Kathleen Russell — Apr 6, 2023

Today we celebrated Easter in the Upper School with a festival filled with beauty, wonder, joy, and hope.

We began our festival with rangitahi planting daffodil bulbs outside the Tirohunga Nui building and on the hillside at the bottom of the driveway. They enjoyed digging in the earth and preparing the ground for the hope of flowers in the spring. Afterwards rangitahi moved into the reverence of our festival in the outdoor classroom space, where they enjoyed the warmth of the fire while listening to a story from Amelia that she shared about the movement from sadness and confusion to joy and hope. Keeping in the reflective mood, Rangitahi then watched as handmade boxes containing their written reflections were placed in the fire in a gesture of change and letting go. Classes 11 and 12 then sang Media Vita perfectly as the rangitahi left the festival space to return to their Kaiarataki room where they enjoyed the sharing of Hot cross buns and juice. The Lower School tamariki also had the joy of listening to Media Vita at the end of the day. Easter is a special time of the year and equally a special festival celebrated in our school by many. It is a time of reflection and hope. Happy Easter everyone.