LATEST STORIES
Happy Māori New Year Whānau!
Matariki is a time to come together and celebrate. Here at Best Start Great North Road kaiako and tamariki learnt all about the Maori New Year in the lead-up to our whānau evening. We had a big focus on the seven stars and learning the significance of each star through waiata (songs) pukapuka (books) and toi ataata (visual art).
There were many special activities for whānau to participate in during our Matariki evening. Kaiako enjoyed teaching our families about weaving, poi making, and Maori art to name a few.
Tamariki put on a special performance of Tūtira mai ngā iwi and the Matariki macarena – some children were so proud and had been practicing every day once they got home from preschool.
We shared yummy kai which included vegetable soup and fried bread. Tamariki each bought a vegetable from home and helped their Kaiako prepare the soup for our whānau evening.
Hiwa-i-te-Rangi is the youngest star in the Matariki cluster which our dreams and aspirations are connected to. We asked parents to write their wishes for their child on a star and hung these in our reception and tamariki proudly pointed out their wishing star every morning they arrived at the centre.
The team loved hosting our whanau and feel so fortunate to have everyone together to acknowledge and celebrate Matariki - Mānawatia a Matariki