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.

Te Aro School Beach Day

Te Aro School Beach Day - We welcomed our friends from Te Aro School to our wonderful beach playground. This was a great opportunity to get to know our fellow Wellingtonians.

Cleo: I used manaakitanga by including some kids that didn't have a group. It was really fun swimming and doing tug of war with them. I also liked playing football. It was fun making sand sculptures and I got to know some of them more while we were in a group. It was fun playing with other kids and doing activities. It was cool watching them do their karakia and songs like us. It was actually quite funny. Next time I would like to go and have a look at their school.

Ethan: I liked playing football with the kids from te aro school. The teams were fair but then Nik joined the other team and it was hard. I liked doing tug of war with the other kids. The funniest thing was when we did Kids vs Teachers. My wish is that it wasn’t so windy because sand went in my eyes. I met some new people in the sandcastle building competition and football. I showed manaakitanga by being kind to them and helping my friends when they got hurt. I found the sandcastle building interesting because it was about Ngake and Whataitai.

Rani: I met a few people who were working with Mae and I when we were building a sand castle. The sand castle was a fish tail basically to symbolize Ngake. I showed manaakitanga when I was showing some of the Te Aro school people the bathrooms and explaining the rules of tug of war. I also showed manaakitanga when I was playing tug of war with them. I also show manaakitanga when I was going to show them a few games that I have sometimes played at school or not at school including sliding down the dunes, HIde and Seek tag, Chain tag, Camouflage, and the colour game. Also a few ball games in the water that a few played with me and a bunch of other people. Next I think that we should do some more beach things with Te Aro school and maybe invite them to our school and have a day of different activities and games and also going down to the beach for a bit and then back up for more games, The games we could play might be: Ditchies, camouflage, tag, chain tag, ultimate tag, cricket, touch rugby, and the colour game too.

Tessellations: Exploring Patterns in Other Cultures

We are easing into Maths with Geometry, looking at the amazing geometric patterns occuring across the world in so many different cultures. Students are exploring these patterns, learning how they tessellate (is it a reflection, rotation or transformation?) and are trying to produce examples themselves. The really adventurous are then designing theor own versions. Proof that Maths is creative. The team work is also a great feature of this work.

Pōhwhiri Practice

Powhiri is next week and we have been oiling our Haka muscles. If you have been at pick up you might have heard some pretty powerful renditions of Toia Mai and some very sweet singing.

We have also been learning about the purpose of powhiri and the roles that the many different people play in order for the powhiri to take place. An example of this is the Kaikōrero who cannot speak without the support of the Kaikaranga.

The marae is a place where different people meet. They share ideas, sometimes dispute and argue and, in most cases they come to agreement. The marae is the domain of Tūmatauenga, the god of war but in our case we look to Rongo, the god of peace. Rongomātane is normally the god of the Wharenui where people meet after the powhiri. We don’t have a Whare so we conduct that part of the ceremony on our Marae.

Our place is one in which the kaupapa of peace, positive education and wellbeing are at our foundations so our Powhiri is welcoming and a beautiful occasion. See you there!

Manaakitanga

What is manaakitanga?! 

Manaakitanga

Mana being the important part here using manaakitanga means that you are lifting the Mana of yourself and of those around you. It's about take care of one another. It is about being a good host and making people feel welcome. 

A big part of this for us has been thinking about what manaakitanga looks and feels like for us as kids. We explored this more closely on Wednesday through role play. The students acted out scenarios (provided by them) in which people showed (or failed to show!) manaakitanga. 

Most solutions involved getting an adult, we wondered what are some other solutions we know? We are looking forward to exploring this concept more in the coming weeks. 

Please continue on the conversation at home, what does Manaakitanga mean in your family? What does it look like?

What makes a good leader?

 Year 5 & 6 got together today to start thinking about... CAMP! Exciting stuff. While we were there, we had a kōrero about leadership. 

Here's our hefty list of leadership attributes:

We then had to choose a leader of our own and think about what qualities they show, and how.

Unsurprisingly, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was a popular choice! Others chose family members, teachers, community leaders like Bobby from Re-usabowl and activist Malala Yousafzai. 

Tūrangawaewae

We have been exploring our own Tūrangawaewae. We have been thinking about where we grew up, where our parents grew up, our culture, our values and interests. 

Tūranga - Position

Waewae - Feet

Tūrangawaewae is translated as the place where we stand!

Tūrangawaewae are places where we feel empowered and connected. They are our place in the world and our home. 

A person’s marae is often seen as their Tūrangawaewae.

Global Play Day 2021

Unstructured play is recognised as an important part of developing social, collaborative and problem-solving skills for children. We celebrated Global Play Day on Friday 5th February. Our students enjoyed playing games with each other. It was interesting to see how they used their imaginations!

We spent half of the day playing at the beach and half of the day playing at school. We asked: Where is the best place to play? School or the beach? What do you think? 

Character Strengths in Action!

Welcome back to 2021! We are excited to share our beautiful new school. Now that we have access to most areas in the school, we thought it was time for a Character Strengths treasure hunt. 

The 24 strengths have been placed as plaques in different places in our outdoor environment. 

We have been appreciating that everyone is different. Everyone has these strengths in different degrees. We reflected on what strengths we use well, which strengths we need to dial up and which strengths would we like to know more about.