ĀRAITEURU MARAE VISIT

Tēnā koutou te whānau o Kawana - Greetings to the Kavanagh family.

Today our Year 7 cohort and students from the Year 10 Te reo Māori class spent a beautiful day at Āraiteuru marae. The learning focus was Mātauranga Māori. What is Mātauranga Māori? This is about a Māori way of being and engaging in the world – in its simplest form, it uses kawa (cultural practices) and tikanga (cultural principles) to critique, examine, analyse and understand the world. It is based on ancient values of the spiritual realm of Te Ao Mārama. 

The day began with a pōwhiri (welcoming ceremony) during which speeches in reo Māori and waiata were exchanged. After the formalities concluded, the learning began. Our students were taught by marae-based tutors and loved discovering kaupapa (topics) such as: rongoā (bush medicine), mau rākau (martial arts), rāranga (weaving) and ngā kemu (traditional games). During the weaving, students were asked to say their pēpeha (introductory speech) which many said off by heart. Jack Waterwoth, Joe Peters and Te Manawa Exeter-Bachop from 7DUN loved their day on the marae and said their favourite part was... "everything!"

A big thank you to Mrs Nicholson, Fr Hook, BOT Chairperson Barb Long for their attendance at the pōwhiri and teachers Whaea Tate-Manning, Mrs and Mrs O'Callaghan, Matua Tili, Miss Paterson, Mr Adamson and students for making the day a success.