Week 4 - Wāhanga 4: Going forward this week: Our Kura works hard to lift the self-belief and mind-set of our ākonga, raising their aspirations, developing skills and knowledge to seek far horizons. Part of this mahi is connecting them with our history, connecting them with their whakapapa, connecting them with their potential futures. Attending Tā Bom’s tangi was to show our deepest respect to the ‘Last man standing’ and to keep the connection with the men of the 28 Māori Battalion and the ‘Price they paid for our citizenship’, ever present in our minds. Being part of the powhiri as the Hikoi arrived, was important. Being invited to co-host at Laurie Hall Park was powerful. It is important that our ākonga understand that this is the mahi we do as one of the Kura of Whangarei.

Week 4 - Wāhanga 4: Robert (Bom) Gillies, was the last surviving member of the 28th (Māori) Battalion…………. ”the last man standing”. Tā Robert was a prominent figure, not only as a war veteran but also for his role in preserving the memory and legacy of his fellow soldiers. His life serves as a reminder of the resilience, courage, and dedication of those who fought for our country. Our Academy had the honour of spending time with him in Waitangi, in Rotorua and in Italy. Yesterday the Academy, senior girls, OGs and staff travelled to Ngati Whakaue to the tangi. Shane Jones spoke for A Company. Our Boys sang the Italian waiata, Buono Notte beautifully, before a spine chilling haka. Moe mai ra e te rangatira…..moe mai ra…..it was a privilege!!!

Week 3 - Wāhanga 4: Ka timata ahau i te panui ki te mōhio ki tētahi mahi tino pai!!! Im going to start the panui this week acknowledging the outstanding achievement, tino kaha, of our very own Taihoronukurangi Porter-Lloyd at the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) Northland Regional Awards. Tai was our only rep this year at the YES Awards, up against high schools 4x our size. Again and again our Kura punches above its weight and this year, Tai did just that. There were 10+ others named in the Financial Management section and Tai took it out!!!

Week 2 - Wāhanga 4: Theres a lot in this panui to enjoy, so I won’t take up too much space. Just to say that the Term 4 focus is on Kia Mātau….. - Aromatawai (assessments) - Marautanga (curriculum) - Whakamahere (planning) - Pūrongo (reports) - NCEA and UE ākonga will be hounded to get their last bits of work done and dusted We will continue with kapahaka practice though and Iron Māori training starts in earnest in prep for Tāmaki Basketball is happening every Wednesday for Paenuku A date for our Term 4 Whanau Hui is still to be determined…..Let’s finish the year strong! Enjoy the panui!!!

Week 1 - Wāhanga 4: Wow, what a start we have had already. This term week 1 started off down at Maumahara. There we had a pōwhiri to welcome four new tamariki and Matua Nathan to Te Kāpehu Whetū Teina (Paenuku). Matua Nathan will be helping in our akomanga over the term working alongside our Pouako. He brings with him years of experience and a lot of knowledge with him; we look forward to having him in the kura. It has been a massive first week back for our kura.

Wāhanga 4: Kia ora koutou e te whanau o Te Kāpehu Whetū, A reminder that Kura starts back this coming Monday 14th. ALL current ākonga to be at Maumahara by 9am in uniform. We will welcome 2 new staff and 5 new ākonga this term. The Powhiri starts at 9.30am. Once the powhiri is complete, we will bus Paenuku back down to Tarewa. The new staff starting are: - Matua Neville Tohu who will be working with Matua Moses as Pou Awhina providing sports programmes and mentoring to our ākonga, particularly our Tai tama tāne. - Matua Nathan Warner, an experienced Pou Ako starting as a Pou Awhina, will be based down at Paenuku supporting staff with day to day delivery of our programme.

Week 10 - Wāhanga 3: Kia ora koutou e te whanau o Te Kāpehu Whetū, Term 3 – “Mahi kua oti”.....done and dusted!!! Its been an tino pukumahi term with both kura sites, Teina and Tuakana, prepping for Regional Kapa Haka, in Kaikohe, first week of Term 4. I'd like to mihi to our Pouako and Pouawhina for ensuring we had cover and our programme of learning continued despite staff being down and out māuiui. Welcome back Whaea Lu!! See you next term Whaea Hera!!.....we got this!! Tai Tokerau Regional Kapahaka is Sat 18th & Sun 19th October, in Kaikohe. It's 1st week back of Term 4. Paenuku and Paetata are on Saturday morning!!! Our Teina are first kapa on at 8.30am Our Tuakana are on at 11.30am Because of the early start, we are planning to have Paenuku stay at Kura Friday evening. We will get them up early, prep them to head to Kaikohe. More information to whanau soon.

Week 9 - Wāhanga 3: Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori!! One week to go... Paenuku finally moved into their new prefabs permanently and are using one prefab as the whare for Mangaroa while the other one is used as the whare for group practices and hui. The kitchen has been installed and will be fully operational by Term 4, enabling Paenuku to lunch in one space. I had the opportunity to attend morning karakia and watch their kapahaka practice. Beautiful to see our Teina putting all their effort into our tikanga and kaupapa.

Week 8 - Wāhanga 3: Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori!! Piki mai…..Kake mai…..Whakatau mai ra!! Kua tatū nei koutou Ki runga i te reo karanga o te wiki o te reo Māori He wiki whakamiharo ta matou i tera wiki…………. At Paenuku we had Whaea Hera and Whaea Lu out māuiui. Our staff stepped up as they always do and carried the week for us. Whaea Erana led our daily kapahaka practice with Whaea Sam and Matua Gene supporting. Whaea Faith coordinated the week with support from Whaea Petina and Whaea Arohaina, with Whaea Del, Matua Stanko, Matua Rua and Year 10 ākonga, backing up.

Week 7 - Wāhanga 3: Watching the tangihanga of Kiingi Tuheitia and the announcement of Kuini Ngā wai hono i te po Paki as his successor….both kura sites watched proceedings throughout the week….the coverage on TV media allowed us all to be part of a significant day/week for Māori.