If you were lucky enough to have gone to the Te Huinga Whetū Kapa Haka competition at the Trafalga Center two weeks ago, you would’ve seen Nayland College’s Pūaha Te Tai kapa haka group take the competition by storm, winning a brace of first placings and second placings. It is a victory that has been several years in the making, and a fitting ‘see you later’ for one of the key ingredients in the group’s ascendency.

Pūaha Te Tai (meaning ‘smash the wave’) won first place in the Haka, Moeteatea, Tira and Kaita Tane sections. They also came second in the Poi, Aringa and Kaita Wahine sections.

Whāea Chanel Ngaruhe, the teacher in charge of Pūaha Te Tai, said that the wairua (atmosphere) amongst the students since the win has been ‘positive, uplifting, and infectious.’

“Even the students that chose not to compete in the regionals this year, are keen and eager, and they have a newfound want and desire to stand with us next year,” Whāea Chanel said.

Whāea Chanel has been at Nayland College for six years, and in that time has seen Pūaha Te Tai (which up until this year was called the ‘whānau class’) slowly go from strength to strength. The recent success the class has had in the kapa haka competition has been a confirmation for her and her teaching team (Matua Bruno Watkins, Nigel Lineham, and Matthew Penney, as well as kapa haka tutors Estella and Te Haupai Davis) of the amazing potential their students have had all along. It is a nice way for Whāea Chanel to finish this chapter of her 16-year teaching career, as she gets ready for a year away from Nayland to go on study leave.

“I am seeing what I have always envisioned and dreamed for us as a kura, but more specifically, for our Māori and Pasifika students, the sense of pride, purpose and belonging,” she said.

Tutor Te Haupai Davis said the recognition from the wider community has helped foster that sense of pride.

“The tautoko from the whole community - pakeha and Māori – is like nothing I’ve heard before,” he said.

Year 12 student and Pūaha Te Tai member Ashley Reneti found she has been getting compliments from strangers about the group’s performance.

“When I was at work on Sunday, people were saying Nayland were amazing,” Ashley said.

Whāea Chanel explained that this was a far cry from how visible Māori culture was when she first started at Nayland.

“When I first arrived here 6 years ago, this wairua was not visible, tangible or evident at all. It was not 'cool' to be associated with the whānau class (this was our title for 5 long years) and it was not a safe place to be. However, with hard work, tikanga and lots of love, we have turned this negative mindset and negative wairua around!”

Year 13 student James Reneti, a member of Pūaha Te Tai since Year nine, as well as being this year’s Kaitaunaki Māori, agreed with Whāea Chanel that the visibility of Māori culture in the school had come a long way since his first years at Nayland College.

“When I started, Kapa Haka was barely a thing. Like apparently, they had around 5 people who would turn up normally. There was a small group of seniors. It barely existed because no one would commit to Kapa Haka,” he said.

Fast forward 5 years later, and now Nayland has 36 proud students take the stage for the Te Huinga Whetū regional Kapa Haka competition, not only participating but absolutely excelling. So what has changed?

“They were the answer to my prayers,” said Whāea Chanel. She is talking about Estella and Te Haupai Davis, who joined Pūaha Te Tai as Kapa Haka tutors last year. Everyone involved in Pūaha Te Tai is full of praise for the pair, and the renewed interest and skill level they have brought out of the students in regards to their kapa haka performance.

James explained how the new tutors had brought the group together.

“Having a tutor listen to us, to unite us and let us have our voice. It is enjoyable to be in Kapa Haka,” he said.

James, and his sister Ashley are somewhat responsible for bringing Estella and her husband into the Nayland fold as Estella is James and Ashley’s sister.

“I sent an email to Whāea Chanel asking her if she needed any help, or what she was doing to implement more Kapa Haka around the school,” Estella said. “Whāea reached out and said we’d love to have as much help as possible. We pretty much turned up one day.”

“At the time I was already tutoring Kapa Haka at Kindergartens around Nelson and so when we came here it wasn’t a paid job which my other tutorship was, but I saw a need for Kapa Haka. We spent all of two terms last year tutoring for free. It is because we’re passionate about it and this is something we’d gladly do for free,” Estella said

This year, Estella and Te Haupi were able to continue to act as tutors at Nayland as it dovetailed nicely with the counselling degree they are doing.

“This year we used Kapa Haka as our placement for our degree,” Estella explained. “We integrated a therapeutic approach to Kapa Haka which I think has had a massive impact on how many students we’ve had stay and keep coming back each week.”

“It is the one opportunity they get out of the week to be completely authentic with how they feel. There are not many opportunities we get during the week to be sad and be ok with being sad. Not many opportunities to be angry and that be ok. Same with being happy and celebrating, whatever it may be. This is your one opportunity this week to get it off your chest, whatever it is,” Estella said.

For Whāea Chanel, having Māori culture as an integral and visible part of school life has been important for drawing a line between the past and the future, as we strive for an educational system that is inclusive of all students and cultures.

“For too long we have been told we cannot, and we should not do this or that, this is not the appropriate time or place to be 'Māori' within the mainstream school setting. This really must change. We have got to realise that actually 'our ways', 'our culture' and 'our language' are worthy, that all these taonga have value and have a place here at Nayland College, and here in Aotearoa.”

It will be with this continued goal in mind that Whāea Chanel leaves Nelson to study at Waikato University next year.

“I will be studying te reo, through a rangahau (research) kaupapa Māori paper, which is a total immersion Māori paper.” She is also doing several papers on Educational Leadership.

Whāea Chanel is confident that Pūaha Te Tai will be in good hands next year, with two new teachers joining.

“We have two beautiful, compassionate, and very capable young Whāea coming to our kura in 2021. Their names are Whaearua Ross-Hotene and Dayarnn Paturihi Nowell. Both of our new Whāea are passionate about Te reo me ōna tikanga, Māori Performing arts, Manukōrero and most importantly, seeing our rangatahi (young/youth) Māori thrive and excel. They both see the high importance of continuing to teach our reo to the future generations and continue to see our rangatahi flourish and grow and confidently stand within this evolving world, proud to be Māori.”

Unsurprisingly for someone who views aroha as being one of her core teaching values, it is the relationships with staff and students that Whāea Chanel is most proud of when reflecting on her six years at Nayland, and particularly the progress that has been made by students within Pūaha Te Tai.

“I am proud of the relationships that have been established and that to this very day are still alive and well. I am most proud of the students and their achievements, their success as Māori, by Māori, for Māori! He waka eke noa tātou! I will forever be grateful for my time here at Nayland College, this is a very special place, with very special people, students, and staff alike!”