On Saturday 3rd August 2019, ‘Te Hononga Wairua’ competed at the Waitaha Regional Secondary Schools Kapa Haka Competition at the Aurora Centre in Christchurch. This was a combined kapa haka group with St Thomas of Canterbury College, that was officially formed at the beginning of 2019.

Riccarton High School and St Thomas of Canterbury College first united for the Waitaha Regional Manu Kōrero haka powhiri in 2018, when Riccarton High School were hosts to the competition and St Thomas of Canterbury came on board to support. The two schools are extremely close in proximity, sharing the same whakapapa of our rohe, Pūtaringamotu. Our name ‘Te Hononga Wairua’ has come from the wairua of our rohe coming together as one.

The group’s performance last weekend was a culmination of months of hard work by tutors Latoya Leef-Graham and Biancha Biddle, and Year 9 – 13 students from both schools. Much of the performance bracket was composed especially for the group by the tutors themselves. It touched on current issues such as the recent mosque attacks in Christchurch, the mental health struggles young people face, and substance abuse that impacts our ability to succeed in life.

The build-up to the competition began with a one week long wananga during the school holidays, followed by a full dress rehearsal on Sunday 28th July in the Riccarton High School gym. Staff, whānau, and friends from both schools came out in force with over two hundred in attendance for this. The week leading up to the competition was then spent polishing the six compulsory aggregate items and the transitions between these. All students involved worked exceptionally hard and the resulting final performance on competition day was executed with pride and passion. The kakahu looked stunning, the transitions between items were flawless, the group’s singing was melodic and beautiful, and the haka fierce and powerful.

Peggy Tombs (Riccarton) and Tahuora Himiona-Burcher (St Thomas) were the groups Kai-tataki and they were a strong match, each with such charisma and energy that the group could not help but respond to it. Overall the group did not place in the top three, however, they produced a performance that they can be extremely proud of. The hard slog of training, wananga, and personal sacrifice was well worth it and the resulting performance was magnificent, especially for a group that has only been together for a few months.

From all of the students involved, thank you to all the kaitautoko and whānau who have helped us get to competition day, we could not have done it without your tautoko and aroha.