Te Wiki o te Reo Māori has been extremely enjoyable and a rich learning experience.

Undoubtedly, the hāngī provided for the whole school for lunch on Thursday resonated with students. For many students and staff, it was their first experience of kai prepared in a traditional hāngī. It was a resounding success. The food was delicious. Feeding over 1000 people takes an enormous amount of work. Thank you to Nga reo rau o te Haerenga, our Māori committee, and in particular Owen Sinclair, and dedicated volunteers Wane Warehau, Cyril Belk, Matua Anthony Keung, Dave McKee, James Sinclair and the whanau class for providing this experience for us. Thank you to all the people who so generously donated food.

During the week, the Kapa Haka group visited local primary and intermediate schools, performing for very excited tamariki who enthusiastically responded with their own waiata. At Royal Oak Intermediate, OHS students ran Tuakana Teina workshops, sharing their knowledge of tikanga Māori and helping Royal Oak students feel a sense of pride and confidence in their ability to perform. On Wednesday, they shared powerful performances with OHS students. Everywhere the group performed, their enthusiasm and joy for their culture were palpable.

As a community, we were charged with bringing some te reo Māori into our day. The whanau class and Matua Anthony Keung gave us expressions we could use. Perhaps, for some of us, this is a task we can find confronting. In my case, my 3 and 5-year-old grandsons are the most proficient at incorporating te reo Māori into their everyday lives. They are a generation where te reo Māori is used regularly in their classrooms. We all need to be brave, acknowledge our shortcomings and try. Our OHS students have been accepting and respectful of my bumbling efforts this week. They make you feel humble and proud to belong to this diverse and incredible community. 

This week at OHS has been all about manaakitanga.