Our mīharo kura at the cultural festival

Our kapa haka rōpū were absolutely amazing today.  It was described as mīharo (outstanding) - and I am sure you will agree.  Our tamariki did a beautiful job, and many a tear was shed in the audience.  Tino pai tō mahi, Tōtara Park!  We were all so proud of you all!

So many thanks to the whānau who were there today, and helped out with hair, lipstick, and even loaning some taonga (treasures) for our tamariki to wear!  Thank you, Mrs Grant, for helping out with making the puhi for the girl's hair, and for washing all those tshirts ready for today!  And last but not least - Whaea Raima:  You are incredible and the best kapa haka teacher a kura could wish for!  Thank you a million times over!

Estimation

It might look like we were learning how to mime today, but we were actually working on using non-standard measurements to make estimates about length.  We measured the width of our hand, then rounded it to the nearest centimetre.  From this, we were making sensible estimations about the lengths, widths and heights of objects in our room.  After we had made our estimates, we accurately measured the items.  It was tu meke how close our estimates were!

Horohopu

"Today we learnt how to play a game called Horohopu.  We were given the rules in groups of 3 or 4 and had to read them and rewrite them in our own words.  Once we had learnt the game rules, we practiced throwing and spinning the poi toa.  A poi toa is a poi that is used for games, not for kapa haka or performance.  We split into bibs and non-bibs for a game and Whaea Pip was the ref (kaiwawao) and threw the poi toa in from Te Marama into Te Ara.  We started out making mistakes but during the game, we got better and better.  One of the hardest things is to catch the poi toa by the aho (the tail) without touching the tī (the ball part).  It's fun!"  - Mason A, Keesha, Kayla, Te Aute, Arana.

We can't wait to beat you in a game tomorrow, Kea!  :)