St Thomas of Canterbury College hosted the the first Southwest Catholic Schools Cultural Festival. The seven schools represented were St Peter’s, St Teresa’s, St Bernadette’s, Our Lady of Victories, Our Lady of the Assumption, Villa Maria and St Thomas’.

The event was opened by the senior St Thomas Choir, who were absolutely outstanding.

St Peter’s performed a cultural dance exposē (six dancers - Filipino folk, Irish, Scottish Indian and Tongan). This was followed by OLV, who looked incredible in their cultural dress and performed Tuhia /Te Iwi E, The Blessing /Ko Te Whirika and the Hawaikinui/Haka.

St Teresa’s brought much energy to the stage with their performances of Tongan dance, Samoan dance, Sasa and their school Haka. St Bernadette’s showed off their amazing junior and senior Kapa Haka groups and OLA performed 3 beautiful waiata, Whai Hua Tātou, A Te Tarakihi and Purea Nei.

The Wahine Toa from Villa Maria College, showcased the very talented Filipino Maria’s and executed a beautiful performance, showing immense skill and rhythm. They were followed by their incredible Kapa Haka group, who performed 3 items, including Ka waiata and a powerful performance of the chat, Ka tū te tītī.

Lastly, St Thomas closed this event with their breath-taking Noqu Masu song and performed a very impressive school Haka.

The St Thomas stage was an absolute visual symphony with each performance, showing an excellent display of diverse and unique cultures.

To quote our final young speaker -"Our hearts will be swollen with pride..."

A huge thank you to the STC students and staff, as well as all the southwest school’s staff who helped make this event possible.