During this term the Māori students here at Riccarton have had some cool opportunities to whakawhāngatanga with each other, and have successfully settled in our year 9 Māori students in to our Riccarton whānau.

Throughout the year there are multiple Māori student hui run with the aim of getting all Māori in our kura to come together to have their voices heard. This year the Māori senior student leadership team, Mana Toroa, are working towards improving the outcomes of these hui to ensure Māori students and culture remain thriving in a safe environment.

We have already had our first hui for this year, which was run by Mana Toroa. Being the first hui of the year, it was mainly focused on introducing the juniors and seniors to each other, and speaking about our aspirations for 2019. We were lucky enough to have Mananui Ramsden from Ngai Tahu, to come in as a guest speaker with the hope of inspiring and motivating our Māori students. Both of these things were achieved and Mananui was shown gratitude from the students, at the end of the hui with Tahu Pōtiki (a Ngai Tahu haka). All was ended with kai, lots of laughter and a few photos.

A crucial part of Te Ao Māori at Riccarton are our whānau hui. During this time the families of our maori students and kaiako share kai and talk about many things. Most of the talking is focused on the welfare of the students and progress in strengthening the bond between the students’ families and school. After all the talking was finished plenty of kai was eaten, and the fun and games continued.