Marae Experience

As one of our immersion experiences for our Culture learning concept we planned a marae experience for our children. During Weeks 1 -3 every class worked in their Whanau group to learn the protocols of being part of a Powhiri. We all practiced what to do as tangata whenua and manuhiri as well as learning prayers and songs in Te Reo Maori.

On Monday of Week 4 the whole school, in Whanau groups took turns as the tangata whenua and manuhiri on our 'school marae' (aka the Old School Hall). Each Whanau group had senior students that had learned the karanga and mihi. They did an excellent job, taking on their responsibilities with maturity and dignity.

When Whanau groups were not involved on the 'marae' they were split up into smaller groups to take part in Maori cultural activities such titi torea, weaving, art, string games and making putiputi. It was a fantastic experience for both the children and teachers.