Ni sa bula vinaka, ជំរាបសួរ (chum reap suor), Mālō e lelei, Kia orana, Tālofa lava, Namaste, Tēnā koutou katoa. We are the students from room 18. Welcome to our blog where we share all our fun learning at Clendon Park School. Ngā mihi nui
We had to get up bright and early in the morning to be ready to go for the Prawn farm and then the Huka falls cruise. We did a massive clean up of the marae and packed our bus to get back on the road for our journey north bound. We had done our final goodbyes to the hau kainga last night and were blessed by their warmth and manaakitanga.
At the Prawn Park with Mr Prawn himself
Striking a pose once again
One of the highlights of the Prawn Park was actually feeding some of the smaller prawns. I think Lizzy had about four of them eating out of her hands.
One of the adult prawns
Giving the small prawns a kai
Our tour guide later took us to some ponds where other visitors were actually fishing for some of the prawns. We opted to go around the activities circle around the park. The favourite spot for our kuia and parents was the geothermal seat and foot bath.
Funny photos
Pukana
Playing with the scales
Bikes and water hoses
Next, was a ride on the Huka falls cruise. We had an awesome captain who gave us korero along the way up towards the falls.
This is our lovely boat
And we are away
Each of our groups had turns on the upper deck to have a look around the river
Te Uwhinga on photos
Next group on the upper deck
Another group on the upper deck
Mauri ora!\
Now this is where things get really exciting. We all had turns on the upper deck as our captain took us close to the huka falls. It was seriously awesome! On the last turn we went up backwards up close to the falls while the boys did the haka
The beautiful Huka falls
We had such an awesome time in Taupo. At the end of our cruise, we did our farewells and thank you to all the parents, whanau and support staff. There were many piwaiwaka flying around which was a good sign. Nga mihi nui to Nana Bubs - our matriarch on the tour, whaea Oronsay - the hardest working whaea ever, matua Rhy for his awesome bus and driving, to our parents for all your hard work behind the scenes - matua Nui, whaea Joelene, matua Arthur, matua Jacks (DJ) and whaea Sue who is always there for us. Nga mihi to our staff whaea Camille may you have success in your teaching journey, whaea Noelle for keeping an eye on our taonga Rory and most of all our Tuwharetoa leaders Ma Cynthia and whaea Nicky. Tuwharetoa rocks!
What an amazing trip we had from start to finish. It was totally the "bomb" and everyone who was involved had a Mean Maori Mean time. It all started months ago with planning and organisation by the teachers, administration, staff and whanau. The actual thought for the trip came about several years before. All in all it was awesome! Nga mihi nui ki a Ma Cynthia and Whaea Nicky for allowing us to come into your ataahua marae and meet your lovely whanau. Nga mihi nui hoki ki a Whaea Sue Dawson and Matua Dudley and the BOT for supporting us in these wonderful experiences. The students will go away with many happy memories and moments. Tuwharetoa maranga mai!
Raapa - Te Ra Tuatahi
Karakia is of the up most importance.
We were very privileged to have matua Alec start us off in prayer. We had all the support of our parents and TWA students and teachers join us in karakia. Whaea Sue Dawson gave a beautiful speech which set the tone for a wonderful trip.
Having all the whanau in support. Nga mihi nui!
Everyone lends a hand in TWA with the luggage and food. Mauri ora!
Our first stop was at Taupiri maunga. We shared korero about who was buried at the maunga and many students and teachers had whanau there. We talked about the Kingitanga and the Waikato river. We ended with a karakia. He piko he taniwha, He piko, he piko he taniwha.
Ko Taupiri te Maunga
Hatu Patu's Rock
After having kai at Cambridge, we traveled further on until we came to Hatu Patu's rock. There are a few versions of the korero and it was interesting to hear them. We gave a koha such as a leaf or fern and placed it in the rock for good luck and safe travels. Later, we sang waiata and did a haka.
Called on to the marae Pukawa
When we arrived at Pukawa marae we were treated to some awesome Tuwharetoa hospitatlity. After the powhiri, we were given a lovely kai that hit the spot. Afterwards, we were given the history of Pukawa marae and the many stories of how the tribes of Aotearoa link to each other.
Potatau Te Wherowhero the first Maori King
Pukawa is the place of where the first Maori king was decided. In all the carvings the major tribes of Aotearoa were represented from the far north to the south island. It was an awesome first day of our trip.
Ka nui nga mihi ki a Isaiah, Kerehoma and Michael for doing extremely well in the cross country event on Wednesday. They ran around the school for 3 laps and were placed first, second and third respectively. They will be selected to represent our school at the Manurewa Cross Country Championships. Mauri ora!
Wow! We are so lucky to have whaea Ana in our classroom. She gave our students a lovely treat for being so awesome in class and working hard with our art work. After Pukeko students hung their art work, they were given their treats. Mauri ora Whaea Ana!
For some reason the students in Pukeko and Kereru classes decided to haka it out during lunch time. They had their shirts off and were showing their TWA pride. Of all places to haka, they started doing it at the playground and then went around the school. It is awesome to have pride, but we must also remember to be humble too. Nga mihi nui!
Friday, March 7, 2014
Haka Time!
The boys just love doing haka for the many guests that come to our kura.This time we had whaea Miriama and Whaea Renee come and talk to our class and the boys wanted to do their thing. Mauri ora!
