Last week our akonga and kaiako celebrated Te wiki o te Reo Māori. There was so much going on in and around our kura. It was just fabulous.

It was great to see all of our staff get involved, make a pledge, and write down how they would increase and weave Te Reo into everyday life. 

Taking a walk around our kura we could hear beautiful waiata being sung and the beat of the rākau being practised. You could see senior students out enjoying te rā while learning and teaching one another traditional Māori takaro, while more tamariki were out swinging the poi.

On Tuesday, we had our whole school Māori Arts day. 

Keep reading and check out all of the awesome mahi our kura has been up to. 

Roto had so much fun exploring the Māori Arts last week. We learnt some new waiata as well as used poi and rākau while we sang. We made some large collaborative collages of the Māori symbols Pikorua, Hei Matau and Koru. We also made a korowai cloak of all the kupu we knew already and added on all the new reo too.

Moana 1&2 explored koru using pastels and dye. Each koru representing a member of their whānau. While Moana 3 created some fantastic raranga and also enjoyed waiata and learning rākau.

Maunga Year 4 tamariki were inspired by the waharoa (entrance gate) of Ngati Moki Marae. The tamariki used an art pencil and one feature colour to add depth and a point of interest to their work. If you look closely, you can see the images on the gate representing the area's food sources.

Maunga Year 3 tamariki created these striking koru prints. They worked on them over the course of two days. A cardboard baseplate was created, then they used paint to create their prints carefully. They are currently on display in the library.

Rakau; in Years 5-6, we created Te Marama and Te Ra art. First, we made the circle for the moon and sun, creating the shared faces. The akonga then added their individual designs around the outside, making different patterns for the sun and the moon. We then used warm coloured felts on the sun and cool coloured felts on the moon to create a night and day effect.

Awa; Year 7&8 students explored Tikanga (Māori customary practices and behaviours) and how we can implement these in our everyday school life. The students created posters for this, with the koru pattern being the central design and several Māori and Kiwiana patterns coming off this. The Tikanga message was then written into the artwork. The Tikanga artwork captures the essence of Māori culture through intricate designs and symbolism, reflecting the rich traditions and values of the indigenous people of New Zealand.

We concluded the week by coming together to karakia, waiata and celebrate some of the Māori performing arts that are a part of Te Kura o Taumata Kuri. 

Have a fabulous term break! Fingers crossed for some beautiful weather. 

Kia noho haumaru.