Save the date: 7th July 2021

Matariki has become an annual event in our school calendar and it is something we are continually learning about and growing with our understanding of why we celebrate the Māori New Year in winter. We hope you will join us and celebrate the hard work the students have been putting into the theme of Matariki 2021 which is to learn more about our local history.

Jacinda Ardern has revealed the date of New Zealand's new public holiday. The first Matariki public holiday will be held on Friday 24 June 2022 after consideration by an expert panel. The public holiday will shift each year, similar to Easter, but will most likely always fall between June and July. (hcamag.com)

“Matariki will be a distinctly New Zealand holiday; a time for reflection and celebration, and our first public holiday that recognises Te Ao Māori,” Jacinda Ardern said. (beehive.govt.nz)

Our own school celebration is always evolving and this year we will be having it at our school. In recent years we had beautiful Matariki evenings using the Māpua Community Hall where it was warm and there was a lot of light. This year, wrap up warm folks because we will be presenting to you a walk through the classrooms to look at our exhibits, a hangi cooked on-site (this will be where we raise funds to pay for our kiln-like hangi pit) and end with a hikoi (walk) to the local beach to release a biodegradable candle on a crafted raupo raft into the sea as our light show and finale. 

Why do we celebrate Matariki? 

Traditionally Matariki was yielded as an indicator for the coming agricultural season for planting crops. The brighter the stars, the better the season for growing. 

It is a time that we reflect and we set goals (similar to our more well known New Years on the 31st December.) Giving thanks and respecting nature was and still is, very important to Māori. This is particularly emphasised during Matariki.

The shift of knowledge and appreciation that Māpua has made since I first came 9 years ago is humbling. It is one of the things about our community that I am immensely proud of telling others about. You have embraced this very important element of Te Ao Māori (the Maori world) with warmth and a willingness to be a part of every year.

Ngā manaakitanga,

Philippa Jackson (Whaea)

Deputy Principal