Written and edited by Year 8 students Lola and Tamzin

On Wednesday the 15th of June, a range of twelve different schools from the Hauraki area came together at Ngatea Primary School to celebrate Matariki and the Maori new year.

The year seven and eight students participated in a range of activities that taught them about many different things, from making traditional Maori instruments to learning how to play traditional Maori PE games. The students were put into different groups, where they made new friends, but also got a chance to connect with new and different people from some of the other schools. All of the students came together to sing a waiata (Maori song) that they had all been practising at their schools and it was a big success, almost all students sang the song perfectly! In the end, the day was a big win with all of the students enjoying a great day filled with lots of learning, fun and spirit!