Pio Terei came to Timaru Girls’ High School on the 14th March to speak with our parents and caregivers about positive parenting and raising teenagers.

He used a combination of humour, relatable anecdotes and hard-hitting facts to share with the whanau of our students the importance of being reliable, kind and firm role models to help our teenagers through these difficult years. Timaru Girls’ High and Arowhenua School Kapahaka groups joined to perform and thank Pio for coming to our kura and sharing his knowledge with our community.

It was an awesome evening that started off with some kai and was quickly followed by lots of laughs, a shared understanding of what it means to be a parent in 2019 and even a few tears here and there. Our barbeque master Mr Unahi cooked some delicious sausages on the Fonterra barbeque, Thomas House provided some great salads, and our Kapahaka whanau also provided us with lots of delicious kai.

A huge thank you to the parents and staff that came along for the evening, the Kapahaka students for staying and performing, Ms Hales for attending and thanking Pio and also Pikimai for organising the Kapahaka students, thanking Pio for sharing his knowledge and being the organisational mastermind that she is.

The overriding message of the evening was to look after our young people, look after ourselves and look after our community. Lend a hand if you see someone struggling. Speak kindly always. Nourish our youth with love and wisdom.

He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata.