Te Reo Māori myths and legends.

Last Wednesday morning, Room 7 jumped on a bus sang to the bus driver and arrived at Glen Innes Library to be greeted by 5 kaiako (teachers) from Auckland Museum. We were divided into two groups were we each sat on different sides of a blue cloth. The cloth represented an awa (river). Our kaiako taught us how to use patu (club) and rakau (stick) just like the native ancestors of Aotearoa (New Zealand - The land of the long white cloud). Then we began to hear a story about two tribes - Waitakere and Hunua. The waitakere people were known as patupaiarehe (forest fairies), they were small and had long flowing blonde hair and blue eyes. The hunua people were known as Tūrehu (fairy people), and were also small with flowing red hair. These people had a great battle and our job was to participate and act out the battle between the two tribes.
See the video's below.

Following this, we were each given a piece of clay. Here we made a mould of a matau (fish hook), just like Maui used to fish up the North Island. Later on, we will use our mould to create our own taonga (treasure) necklace from.

Matariki - Māori New Year

As the shortest day of winter approaches so to does the star constellation known as Matariki. Matariki is also known as many other names in different parts all over the world. In Tonga it is known as Mataliki, Samoan: Matali'i, Japanese: Subaru, Hawai'i: Makali'i, just to name a few. It's ancient astronomical name is  Pleiades.

In New Zealand Matariki symbolises the time for food crops to be harvested and storehouses to be stocked for the approaching winter. It is also the time to plan for the upcoming year, and is known as the Māori New Year. 

As with other common New Year traditions, it's a good time to reflect and think about what we might want to achieve in the year to come. So in Room 7 we each set goals to make plans to achieve. 

Many of us set our goals around Mathematics, and what stage we would like to achieve, while others set their goals around positive respectful behaviour and becoming active listeners. 

You can also see all our goals proudly displayed in the corridor outside Room 7, have a look and be sure to ask us how we are getting on with achieving them! 

Kei te pēhea koe?

How are you? Is a question that we ask every day, and in Room 7 we have been learning to ask and reply in te reo Māori. 

Each morning instead of our usual roll call we practice greeting and asking how we are in te reo Māori saying 

Ata marie Mary, kei te pēhea koe? 
Good morning Mary, how are you? 

We have been practicing replying with a range of words, sometimes we are sleepy, hungry, hungry, sick, sad, frustrated (hōhā), exhausted (ngenge), happy, and luckily not yet angry!  

Some of us have learned the words so well that we have even incorporated them into our writing work in class. What a great transfer of knowledge.