Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
See below for English translation
E mea ana te pepeha a ngā pakeke, mate atu he tētēkura ara mai rā he tētēkura.
Kai te kõrero nei e whai whakaaro ana ahau ki ngā taumahatanga o te mate urutā, hāunga ngā tāmitanga i pae ki runga ki ngā pokowhiwhi o te tangata.
I pā hoki te āwangawanga ki ngā whakaari nui me ngā whakakitenga kāore i whai waewae.
Wheoi anō, e mōhio pai nei tātou, ka mate kāinga tahi, ka ora kāinga rua. Nā te māuiui urutā i kati ai ngā whatitoka o te tīati o Tā Howard Morihana, nā te kōmiti ahurei o Rotorua te karere ki ngā kura me te kāhui ako me he kaupapa ā rātou, mā rātou tonu e kawe.
Nā reira ka toko ake te whakaaro i a Te Kāhui Ako Rotorua ki te Whiti kia whakakaohia te hāpori i raro i te aroha, ā, kia whakangahauhia hoki rātou.
He kaupapa kapa haka te uho o te whakaaro aroha.
Ko Te Hiwi ō Toroa. I takea mai te whakaaro o te ingoa i runga i ngā herenga whakapapa ā te hāpori ki moutere Mokoia e pōtere kau rā i ngā wai o Marupunganui, tuarua, ko ngā herenga ki Te Kura o Ngā Roto Moana, whaihoki ngā tātai kōrero rangatira o te takiwā ki te taha whiti o Te Takere Waka.
Nō te tau e rua mano, e rua tekau mā rua i riro te kaupapa nei i te Kura tuatahi o Lynmore, te kura tua rua o Mokoua me te Kura tuarua o Ngā Roto Moana, auahi te pai o te rā. Atu i ngā kura nei ka tautokongia te kaupapa e ētehi atu kamupene o te takiwā. Ko Central Kids Rotorua East tētehi me Beststart Lynmore. He kanohi kitea hoki wēnei kamupene, nā rāua te kaupapa i tautoko i te wā i kawea ai e te kura tuatahi o Rotokawa.
He mōhio hoki nō tātou mā te werawera e tutuki pai ngā kaupapa, ka pau ngā marama huhua i a te hunga e whakariterite kaupapa ana kia toa ai te rangi.
Engari nā ngā ngakau whiwhita o ngā tauira ka hua ake he ātāmira e whakaatu anohia ō rātou tini kaupapa whakangahau he ahakoa i pau i a rātou te kaha i ngā whakataetae kapahaka mō Ngā Kura tuatahi o te Ahurei o Te Arawa.
He whakamihi hoki nā te kōmiti ki ngā ringa raupā pēnei i a One Foundation, Ngā Wātene Māori , Ngāti Uenukukopako, Gecko Productions, Palmers Rotorua, Elite Scaffolding, Piripoho me Save Our Babies.
I whakapaohongia te kaupapa e Local Gecko ki te hunga kāore e whai kaha ana kia tae atu ā tīnana ki te tautoko i te kaupapa whakaharahara. Ka nui te tumanakohia o te hāpori kia tū anō tēnei kaupapa ā te tau hou, otīā me ngā tau huhua ki tūā.
Ko te painga e whai ātāmira anō ā rātou ākonga ki te tuku i te taha whakaari ōna ki te marea, ā whakapapa, ā kapa haka, ā waiata, ā aha noa atu.
Kāti. He kaupapa rangatira tēnei e rangatira tonu ai ngā mana o te hāpori. Nō reira e ngā kura iti, e ngā kura teitei tēnā rā kotou katoa.
While Covid managed to put a stop to all our festivities for a few years, it also paved the way for new and exciting celebrations to come to fruition.
Last year with restrictions still in place and the Sir Howard Morrison Centre being closed for refurbishments, the Rotorua Ahurei committee put the option out to kura and Kāhui Ako to host their own events.
As a result, the Rotorua East Kāhui Ako decided to come together and hold a free event for their community as a way of bringing whānau together to celebrate their tamariki and Kapa Haka.
The name of the event, Te Hiwi ō Tōroa, represents the lineage and link that the schools from the Eastern shores of Rotorua share and holds prominence to Mokoia Island, Lake Rotorua and the rich history of the areas in relation to the schools within the Eastern District.
In 2022, Lynmore Primary hosted the event with a great turnout. This year, all kura and tauira from Rotokawa Primary School, Lynmore Primary School, Mokoia Intermediate, Rotorua Lakes High School as well as some local ECE’s, Central Kids Rotorua East and Beststart Lynmore, were involved in the festival that was hosted at Rotokawa Primary School.
The school was excited to welcome everyone along and had setup a picnic area for whānau to enjoy the day.
Preparing for such events can be a year long journey with kura incorporating different aspects of the learning into the curriculum. With a lot of students being so passionate about everything to do with Kapa Haka, they were more than happy to be given another opportunity to showcase their talents and skills after performing last week at the Te Arawa Primary Schools Ahurei.
Organisers acknowledge that this event would not have been possible without the support of their community and the sponsorship received – One Foundation, Māori Wardens, Ngāti Uenukukōpako, Local Gecko Productions, Palmers Rotorua, Elite Scaffolding, Piripoho and Save Our Babies.
Local Gecko Productions live streamed the event this year and organisers were pleased that this would give those who couldn’t attend in person the ability to support their whānau from home.
The committee hopes to make this an annual event after seeing the benefit this has for their students. With a platform that allows tauira to express different learnings through performing arts and keeps them connected to their whakapapa and the history embedded through music, incantations, laments, waiata and haka.
It has been hailed as an amazing whakanuia (celebration) for the kura in that area and helps keep the community, students and whānau connected.