Senior students enjoyed interacting with their peers and staff members, Mr Hullah said, responding with more conversational language "asking if they would like sauce or onions etcetera".
"A few cheeky remarks didn't go unnoticed, especially when confident and hungry staff and students found themselves in line again for another. It was a fun event with close to 100 per cent involvement including our five new exchange students," he said.
Songs in te reo Maori were playing in the background, he said, "contributing to a very positive and vibrant vibe on a gorgeous Wairarapa day" and students participated in a range of activities throughout the week.
Also, senior students have been likewise inspired by a passionate kapa haka and Polynesian performance by Whitireia Polytechnic students from Wellington at the end of Term 2, Ms Hullah said.
The performance group included Paris Evans, a third-year Whitireia student and former student of Mrs Bourne's from Awatapu College, who had toured Italy with the Whitireia Performing Arts group.
Makoura College Toi Maori students also covered a wide range of learning from Wairarapa history, to moteatea or grieving chants and laments, to creative writing and the influences Maori performing arts have encountered.
"It was encouraging [to] see our students exposed to such talent and to see the interest in possibly pursuing this educational pathway for some of them as well."
