Ngaruawahia High School Yearbooks 2010-2012 Ngaruawahia High School Yearbook 2011 | Page 15

During Week 11 of Term 2, our Year 9s celebrated
Matariki with the community. Matariki celebrations
started on the Monday, with a celebration and
appreciation of cultural diversity. This day was led by
our awesome Taumata class, who hosted and shared
their discoveries.
Diwali Festival of Lights from India, Halloween
from America, Reggae music from Jamaica and
Australian Kite Day. Stations were set up, kai prepared
and activities organised and run by Taumata students. 9
Te Whaiao, 9 Te Hiranga and 9 Te Kakano were split into
smaller groups and travelled around each workstation.
Huge congratulations must go to Taumata
students and supporting staff members. It was a day full
of celebrations, fun, enjoyment and appreciation!
Day 2 of Matariki was a special day that involved
the entire Year 9s hosting local kindys and Kohanga
Reo. We thank Whaea Dianne and the kids from
Newcastle Kindergarten, and the gorgeous kids from
Kids Time and Turangawaewae Kohanga Reo,
accompanied by their supportive Whaea Bella.
Our Year 9 students performed a play, haka, and
song, ran art stations, prepared some yummy kai and
interacted with the kindy and Kohanga kids with ease
and confidence. Whakawhanaungatanga was the main
theme for the day. As a thank you, the kindys and
Kohanga performed some songs about Matariki. What a
stunning and memorable day!
By Day 3, everyone was ready for a day out! We
loaded up a bus and travelled to Auckland’s OneTree Hill
to visit the Stardome Observatory. Our visit started in
the amazing 360° theatre, where we lay back in custommade seating to watch a “visual tour” around the solar
system.
Next, our students looked around at all of the
cool displays, before sitting down to listen to a
presentation by a New Zealand astronomer. After lunch
in the beautiful grounds near the observatory, it was
time to get back on the bus and return home. Many
thanks to the fantastic staff at Stardome – we
appreciated your vast knowledge of the Universe!
On Day 4, we were greeted with rain, rain and
more rain! However...that wasn’t going to stop Whaea
Haz and her crew from running a successful Ki-o-rahi
tournament involving Year 9 students from our school,
as well as Te Wharekura o Rakaumangamanga. There
was lots of fun and competition to be had amongst the
puddles and mud, but by the final presentations, the
students looked invigorated by their awesome morning.
Many thanks to Karl Shepherd and his Project
Energize crew for coordinating the sport and to Wynae
Tukere and the whanau at Nga Miro Health for their
efforts (especially around preparing nourishing kai for
the participants!)
To end a highly successful week , we invited our
whanau from Nga Miro Health to the Matariki Kai Hakari
in the hall, once our visiting school had left. It was a time
to reflect and celebrate on an awesome week with our
Year 9s and to thank all of our supporters. Another huge
mihi must go to the Kapa haka team and their
supporters, who cooked a “mean hangi” for the
occasion. After all, “kai sweetens the korero”.