What better way to celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori than a full-day workshop at Whakatu Marae in Nelson.

The Māpua School kapa haka extension roopu (group) were privileged to spend a whole day at Whakatū Marae on Wednesday this week. Whenua-iti student leaders, supported by their kaiako (teachers), and Whakatū Marae's Mike Elkington taught us new haka, poi, waiata, waiata ringa ringa (action songs) and mau rakau. It was a great way to celebrate the extension group's hard work during their lunch-times throughout the year, and to try out their newly made poi and taiaha. They have been busy making their own poi and taiaha over the last few weeks. The students put in lots of their own mahi (work), including 4 strand plaiting, tying, sanding and oiling to prepare for the workshop at Whakatu Marae. 

At the poroporoaki (farewell), every student was given a pakohe pendant as a koha from the hosts to celebrate the journey that everyone was on and to give them the strength to continue. This was such a beautiful gesture and it made us all feel valued, with a sense of belonging.

"It was real fun and the boys that led us were really good at the haka and what they did. They knew what they were doing and they were really confident and threw in heaps of games to keep us having fun". Jack Trott 

A huge thank-you to Whakatū Marae /Mike Elkington and the AMAZING team from Whenua-iti. Tēna rawa atu koutou mo to awhi - thanks for all of your support. You guys rock!

Also, thanks to parents who supported us with transport and a special thanks to Mapua School parent Matt Hyde who supplied Manuka for the boys to make their taiaha from and the Mapua PTA for supporting the cost of materials for poi making.

Check out the awesome photos that we captured throughout the day.