Te Wiki o te Reo Māori last week was a wonderful celebration of all things Māori!

Each day we had a kupu hou (new word) in te reo for kaiako and rangatahi to exercise their reo in everyday conversations. 

On Tuesday, there was a kahoot played in each tutor class quizzing students’ knowledge of te reo for prizes. 

On Wednesday, we had a fun game of ki-o-rahi on the field for all players. And, the Level 2 & 3 te reo class and kapa haka rōpu Pūaha Te Tai were taken to the Pupuri Tāonga o Te Tai Ao (Nelson Provincial Museum) to view whāea Melissa Banks’ beautiful exhibition ‘Te Ara o Hine Rēhia’. It celebrates the complexity of kapa haka and its significance in Te Tau Ihu featuring many past and present rangatahi from Neirana and is open till 12 November. 

On Thursday, we had another game of ki-o-rahi and invited the school to join us in the 12pm Moment. This moment marks the presentation of the Māori Language Petition to parliament in 1972 on the country’s first Māori Language Day. Three years later it became Te Wiki o te Reo Māori that we know today. The 12pm Moment is when everyone in the country is invited to do a kaupapa Māori. At Neirana, we got involved by doing a waiata-ā-ringa (action song). 

On Friday, people were invited to Te Puna Manako to see Xanthe Banks and Ruihia Pemberton perform their speeches in preparation for the Ngā Manu Kōrero National Speech Competition. Xanthe is in the Senior Māori category while Ruihia is in the Senior English category, and we wish them the best of luck in Dunedin this week.

Kia kaha te Reo Māori!