Taumata School's Matariki celebrations. Photo / Hayley Smith
Taumata School's Matariki celebrations. Photo / Hayley Smith
As the Matariki constellation shines in the sky, schools around the Bay of Plenty are celebrating the Māori New Year.
Taumata School in Pyes Pā celebrated with a dawn ceremony for Matariki yesterday.
Principal Genavier Fuller said dawn was chosen because it "relates to the kaupapa (purpose) of Matarikiand that the Matariki Cluster is best viewed at dawn".
She said more than 500 members of the school community attended and gathered "around steaming pots of soup".
Gracie said she had learned Matariki was about "reflection and remembering" as well as thinking about the future.
She said the "most amazing part" of what they had learned "was our dawn service, where we had a range of cultures from our community coming together to connect and celebrate".
Jess said she had learned about the different stars in the cluster and how "they all have a role to play".
She said her family had celebrated by coming to the dawn service, "and we will be spending time together over the weekend".
The school's te ao Māori leader, teacher Dan Priest, said the students had learned about Matariki through a range of activities, including pūrākau (storytelling), art projects, drama, music, physical education, kai, and dance.
Taumata School's dawn celebration of Matariki. Photo / Hayley Smith
"As a school in Aotearoa New Zealand, we want to ensure all we do celebrates the bicultural nature and uniqueness of our country.
"A ceremony and focus such as this supports the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, and most recently the Aotearoa New Zealand history curriculum."
Te Manawa o Pāpāmoa Primary School principal Shane Cunliffe said making Matariki a public holiday was "an authentic opportunity to celebrate coming together".
He said the holiday lets people connect "in a way that people don't always have time for".
Te Manawa will be holding a breakfast event on Thursday, to "share some kai" and connect with whānau and the school's wider community.
"We have got such a diverse community here ... so the challenge is to bring a shared plate of kai that represents their whānau so that will be a starting point for connecting and celebrating and sharing."
He said his school was teaching Matariki through "exposure across the curriculum", including through the arts with waiata and reenactments of Māori legends, physical education with traditional Māori games, and food technology making Matariki star biscuits.
Te Manawa o Pāpāmoa Primary School principal Shane Cunliffe. Photo / George Novak
He felt the celebration and teaching of Matariki was "something that's been normalised".
"It shouldn't be that we are doing this and other people are doing that, it should be a normalisation of who we are as New Zealanders."
Te Rangihakahaka Centre for Science and Technology's pou matangiru (principal) Renee Gillies said their school follows the Maramataka Māori calendar - the Māori lunar calendar.
Gillies said the "entire school curriculum has been planned to work with the maramataka, 'Me mau ki te ia o te rere', sync to the rhythm of the environment".
"What we are learning, where we are going, when we do different activities now aligns with our maramataka."
Gillies said she was surprised how easy it had been to switch calendars, and how "enthusiastic" students and staff were about the change.
Te Rangihakahaka Centre for Science and Technology's morning Matariki celebrations. Photo / Supplied
"We have all been amazed by the knowledge of our tūpuna (ancestors) and are developing ways in which they become a natural integration of our learning. Our own tribal narratives have become key aspects of our curriculum and it works."
She encouraged other organisations to look into maramataka.
"It is not hard, and is actually one of the most natural processes that of course has been around for centuries.
"Understanding maramataka supports people with the ebbs and flows of life. It helps us to understand ourselves, in relation to others and in relation to our environment."
Associate Minister of Education Kelvin Davis. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Associate Minister of Education Kelvin Davis said Matariki "provides students with a gateway into mātauranga Māori and tikanga Māori".
"It is important our tamariki learn about the identity, language and culture of Aotearoa New Zealand.
"Matariki is for all New Zealanders, and for all schools and kura."
He said the Ministry of Education supported the Mātahi o te Tau project, "which has produced a variety of engaging teaching and learning resources for schools and kura".
"I am looking forward to our tamariki growing up with the knowledge of Matariki, and taking this time each year to spend with loved ones and reflect."
