Ka Mau Te Wehi, Puketapu! 💚 Celebrating Puanga Festival 2026
Our amazing Puketapu tamariki, kaiako and kapa haka whānau made us incredibly proud at the 2026 Puanga Festival in Waitara!
Our Kapa Haka Rōpū Takes the Stage 🌿
Our talented kapa haka rōpū took to the stage to perform in the 2026 Puanga Festival whakataetae, showcasing their passion, dedication and pride in their culture.
A huge ka pai to our kapa haka leaders, Briar Walthew, Georgia-Lee, Hamuora Adams, Scrimgeour and Joel Purdie, along with our entire rōpū, for the mahi, commitment and dedication they have put in. We are incredibly proud of you all!
A special shout-out to Matua Phil for his time, passion and dedication, and to Whaea Kelly for all the mahi behind the scenes and on the day to prepare and support this awesome group. Your mahi is truly appreciated!
🎥 Watch our Puketapu rōpū perform at Puanga: View their performance here
Celebrating Our Tamariki 💚
As well as our own Puketapu kapa haka rōpū performing at the festival, three of our tamariki also took to the stage with their own rōpū, Ngā Rearea o Tūtū Kāika!
We are incredibly proud of Jayden Tamati, Daniel Heta and Chevelle Heta. It was a real privilege to watch them perform before our Puketapu rōpū took the stage. What a special moment to see our tamariki sharing their talents, passion and culture!
🎥 Watch their performance with Ngā Rearea o Tūtū Kāika: View their performance here
Puanga Festival 2026 Prizegiving 🌟
This evening, Whaea Hayley and some of our tamariki attended the Puanga Festival 2026 Prizegiving, where our rōpū received some fantastic results!
🏆 Our Results:
- 🥉 3rd Place – Kaitātaki Wahine: Our female leaders Georgia-Lee, Briar and Waimirirangi.
- 🥈 2nd Place – Karanga: Georgia-Lee for her beautiful karanga.
- 🥉 3rd Place – Waiata Tira: A choral waiata performed at the beginning of our bracket. This beautiful waiata, Puanga Kairau, was written and taught to our tamariki by Nganeko Eriwata – a particularly fitting song to perform at the Puanga Festival.
Our tamariki also performed haka tautoko for the overall winners of the U13 grade, Manukorihi, and the open grade, where Whaea Tereina was part of the winning rōpū.
Living Our School Values 💚
This is what living our school values looks like! Showing support, celebrating the success of others and standing proudly alongside our wider community.
We are so proud of all our tamariki, kaiako and everyone who helped make this such a special experience.
📷 Puanga Festival Photo Gallery
View our photos from the day here:
View and upload Puanga Festival photos
