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Haere Rā Julie
It is always a celebration and also hard when a member of our whānau leaves the centre. We are excited for them as they embark on a new chapter of their career but sad to see them leave us. Julie has been our cook and a big part of our centre for the last 12 years. She has seen the centre change from Rainbow to Topkids and now BestStart, so a leaving gift for her needed to be very special.
The kaiako choose a koru pounamu. With Julie heading off on a new adventure the koru was a significant design for her. The koru is commonly used in Māori art as a symbol of creation due to its fluid circular shape and is based on the unfolding fern frond of the native New Zealand silver fern. The circular shape of the koru conveys the idea of never ending movement and signifies how life changes. The koru represents new beginnings, growth and regeneration so we felt this was the perfect gift for Julie.
The children were part of the blessing of Julie's greenstone. We said karakia 'Ko Rangi, Ko Papa' and blessed the pounamu in the water from the centre Julies place for the last 10 years. Taane took a lead role in this as he proudly held the pounamu while ngā tamariki sprinkled it with the water. As part of the process all the kaiako wore Julies greenstone and some of the tamariki too.
Noah gifted Julie her pounamu at her afternoon tea, he had been wearing it and took it off and presented it to Julie to wear as hers. This was a fabulous opportunity for our tamariki to be part off and also show how we put our vision "Building Mana Through Aroha" in action.