Matariki Night Sky Artwork

In Room 7 (my class) we have been learning about Matariki. So our whole class decided to create the Matariki night sky using paint and oil pastels. This is my creation and interpretation of the Matariki night sky. 

Book Character Mufti Day

Today was mufti day at our school (St Pius X Catholic School) but we had to dress up as our favourite book character. I decided to dress up as Albert Einstein who is in the book called "The Great Scientists" and he was considered the smartest man when he was alive. This is me and my friends dressed up as our favourite book characters.

PS: I'm the one in the glasses.

Sports Camp Meeting

I was pleased that I was selected for the Sports Camp which is going to occur late next term. There have been 5 others selected from our school to participate in the sports camp alongside some students from Glen Innes School and Glen Taylor. We all gathered into the Glen Innes Primary Hall and we all introduced ourselves.

After we introduced ourselves the boys and girls separated and the girls tried table tennis while the boys tried indoor bowling. Indoor bowling is actually harder than I thought because it all has to do with measurements. The aim of bowling was to get closer to the white ball and if you hit the white ball off the platform you will be eliminated.

After we finished bowling we went outside to play a quick game of basketball, it was really fun. It was good to meet different people and to get to know them. Now we currently train on Tuesdays and Thursdays to prepare for the Sports Camp late next term.

Marae Visit- Recount

We were all glad the weather held out for us so that we could walk to Ruapotaka Marae. We were all very excited to experience something we haven’t experienced before. We followed all the Protocols/Rules of the Marae which is known as Tikanga, the protocols we followed at the Marae was to take our shoes off before entering the wharenui.

When we got inside the wharenui we started it off with a short ceremony. Matua Jim had welcomed us and spoke in Maori and me and Motu had replied, I replied in Maori and Motu had translated it in English. To conclude our very special ceremony we all sang He Honore and E Toru Nga Mea (two very well known Maori songs in our school)

After our morning tea we were split into two groups and we did separate activities. The two activities was learning a song and using flax to make a flower. The most difficult task was making the flower because the flax was so fragile and we had to ensure we didn’t tear it apart. Luckily I was able to form a flower. Our last activity was to learn a basic Maori song with Matua Jim. We learnt Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes yet it was in Maori. As we learnt it and started to get better we started to sing it faster and faster.

After we finished our song with Matua Jim my class (Room 7) had left the Marae because we had to catch the bus to go to our technology class at Selwyn College. The Marae visit was a great experience for all of us. I hope to go there again another time.

Year 8 Retreat Reflection

The Year 8 retreat was a great time for us (the leaders) of our school to develop our leadership skills. We went to the St Francis Retreat Centre in Hillsborough which is a tradition at our school for the year 8’s to go. The highlight of our retreat was the Candle Lighting Ceremony, we all had to light one candle each to which to me symbolised that we were in the presence of Jesus our teacher. All the tasks and activities was with teamwork, leadership and following instructions. All our meals were delicious especially dinner. For dinner we had lasagne,potatoes and salad and for dessert we had warm chocolate pudding with ice cream.

One of my other favourite activities was the Noah’s Ark activity which involved teamwork. I teamed up with Pate and formed an ark and we had to place 2 big stones on the ark. The goal was to see how long our ark would float, the aim was to make it float for at least 3-5 mins. Our ark just lasted for 10-15 seconds.

This retreat was a great experience for us Year 8’s.

Powhiri Ceremony

A Powhiri is a welcoming ceremony between the visitors and the people of the marae. This is only performed by a woman.

Yesterday before we entered the Marae all the girls were addressed to stand in the front and all the Men/Boys (Warriors) stood at the back. During the Powhiri one of the women/wahine of the Marae and said something in Maori to welcome us on the Marae and Ana-Lei who was representing our school had replied back in Maori. As we approached the Wharenui it was if we were in an army.

The Powhiri sounded like a war cry which is used to call upon soldiers to fight a battle. When a Powhiri is performed the voices of the ladies are in high pitch. During the Powhiri to me it felt as if we were in a war, but in a war of peace. The Powhiri is a very important event to the Maori people because it welcomes the visitors and takes away all the sacredness in you. This was most of the school’s first time experiencing a Powhiri.

The Powhiri was a really good experience for us that are not Maori.

My Maori Pepeha

This is my Maori pepeha we learnt at our trip to Ruapotoka Marae. Hope you enjoy it.