Romina Lilley will be at Wild Women's Weekend in Whangamatā.
Romina Lilley will be at Wild Women's Weekend in Whangamatā.
Bay of Plenty Times is looking back at the stories of 2022. Here’s what made headlines in May:
Te Puru students are connecting with their unique location on the water's edge at Thames Coast through Kura Tatahi. Photo / Alison Smith
For a long time, Te Puru School didn’t make the most of its incredible location by the sea.
“We had a beach there, but kids were just playing on it at morningtea and lunch, and not really learning,” say teachers Hayley Fenton and Jason Bax. “We’re in such a ridiculously unique position here, and we want to make the most of it.”
Jason says the school had a magnificent waharoa [gateway] and Whakataukī [Māori proverb], which was given by one of the elders of the iwi of the area, Ngāti Tamaterā. But what those represented wasn’t really understood or appreciated. “The idea came to learn about our local environment, to evolve our local history and tikanga from Ngāti Tamaterā,” Jason says.
“It was a chance for us to meet some of our te reo and tikanga obligations as well, and to connect these kids to the environment,” adds Hayley.
The primary school of 190 students sits on the Firth of Thames overlooking the internationally significant 8500-hectare coastal wetland on the other side of the coast.
Romina Lilley will be at Wild Women's Weekend in Whangamatā,
Sexologist a little too wild for Whangamatā?
Sexologist Romina Lilley is among the experts on offer for the regular weekend of activities in Whangamatā, offering shamanic sexual healing in her workshop at Wild Women’s Weekend.
Romina says the session isn’t about people getting naked and running around.
“It’s never what you think it’s going to be, but I invite people to lean on the edge, because it makes you grow. There will be nothing to be concerned about; the magic of it is to come and experience women’s energy, to be there for curiosity.
Jaswinda Singh at his Thames store, which was ram-raided for the fourth time in just over four months. Photo / Alison Smith
When Jaswinda Singh’s Thames store was ram-raided, it was the fourth time in just over four months
Singh’s Four Square on Pollen St, the Coromandel Peninsula town’s main road, was hit in the early hours of Anzac Day, with security camera footage showing this time there was one person in a car, one inside and three standing out front. A vehicle smashed through the storefront that had just been repaired and bulldozed a counter and freezer.
“You can see from the security footage,” Jaswinda says. “They know they can walk away easy. If they can drive, they can do these things. They should be responsible for the damage.”
