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Kua whakamihia kētia Te Paki o Matariki e te kura o Whangamarino – wiwini ki uta, wiwini ki te takapau o Nukuteapiapi, nau mai te kāhui rangatira, nau ngā hua o te tau hou.
Ehara noa i te rangi whakanui i Te Paki o Matariki engari he rangi whakamihi i ngā kaumātua o te hāpori me he rā whakaaraara mākete hoki.Nō te kura o Whangamarino te maringi nui ki te whakatau i te hāpori me ngā tini manuwhiri o te whaitua mō te rā whakahirahira.
Anei te hua o te whakapau kaha o ngā wiki maha ko tahā.I te tōnga o te rā ka kohia e te kura e toru mano,e rima rau tara i ngā hua o te mā kete.Ka noho te moni ki ngā pūkoro o te kura hai awhina i ngā āna tini kaupapa.
E tika ana kia mihia ngā tamariki i whakapau kaha ki te whakatika i ā rātau tēpū hoko kai.Hai whakakīnaki ake i ā rātau kai ka māia hoki ngā tamariki ki te kohi kame pēnei me ngā tūeka, ngā pukapuka taiao pakupaku, ngā kāmeta, ngā whakakai, ngā māramataka, ngā poi, ngā rātene Matariki me ngā huka āporo.
' Nā ngā tamariki ā rātau kame i whakarite. Ka noho rātau ki te wānanga, anō nei he pākihi tūturu, nā wai rā ka hua ake ko ngā kura nui. Ko te kohi rau rākau hai whakarākei i ngā pukapuka pakupaku me ā rātau rātene Matariki.
He pūkenga anō i hua hai whakatō whakaaro ki roto ki a rātau e pā ana ki ngā mahi pākihi, tae te rā kai te mura o te ahi rātau e hokohoko ana i ā rātau kura pīataata ki ngā manuwhiri, nō reira me tika te kōrero, me kaha hoki te whakarongo e mana ai te hokohoko’.
Hai ia hokohokotanga ka piki te kaha o te māramatanga, ka pakeke ake te mōhiohio ki te ao pākihi o ngā tamariki.Ko ngā tini pikinga me ngā hekenga iho ki ngā waro uriuri, he akoranga katoa ka noho hai mātauranga ki ngā kete o ā mātau tamariki.
Ka pau te hokohoko i a rātau taonga ka whai wā te whānau me te manuwhiri ki te kai tahi.Engari ko Te Paki o Matariki te tihi o te whakaaro i oti pai i te kura o Whangamarino e kitea ai te herenga o ngā tamariki ki te taiao me te taiao ki ngā tamariki.’
I kauawhitia Te Paki o Matariki e mātau, ka tere taua whakaaro ki te hāpori kia whakaputaina e mātau ā mātau kupu whakamīhā ki ngā ringa raupā huhua i whakapakari i ngā wāhanga katoa o te kura’.Kua rima tau mātau e kawe ana i tēnei kaupapa.
I ngā tau e wha kua tahā ka noho mātua tēnei kaupapa ki te ihu o te kura, engari ingotia kētia e matau tēnei kaupapa ko Matariki Festival.
Nō te tau nei ka whakaaro ake e mātau ki te whakatū mākete. Ko te aronga nui he whakakaha i ngā pukenga o ā mātau tamariki ki ngā nukurau o te ao pākihi, wheoi anō he whakaohooho hoki i ngā wāhanga o te kohamo o te tamaiti ki te ao hou.
He oranga, he huarahi hou, wheoi anō he whakaaro hou .Ko te tūāpapa tūturu ki a hāngai ngā taonga hokohoko, me ngā whakaaro katoa ki ngā ahuatanga o te taiao. Ko tētehi anō hua ko te whakapakari i ngā tamariki ki te whakamātātaratia i ngā tīpona whēkiki.
Ko te pepehā onamata e kī nei, ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takitini.E tika ana hoki ki tēnei tū kaupapa. Ka takahia ngātahitia tēnei huarahi e ngā pouako e ngā tamariki hoki.Mā ngā pouako e āta mirimiri i ngā tīpona e māmā ake te wewete.
He ako nama, me te whakatau utu ki runga ki tētehi kame, he titiro ki ngā hoa whakataetae, he ako hoki ki tēnei mea te whakataetae.Engari ko Te Paki o Matariki, he kaupapa nui. He tangi i ngā mate o ngā tau tawhito, he āta haupūaroaro ā wairua, ā hinengaro hoki, he wā e noho tahi ai te iwi me te hāpori ki te whakanui i te tau hou me ngā moemoeā kai te aroaro o te tangata.
' He rā whakamihi hoki i ngā pou-tokomanawa o te hāpori. Nā reira te mihi o te kura ki a Matua Jim Schuster, he tumuaki nō mua, kātahi nei ia ka whakawhiwhia ki te New Zealand Order of Merit. Nō Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Hinekura, Tuhourangi, Ngāti Wahiao, Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Umutahi me Ngāti Tarawhai a Matua Jim.
He tohunga whakairo rākau, he mātanga ki te whakahou i ngā whare kōero, ngā poupou rūhā, ngā whare pirorehe, i mōhio rānei kotou kua pau i a ia ngā tau e rua tekau ki tēnei mahi whakahirahira.Ehara i te mea he tohunga anake ki te whakairo, engari ki te tuhi kōwhaiwhai me te mahi turapa hoki.Ko enei pūkenga katoa kai ōna ringaringa.
Kāti enei murakehu itiiti nei āku, ko ngā kupu whakamutunga kai a koe e te Matua, otīā kai a kotou ngā pouako katoa o Te Kura o Whangamarino me te pai hoki o te whakaaro ki te tuku i te kupenga nui ki te ātea nui o te hāpori ki a haoa mai tatau katoa e Te Paki o Matariki ki a noho mai tatau ki ngā taumanu o te waka.
Kāti rā i kōnei kai aku rangatira tēnā kotou katoa.
—Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori
Whangamarino School stole a march on most of the rest of us and had a huge Te Paki o Matariki celebration before schools broke for the holidays.
And what a day it was.
As well as gathering to mark the Māori New Year the kura extended the celebration to include Grandparents Day and a Market Day.
The tamariki and school community had great pleasure in welcoming koeke, mātua and whānau for their special day.
It was the culmination of weeks of work and planning.
Best of all the kura made more than $3500 from the sales of their products. All money will go towards educational resources and excursions. The tamāriki had spent weeks working on tāonga for their market day stalls.
They poured their hearts into creating beautiful Matariki tāonga to sell. These included Te Taiao notebooks, bags, scarves, hei tiki, earrings, māramataka, Matariki lanterns, pois, candles, and toffee apples.
Staff said they were proud of the tamāriki because they demonstrated outstanding leadership, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit.
“They meticulously planned their business ideas and brought them to life.
From collecting leaves for their Te Taiao notebooks to decorating lanterns.
“They loved embarking on a journey to explore the world of business. And [on the day] they had a chance to sell it all like real business owners.”
But it didn’t stop there. Some of the tamāriki took the next crucial step – marketing their products to their most important audience, whānau. They shared their creativity and persuasive abilities to convince them of the value and quality of their products.
With each sale, they not only honed their marketing skills but also gained a deeper appreciation for the complexities of the business world.
When the stalls were sold out, the kura, their whānau and manuhiri shared a beautiful hākari.
Whangamarino School’s Te Paki ō Matariki Day celebration was seen as a fabulous day of aroha, gratitude, unity, reflection on the year and their connection to te Taiao.
“We embraced the spirit of Matariki and cherished the opportunity to gather as a community, celebrate our accomplishments, and express our gratitude to those who have contributed to our success.”
The kura has observed this special day for five years now.
For the past four years the kura community called this day their Matariki Festival of Learning where they invited grandparents to work with tamariki in the classrooms making Matariki taonga.
But this year it was decided to include a Market Day to incorporate the main kaupapa for the term.
That kaupapa meant tamāriki learnt the importance of presenting their products effectively, highlighting the features and benefits of their creations, and emphasized aspects relevant to their age group. They were also encouraged to address potential challenges and find solutions.
Additionally, kaiako provided guidance on pricing strategies, helping tamāriki to understand how to set fair prices for their products taking into account such factors s cost, value and competition. They were taught basic financial literacy skills to track their sales, manage expenses and calculate their profits.
Te Paki o Matariki Day brings the school community together, to remember those who have gone, reflect on the year and celebrate any successes.
“At our Te Paki o Matariki Day we also celebrated and recognized the outstanding achievements within our kura community. We offered our congratulations to Matua Jim Schuster a former tumuaki of the kura who was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King’s Birthday and Ordination Honours List.
Matua Jim, of Te Arawa, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Hinekura, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Umutahi, is an expert in Māori conservation techniques and has restored Māori buildings of local, national and historical significance in New Zealand and overseas for 20 years.
A specialist carver, kowhaiwhai painter and tukutuku weaver, Matua Jim has been a Māori built heritage adviser for Heritage New Zealand since 2003.
The kura, in acknowledging the work of its wonderful support staff over the years, said extending its Te Paki o Matariki celebrations to its wider community was a very good move.
A motorcyclist overtook a car and struck Paige Johnson on a pedestrian crossing.