LATEST STORIES
A time to stop and reflect
At Beststart Ascot, we value and celebrate many cultures. One of our big celebrations is Matariki. It is a month-long preparation where we learn more about sharing kai, the stars and the beliefs and values that is important in Maori culture and how it relates to ourselves. During this month, we talked about the placement of the stars and did many arts and crafts to show how we perceive it, we talked about legends and values and how that relates to us, and we shared food and stories at a gathering, bringing us all closer as a community.
Matariki is not the only time we are doing these things, but it is a time for us to stop and reflect as a person, as a centre, and as a community how these values impact us. We also shared lots of useful skills with our tamariki as they took the responsibility to help make our friendship soup by peeling and cutting the vegetables. We can see there is such a strong sense of belonging at the centre as they show all their whanau and relatives around, that confidence and sense of independence has been astounding.
Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou ka ora ai te iwi – with your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive. We believe that working together as a community creates the best learning environment for our tamariki, sharing is caring!”