He wā tino whakahirahira – a very special time in our community Today our Whakataetae rōpū headed off to Maida Vale Retirement Village to share a special performance with some of the residents and staff. 
When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by one of the residents, Marama before Matua Phil led us in a karakia. Then it was time for our tamariki to share their performance.
Our kapa haka did SO amazing! They filled the room with waiata, energy and smiles, and it was beautiful to see the smiles on the faces of the residents and staff as they watched.
A huge thank you to Whaea Kelly and Matua Phil for helping make the visit so special. Whaea Kelly had some of the residents joining in and showing them some of our kapa haka moves, while Matua Phil was on the guitar and shared some really cool stories about the meaning behind our school waiata.
It was also really special to one of our past teachers Maryann Baylis, who still has a very strong connection with our Kura.
But the special moments didn’t stop there… after our performance, the residents sang a song for us too!
Our tamariki then had the opportunity to go around, kōrero, meet and get to know some of the residents. It was so awesome to see how naturally our kids connected with them, showing manaakitanga, confidence and genuine interest in the people they were meeting.
And before we left… we decided we needed to belt out one more tune! Everyone was buzzing!
Everyone was buzzing!What a special time together.
We absolutely love being able to share these experiences with our community, and doing it during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori made it even more meaningful.
He waka eke noa – we are all in this together.
Click here to see all the photos from the day: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fPMV4TzKfzyV71Fh6
