8.15am - on a Monday morning - our kapa haka rōpū are extremely committed. We always feel so energised after our sessions on a Monday morning.

Our rōpū is growing each week and we now have at least 70 students who turn up every week to participate. We are really impressed with their commitment.

Kapa haka provides a learning environment that celebrates Māori culture. It also provides our students with a platform for expression, giving them the opportunity to experience success, gain confidence through performance, show pride and step up as leaders and role models.

Kapa haka provides an avenue for Māori students to access the Māori world and be culturally-connected learners.

It’s not just our Māori students who benefit from participating in kapa haka. All the St Francis  children can benefit by getting involved.

Over this last term we have been giving all students and our teachers a taster of kapa haka; at 8.50am each week one of the hubs on a rostered basis come and join us for 30 minutes. Our teachers are learning alongside the students. our kapa haka rōpū are getting the opportunity to showing leadership through a tuakana:teina approach in these moments as well. They have been learning some waiata (songs), waiata ā-ringa (actions songs) and hymene (hymns). We hope that some of the students may enjoy it enough to join our rōpū at some stage.

Additional benefits of kapa haka, for all, include:

• affirming our unique identity as New Zealanders
• being exposed to Māori values (e.g. whanaungatanga, ako, tuakana:teina)
• gaining confidence through ‘performance’
• contributing to our holistic well-being (hauora)
• learning how to communicate meaning using visual language, e.g., action songs and haka
• developing physical stamina, fitness and coordination
• being cognitively challenged due to the demands associated with recitation, repetition and memorisation
• being part of a team and gaining strength from being in a collective
• demonstrating discipline and commitment
• facilitating opportunities for leadership through a tuakana:teina approach
• promoting personal growth and development.
  

Tuakana:teina - tuakana (older/more experienced):teina (younger/less experienced) approach to learning.