Tongan Language Week(5 Sept-11 Sept)

 This year’s theme is which means enriching Aotearoa with holistic education. The theme serves as a conversation starter on the importance of holistic education, diverse forms of learning and how Aotearoa can benefit from it.  Due to COVID-19 Alert Levels across Aotearoa Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e lea faka-Tonga - Tonga Language Week will be celebrated online. 

This year we are celebrating Tongan language week between different houses and it will be Inter house-Competitions. The purpose of this is, Staff are provided with opportunities to experience and enjoy some aspects of our Tongan language and culture. These are also alternative platforms to have a fun enjoyable time together during this challenging time. Teachers can also grab points for their houses. 

On Monday it was a singing competition. Teachers can sing Tongan alphabets with or without instruments. Teachers have to sing with their house teams and Tongan teachers can't sing solo they just have to guide us and accompanied us in our singing. But this was going to be fun.

On Monday during the mentoring time, our team(Puriri) sang a Tongan alphabet song, I learned it by heart, So first I sing then all of the teachers follow me. We really enjoyed it. It was great fun and the best thing to learn about different cultures. I really want to appreciate Mrs latu efforts in Tongan language week.

Te manu tukutuku – Māori kites with 9KLe

 

Māori kites are known as manu tukutuku or manu aute. Manu is the word for both bird and kite. Tukutuku refers to the winding out of the line as the kite climbs and aute is a type of bark that could be used to make kites. Kites were seen as connectors between heaven and earth and were often flown at this event, especially on the first day of the New Year.  Kites were often flown at Matariki, but also at other times:

They were used to work out what the gods wanted the people to do. They were a way of sending messages to people far away, both to living people who were far away and people who had died. People had kite flying competitions. They were used to celebrate things, like Matariki. Children played with them.

Kites were flown for recreation, but they also had other purposes. They were used for divination – to gauge whether an attack on an enemy stronghold would be successful or to locate wrongdoers. They were also a means of communication. It is said that when the founding ancestor of Ngāti Porou, Porourangi, died in Whāngārā, on the East Coast, a kite was flown and his brother Tahu, the founding ancestor of Ngāi Tahu, was able to see it from the South Island. Sometimes people would release a kite and follow it, claiming and occupying the place where it landed.

This year yr 9KLe got an opportunity to make kites at Whare Nui with Whaea Ruihia. They participated really well and enjoyed it. They really like to learn new things and were excited to finish their kites.

Materials

The frames of larger kites were usually made from selected lengths of mānuka (tea tree) and split lengths of kareao (supplejack). Smaller children’s kites were made from the stems of toetoe, kākāka (bracken), and various types of rush.

The coverings of large kites were fashioned from bark cloth made from aute until the plant became virtually extinct. Subsequently, raupō (bulrush) leaves or the leaves of ūpoko Tangata (cutty grass) were used. Flying lines known as aho tukutuku were made from a fine twisted cord made from muka, the fibre of the flax leaf.

Decoration

Kites were decorated with feathers, shells, carved faces, and coloured patterns drawn with black or red pigments from charcoal or clay mixed with shark oil. Some kites featured long feather tails known as pūhihi, attached to the lower end or wingtips. Others were decorated with horns, and some had shells held inside a hollow mask that rattled during flight. Some kites had a ring, called a karere (messenger), made of toetoe leaves or wood, which was blown by the wind up the line towards the kite.

Year 9 Stars Activity Day(Reflection)

 The STARS Mentoring Program is a classroom-based, peer-to-peer mentoring program that engages and supports students to make positive life choices and build healthy relationships. STARS provides students with the opportunity to discover themselves and build upon their skill set through our three core elements of self-awareness, healthy decision-making and MentorLife, which means to always invest in someone and always have someone investing in you. 

STARS mentors receive training and mentoring from their program coordinator, then they, in turn, are paired with no more than four mentees where they lead activities and opportunities for discussion. Through the program, students can strengthen their leadership abilities, discover and practice positive social and emotional skills around mental health, healthy relationships and decision-making, gain confidence and feel valued.

This day is significant for year 9's and all the stars mentors leaders in the school. This event allowed them to show their leadership and present themselves, and there year 9 groups in different activities. This event started at 9 am at the school ground. Year 9's were divided into different house groups, and they wore their house colours because they all were representatives of there groups. They look wonderful in there house colours. All students participated very well and enthusiastically in all activities. The event finished with dance performances of all house groups.