Te Puke High School’s waiata and haka part of Te Reo Kori

Class group Raparaphoe at the Te Reo Kori performance.

A kapa haka battle is traditionally the end of the annual Te Reo Kohi programme at Te Puke High School.

The programme has been running for about 20 years by the health and physical education department.

Department head Rachel Caldwell says the year 10 students are tutored by senior students as part of the school’s tuakana-teina initiative.

Tuakana-teina is a concept from te ao Māori. It refers to the relationship between an older (tuakana) person and a younger (teina) person

“It’s a chance for kids who have never really looked at that side of themselves, and they get really into it,” says Rachel.

Working in core class-based groups, seniors mentor the juniors for the whole of term 4.

“[It combines] physical education like movement skills and concepts with a Māori world view, then we celebrate at the end of term with each group performing what they have been learning.”

Rachel says the judged performances were fantastic with the winning group performing at the school’s junior prizegiving.

“There is a lot of tau toko [support] and the winning group gets announced and everyone jumps up and it ended with all the groups performing [at once].”

All the waiata and haka are school waiata and haka used at different times and contexts in school.

Learning them as part of Te Reo Kori means the students are equipped with skills they can use throughout their time at the school.

“It’s kind of empowering for all our students to have that skill and it means they know them really well and are ready to get up and join in.”