2020 felt like two years jammed into one. It was a long one and it tested us all in a whole lot of ways.

Ka tika me mihi ki a koutou, ki ngā kaiārahi, nga kaimahi, Te Tautarinui o Matariki hoki to every one that stepped up in 2020 above and beyond the call of duty to protect the pā and support each other through yet another unprecedented event. I know just how exhausted you all are and yet there you all were making sure that we ended the year on a high, jamming in as many haerenga and events that saw our pononga dressed in tutu running though wetlands, on a boat to Otamahua, in Rāpaki and Hanmer Springs on noho, on stage showing off their passions - yes Te Pa has talent -, sharing Christmas lunch in Rapanui; competing in their kahui, and then gathering at Onuku to honour our 14 graduates for 2020, the biggest cohort yet, and that was just in the last couple of weeks! 

In this last Mōkihi for the year I want to talk not as the board chair, that sounds so impersonal, but as a mum, a proud mum whose son is one of those 14 graduates and part of the first cohort to do all their high school years at Te Pa from year 9. Te Pā is personal for me as it is for all of you. This is not a school, these are not students, these are our kids. 

Anaru is the pōtiki in our family who has had to put up with absentee parents most of his life as they run around looking after everyone else’s kids. He is fiercely independent with a wicked sense of humour. His name is Anaru Te Pura o te Rangi - named after his pāpa and his poua - a big handle to carry! As a mum, all I wanted for my son was to be confident in who he is, to stand confident in te ao Māori and te ao Pākeha, to be happy, to have the courage to pursue his passions, to be a good man and one day a good pāpa. Most mum’s don’t then go and build their kids an early childhood centre and school, but some of us did! 

Anaru and his mates in this years class of 2020 are a quirky, high spirited bunch. This is our third cohort to graduate. It is the largest and with the most boys yet. In our first year we had 8 graduates – no boys, last year we had 11 – 2 were boys and this year we have 14, 8 of them are boys. For a small kura like ours this is a large cohort of Māori in year 13 by anyone’s measures and defies all the stats for Māori. It is even more significant when you know most high schools struggled to retain their seniors post COVID. 

And despite the disappointments of cancelled kapa haka nationals, sporting events and an international haerenga to the USA and Hawaii, 14 out of 15 passed NCEA level 3 and graduated. At their graduation last week in Onuku the mamas shared stories of just how hard this year has been and how it has been almost a minor miracle that we got our kids to complete the year. It is in no small measure thanks to the perseverance and persistence of the Uruao team ably led by Matua Te Aho and the many supports around this cohort including Matua Alex, Matt, Laken and TK . 

I want to end by talking about the graduation. The reason we do our graduation in Akaroa is that is where Rākaihautū lay his kō to rest. The mountain ranges you see in the background of the photos are called Tuhiraki which is what the kō was named when it was laid down. There is no stage, no certificate and not a mortar board in sight. 

We have reclaimed how we would have graduated in our wānanga under the guidance of Rev. Maurice Gray. It involves karakia, going into the water, and reciting whakapapa. Unfortunately this year he was not well enough to lead the tohi ceremony, but we were very fortunate to have Dr Matiu Payne perform the ceremony. Each graduate receives a kō when they leave Te Pā in the hope that they too, like Rākaihautū will carve out new worlds for themselves and their whanau. 

Can I take this opportunity to mihi to all our graduates for hanging in there this year, to Mia and Petrus who tried very hard to lead an unleadable bunch

And finally to you my son, papa and I love you very much. You are our big why. We opened Nōku Te Ao when I was carrying you and Te Pā just in time for your high school years. But no we will not be building a university for you, Victoria University will have to do!