Te kupu o te wiki - Week 2

TKOTW - Chicken, Heihei from Team 1 PES on Vimeo.

Te wiki o te reo Māori - Māori Language Week

This week is Māori Language Week in NZ.  The theme for this year is 'Te kupu o te wiki' which translated means 'The word of the week'. 

Te Kupu o te Wiki will introduce 50 new Mäori words to the nation over 50 weeks –
that’s one new word a week over a year. After 50 weeks, New Zealanders will have 50 new
Mäori words in their vocab.

Here at Pt England School we decided to create a slot in PENN (Pt England News Network) teaching students Te kupu o te wiki, The word of the week.  So our students will learn a new word every week for the next 50+ weeks!

Take a look at this weeks kupu movie starring the talented tamariki of  Class 12.

Te Whare Tapere o Matariki 2014

Te whare Tapere o Matariki 2014 from Team 1 PES on Vimeo.


We were invited to attend the Te Whare Tapere o Matariki event during our last week of Term 2.  The event was run by the He Oranga Poutama Team - Sport Waitakare.  Students from Te kura kaupapa o Hoani Waititi ran the Māori Games workshops indoors, they did a wonderful job and displayed awesome leadership skills,  We took our kapa haka students to the workshops and two ki o rahi teams to the Yr 7 & 8 Tournament.

Whaea Karla Matua came to our school for 3 afternoon sessions to teach our tamariki how to play ki o rahi.  Our tamariki did very well in the tournament and one of our teams made it to the semi finals.  They played the champions from Te kura kaupapa Maori o Nga Tapuwae in a gripping game and lost by only one point.  We were very proud of both teams who did so well in a game they had only just learned.  We will continue playing the game at school in preparation for the next ki o rahi tournament.

Our Kapa Haka students who attended the workshops indoors made bracelets from harakeke and patiently waited for the pūoro workshop to make their own bamboo koauau.  We were also proud of how our tamariki conducted themselves throughout the day, especially when they performed a haka tautoko after the thankyou  by Whaea Ngawai on behalf of all participating schools.

This was a fantastic event and we will definitely be going again next year.  He mihi nunui to the He Oranga Poutama Team for their dedication to providing such a wonderful opportunity for tamariki to help celebrate Matariki.  For those schools who may be interested... I strongly suggest for you to get involved next year.  It is an awesome event!

Opening of NZDOHTA Conference

Our Senior Kapa Haka group were asked to perform for the opening of the New Zealand Dental and Oral Health Therapists Association Conference held at Waipuna Lodge in Mt Wellington, Auckland.

They performed in front of an audience of 300 people in the theatre at the conference centre.   Our students were very nervous but you would have never guessed from their performance.

Another wonderful experience for our Tamariki... and yes, again they were GREAT!