Amesbury School: Amesbury School's Kapahaka group to perform at St Brigid's Kapahaka Festival

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Amesbury School's Kapahaka group to perform at St Brigid's Kapahaka Festival

It is the first time we have had a performance kapahaka group and it will be our first time performing at the St Brigid's Kapahaka Festival and we are excited!

This has been a dream a long time coming and we are excited that it will finally be happening. Yesterday afternoon, a small, highly multicultural, group of 25 or so students put on their kapahaka uniforms and moko and performed the programme they have been learning to their parents. We were impressed. They have only had a short while to learn their programme and they are a small group, but they were amazing!

Why has it been a long time coming? Because we have been waiting for the right kapahaka tutors to come along and they have! Huge kudos and thanks to Joanne and Wetini who manage to combine both discipline and skill, as well as fun into the way they work with the children. Wetini and Joanne work with kapahaka groups in a number of the schools in the Northern Suburbs' corridor. We are so blessed to have them.

The St Brigid's Kapahaka Festival will take place this Saturday (15th September) at Onslow College beginning with a powhiri at 8.30am with the first performance at 9.20am. Our group will be performing at 1pm. You are welcome to come down to support them. If you do, remember to encourage them by clapping and cheering.

A big KIA ORA to our parents who made paraoa parai (fried bread) for our tamariki - a very delicious Maori bread - served with butter, jam and maple syrup. Lots of sticky fingers. But oh so good!

Thanks to the parents who helped dress the tamariki and put moko on them. What a great job you did. Our tamariki looked fantastic.

Remember, it is Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori (Maori Language Week). Use a little Te Reo Maori this week.