Faka’alofa lahi atu! Mālo ni! Talofa koutou! Kia Orāna kōtou kātoatoa! Noa’ia! Ni sa bula! Mālō e lelei! Fakatalofa atu! Gude! Talofa lava! Kia ora koutou! Warm Pacific greetings

It’s been busy in the world of Pacific language weeks with four languages celebrated since the last College newsletter, and Hagley’s own Fiji language week (which fell during the school holidays) set to be full of fun next week.

Mālō e lelei ~ Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e lea faka-Tonga 6-10 September

Talofa koutou ~ Vaiaso o te Gana Tuvalu 27 September-1st October

Fakaalofa lahi atu ~ Faahi tapu he vagahau Niue 17-22 October

Mālo ni ~ Te Vaiaho o te Gagana Tokelau 25-29 October

Our Hagley aiga has definitely had a line-up of treats this term. In our first week back, we got to tautoko our very own faiaoga Chris Smith, as he created a space for his Niuean heritage to be showcased. This meant that for his kete wana class, they would take a pause from Te Reo, to make some delicious Takihi (a Niuean savoury dessert). The aroma of coconut cream covered mangos, papaya, kumara and taro was pouring out from the whare on this day.

During this week, we also had the privilege of taking part in a workshop led by our amazing friends at Cross-Polynate, Tagata Moana Trust and Canterbury Museum - ‘Our Treasured Pasifika’. This was a great opportunity for our Hagley Aiga to see just how innovative our ancestors were, but also to hear and understand the journey that our people have taken. Canterbury Museum holds a collection of thousands of taonga from across Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, but most of these are not on permanent display. The selection we saw included extraordinarily fine and detailed woven and carved decorative pieces, a huge, ceremonial seat of a Cook Islands chief, and a ferocious arm shield embedded with shark teeth. It was a real privilege to see such important taonga that are so rarely visible to the public. We hope that the museum redevelopment will include more space for Pasifika items, recognising the importance of access to these treasures and their stories for all in Waitaha.

To finish off our Niuean Language Week, Chris led our ‘Ta Tika Challenge’. The weather was perfect, the wind was on hold and, although it was hot, these students were eager to step up and take part in throwing the Tika because of course, we had some café vouchers to give away.

Lockdown and alert levels have sadly scrambled our plans for fono in Terms 3 & 4, and even for having community visitors joining us for various akonga events. While we haven’t been able to meet kanohi ki te kanohi, we’d like to emphasise our invitation to aiga Pasifika to be in touch with us with any inspiration, concerns or questions.