch (KIT) Day with Parafed at Edgecumbe Primary.

At the end of term 3, we collaborated with Parafed to run a KIT day based in Edgecumbe. Parafed is a not-for-profit organisation encouraging and supporting people with diverse abilities to participate in Sport,  Recreation and Play in the Bay of Plenty region.

Jo Jackson from Parafed is an absolute legend. Through Jo's connections, Vernei from Bay of Plenty Sport and Siobhan from the Halberg Foundation came on board and provided incredible support on the day, helping to make this event such a huge success.

Throughout the day, our ākonga enjoyed a variety of Boccia, badminton, target games and inclusive play activities. The inclusiveness of the day ensured that they all had an opportunity to shine and grow in confidence and self-belief as they learned to work as a team, hone their target skills, practise perseverance, and demonstrate Tuakana-Teina skills.

A highlight for our ākonga was the opportunity to wear Jo's Gold medals from the Paralympics and the Great Britain World Championships. We hope our ākonga have learnt that everyone has talents, is special, and can achieve. Within Te Moana a Toi Bay of Plenty we have some gifted athletes and, who knows, potentially some future Olympic medal winners.

Sometimes, the hours of hard work needed to make a KIT day happen can seem quite daunting. However, the connections that are made between ākonga and the smiles on their faces are what make it ALL worth it. After all, they are the centre and the HEART of everything we do.

E hara taku toa I te toa takitahi engari I te toa takitini

My strength is not individual but collective.