Matariki is the Māori New Year. It is marked by a cluster of stars that appear in mid winter, signalling the end of Maramataka, the Māori lunar calendar.

We are excited to celebrate Matariki - a time of reflection on the year that has past, coming together, looking to the year ahead, celebrating together, sharing kai (food) and honouring tūpuna (ancestors) with stories and shared memories.

We will be holding a hāngī on Saturday 25th June,  alongside a kapa haka performance from the students, a range of wānanga (workshops)  and then finishing with shared kai from the hāngī and a chance to connect with our community.

A hāngī has a number of steps - digging the pit, preparing and packing the food, putting the food into the hāngī pit, lifting from the hāngī pit and preparing to share the kai. We are looking for volunteers to help with all these steps to make our hāngī a success. There is tikanga (protocol) around some steps of the process meaning that for some parts we have asked for male volunteers only.

You can buy tickets for the hāngī  on Kindo (available now) to raise funds for the school and to cover costs. You will be given numbered ticket to be marked off on the day at collection.

The students will be opening the festival with a kapa haka performance starting at 2pm. Please indicate on the form if your child/ren will be able to take part in the performance.