Preparing for the Pou! Whetūkairangi Pā.

A project which we began in term 1 is coming to fruition. You know how good things take time? Well, we started dreaming about this around ten years ago. Many students who have been through the school over this time have considered ideas of how we honour this special place, the first Pā site in Te Whanganui a Tara, Whetūkairangi Pā. Students from throughout the school worked with our Creative in School, Artist Kimi Moana Whiting to develop ideas. Almost all students created a silhouette of a creature, either to signify the domain of Tangaroa, the domain of Tane Mahuta or the domain of Rangi and Tane te Wananga. The idea is that we show how this place has always been a place to connect the sea to the land to the sky.

These are just some of the motifs. In more recent times we have taken those silhouettes and developed them into tessellating patterns. And, now Kate Te Ao, one of our wonderful teaching assistants and an artist in her own right, has taken those images and is organising them, ready for application to our pou.

This is one of Kate's many options which kids have been giving her feedback on this week. And finally we have begun digging holes for the foundations to place the pou, setting piles and pouring concrete to ensure they don't go anywhere.

Our Creatives in Schools project is coming to an end and it's very exciting times. Watch this space!

Designing Pou

Who are the ancestors of Whetūkairangi Pā?  How can we represent them?

We have been looking for inspiration to the stories surrounding us.  Nga Atua Māori, Tane Mahuta. Tangaroa, Tūmatauenga and then those who are partly mythical like Kupe the great navigator and explorer.

Traditionally the Wharenui would be adorned with carvings all around the walls, the Poupou, each representing an important figure to the Iwi.  For our designs we are looking to the carvings of old but also to the new representations like Arnold Manaaki Wilson's work, seen here below.
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Here are some of the drawings we are making of Tane and Tūmatauenga.