Term Two - Week 10

 Kia Ora Whanau.

Welcome to the last week of Term  Two.  

And just like that, it's holiday time next week! 

We hope you all have a relaxing break filled with family. A reminder that this Friday the 9th is a staff only day. We will see you all again on Monday the 26th of July.

This Wednesday the 7th of July we are having a shared lunch to farewell our friends Taylor and Isaac. Please bring a plate of food to share. We will miss them! Have a great time at your new schools. 

Happy Matariki!

Join us on the field this Thursday at 7am for a Mihi Whakatau while the Hangi pit warms up. We will have a simple breakfast of cereal and milk in Ngå Puna after the hangi has gone down. Please bring your own bowl and spoon for you and your child if you are having breakfast at school with us. Some gluten free cereal will be provided. If your chid is dairy free, please provide your own dairy free milk for breakfast. 7am is very early for our we people. Feel free to come at the normal school start time if this suits you and your family better. 

Dietary Needs

Hangi -All hangi packages will be gluten free and dairy free. Vegetarian and Halal meat packages will also be provided. Halal meat packages will be cooked outside the hangi pit in a a school oven to avoid contamination from the pork.

Please look out for a detailed booklet in the next newsletter with details about how the day will run. 


Matariki: Te Tau Hau Māori
In Te Ao Māori Matariki is both the name of the Pleiades star cluster and also of the season of its first rising in late June or early July. This is a marker of the beginning of the new year. Iwi across Aotearoa New Zealand understand and celebrate Matariki in different ways and at different times. 

Matariki is an abbreviation of ‘Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tāwhirimātea (‘The eyes of the god Tāwhirimātea’) and refers to a large cluster of stars, also known in European tradition as the Pleiades. 
Matariki will become a public holiday in Aotearoa NZ in 2022. 

This is the Matariki cluster from a Te Ao Māori perspective:
- Waipuna-ā-rangi
Watches the skies, rains, snows, sleets which nourishes the earth and contributes to the water cycles. 

- Ururangi
Is the winds of N,E,S,W.

- Tupu-ā-rangi
Represents cultivation from above: forests, birds, trees.

- Tupu-ā-nuku
Represents cultivation from the earth: kawakawa, kumara, healthy soil etc.

-Waitī
Watches over the fresh water environments and everything living in it. Creeks, rivers, lakes, springs which then flow into Waitā.

-Waitā 
Represents the salt waters. Seas, oceans and everything living in it.

-Hiwa-i-te-rangi
Is known as the wishing star. Where you cast all your dreams and hopes for the new year.

-Pohutakawa
Is the star of remembering our passed ancestors. Our family and friends who have died.

-Matariki
Is the mother of the cluster and encourages gathering of all people.

Whatever stars shine brightest in the week that Matariki is rising (next week) predicts what is going to be good for the coming year.




Have a happy holiday all. Here are Sue and Vanessa's email address's for those who may have misplaced them.

vanessa.reynolds@waimairi.school.nz
sue.marshall@waimairi.school.nz

Nga Puna teachers.

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