Congratulations to Head Girl, Reva Grills and Year 11 student Maria Kohu-Morris who won the Mana Pounamu 2016 Awards.

Both young women have been high achieving and successful role models within our school and the wider community.

He tāoka, he koha, he kura pounamu

The Mana Pounamu Young Achievers’ Awards were brought about through the vision of the late Tāua, Alva Kapa, a local Kāi Tahu educator. It was named as such because it was first held in the Year of Mana Pounamu (2001) and is a Kāi Tahu initiative supported by Kā Papatipu Rūnaka ki Arai-Te-Uru.

The awards ceremony is an opportunity to celebrate the achievement of rakatahi Māori in secondary schools across Otago. The underlying objectives of the awards are to:

Celebrate the success and achievement of rakatahi Māori

Encourage rakatahi to participate in further tertiary study

Identify leadership potential

Provide positive role models to rakatahi Māori

Create networking opportunities

Provide and distribute information relating to study, career and scholarships.