Marae Learning Adventure-

We visited the Umupuia Marae on June 18-19, located in Maraetai. The Marae is the home of our local iwi, Ngāi Tai and we want to strengthen our connections with them. The iwi was involved in our opening day blessing in February. The iwi are an important part of our community and it is fantastic that they made the Marae available to our learners so that they can learn about the history of our area.

Marae Trip- Day 1 on PhotoPeach

Our Year 5-6 were invited to stay the night at the Marae with the Learning Coaches and had a lot of extra learning time, and fun!  This was a very special event in our learning for all of our learners and especially the Year 5 and 6 learners who enjoyed the experience of sleeping overnight on the Marae who then welcomed the Year 1-4 learners on Friday. All the learners learnt a great amount of Maori protocol, participated in Waiata (singing) and other fun activities like weaving, using poi, matariki kites, rakau and taiaha.  It was encouraging that so many of our families joined us for this experience and shared the learning with their children.  We look forward to connecting with the iwi again soon!

Marae Trip – Day 2 on PhotoPeach