Pōwhiri 2021

 

Weeks of practice and dedication came together on Friday as we carried out our pōwhiri for 2021. Though the weather forced us inside at the last minute, we were so proud of the 'mana' and 'ihi' (essential force) shown by all students while performing haka and waiata. A special mention to our 'kaea' or kapa haka leaders who led from the front and really brought the house down! From the staff perspective, we were also thrilled to have been able to carry out more of the ceremony in Te Reo Māori, while following the 'kawa' or protocol of mana whenua, Te Āti Awa/Taranaki Whānui. If you haven't already, please check out the Week 4 Newsletter for translation and explanation of our pōwhiri.

Here are some of our students' thoughts on pōwhiri:

Pōwhiri was good. I liked the singing and sang with lots of power - Fabian S

I liked doing Taku Manu pōwhiri because you get to do lots of actions - Zen S

I had so much fun at the pōwhiri with all the people we were welcoming to the school - Zoe C

It was great, I felt really good about it because I was quite loud and I am very proud of myself - Aila B

I thought pōwhiri was really good, I enjoyed singing the songs and listening to the speeches - Lucy N

I was a leader for the pōwhiri and I think we gave it our all and gave it lots of power - Eddie B

Well, where to next? As well as mihi whakatau (smaller welcoming ceremonies for later arrivals) throughout the year, our attention now turns to the first kahui ako (group of Eastern Suburbs schools) Kapa Haka festival in Term 2. We are developing some old, new and different haka and waiata for this occasion, so watch this space!

Tuia, tuia tuia anō

Tuia i runga, Tuia i raro
Tuia ki roto, tuia ki waho,
Tuia te Whānau o Whetūkairangi.
Ko te whānau o Whetūkairangi e
Nō reira, e tau nei ki runga i a tātou katoa, te wairua aroha. Kia ora koutou katoa!

Above and below are woven together, as is what is inside us and that which is outside of us. And, we are woven together as a whānau, the Whānau of Whetūkairangi.

Nic and Mikayla's Whānau Group: Learning about Puanga

In Nic and Mikayla's Whānau group, we wrote collaborative poems to signify the importance of Punaga. We also created some star art! It was great to learn with other people across the school.

Here are some of the poems that we wrote:

Being a Goal Setter and using Character Strengths

Our Learner Attribute for this term is I am a goal setter. We've spent time thinking about where we would like to take our learning next and what we will practise to get there. Reaching a goal involves practising specific skills like writing more sentences to write longer stories, but we also thought about what character strengths might help us. We often talk about how character strengths are like superpowers that we can use to help us achieve our goals.

Some of us have been using rākau music patterns as a Wake Up Your Brain activity and we wanted to challenge ourselves and perform at our school assembly. This was going to be a real challenge because we only had 3 sessions to get the item ready! What character strengths might we need?

Teamwork would be useful because we were working as a group and had to collaborate and share ideas, as well as contribute- everyone had to do it! Bravery would be very useful because we were performing in front of the whole school! Love of learning would also come in handy. We spent extra time practising at lunchtimes and some of us even took rākau home to practise because we were challenging ourselves to do even trickier moves with the rākau. Some people also used their Judgement because we had to think carefully and choose the challenge level that was best for each of us. Leadership helped us to understand that even if I am not at the front I can also be a leader from the back and support my group by helping to keep the rhythm.

How did we feel afterwards?

Sasha- I felt proud and happy because I had done the performance and last year I was too scared to get on stage.
Anneke- I felt excited because I had never played rākau before.
Nicolas- I felt happy and brave because I had practised and I did it!
Darragh- I felt proud because I felt happy that I went up in front of the whole school.