On Tuesday 23 of August we had our Commonwealth Tākarokaro Festival that included Years 1-8. There were 15 different games. They were spread through the senior courts, the field and GP hall. Each game included at least one rugby ball.

In ideal weather, sunshine and dry conditions underfoot for such an event, the festival started promptly at 12:30pm. First we had our opening ceremony which was led by Alex McKinney, Sam Froud, Kristian Young, Kolbi Louden and Xavier Geary. They did a fantastic job at delivering the information about the event to us and background music during the games.

A horn was sounded to tell everyone when to start their game, and when to go to their next rotation. When the games started, the journalists went around and talked to a few teachers and asked them about how they felt about the event. Mrs. Thompson said that she was very excited to hear all the children's laughter.

In the GP Hall there were some fantastic games and everyone was having a great time. The coaches and managers were very good at modifying their games so that they were suitable for all ages. The managers moved their teams to the next activity quickly so they had lots of time to play the games. The Festival mascots -The Rugabees who were Lucah, Brody and Ethan played their role very well supporting teams while competing with their chants and encouragement. 

We asked some of the children what their favourite games were. The games mentioned were helicopter run, obstacle courses, rob the eggs, rugby relay, hot potato, and race for the rugby ball. It appears there were many games that appealed across the year levels.

We had four safety and security people who made sure there were no issues. They did a great job in creating a RAMS document for Mrs Whitlow to check that all the risk management for the event had been covered. Mrs Whitlow was very impressed with their efforts prior and during the event. They handled any misunderstandings efficiently. The commentators, Nathaniel and Elisha shared regular updates of games adding to the atmosphere from their Oxford NorWest FM  station, and playing some very uplifting music that pumped everyone up and was energetic.

At the First Aid tent, they were handing out ice packs and plasters whenever someone had a little incident. Fortunately there weren't any major injuries during of the day.

Nearing the end of this fun event the journalists asked teachers and students their thoughts on this festival:

Mrs. Mehrtens- “It's been so nice seeing the kids being active”

Mrs. Thompson- “Watching everyone having fun has been so joyful”

Mrs Lovatt - "All the kids were having fun and so was I"

Year 6 student- "It's a great learning experience and opportunity to get moving and motivated"

Overall, everyone had a great day. It was so much fun getting involved with the younger children and getting to observe the Year 7/8 students' great work in organising the games and taking on a variety of roles so the festival could run run so successfully. Good job everyone. Big thanks to Julie Evans for planning and promoting this Commonwealth Games and Tākarokaro ( Rugby themed 'Let's Get Active programme to promote the Women's Rugby World Cup in NZ during October) programme and making it happen after putting hours into it.

By Tayla Marquet, Lily McNabb, Lara Dalley and Matilda Burns