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Matariki celebration with BestStart Papatoetoe
Here at BestStart Papatoetoe, we show Whakawhanaungatanga through celebrations and events where we celebrate New Zealand's Maori culture 'Matariki'.
We invited our whanau to join in with us for a "Soup Night". Our whanau turned out in good numbers where they all discussed, laughed and enjoyed the night with different stories of their cultures about the cluster of stars. This connects with our centre vision, "Find a home with us".
We invited our Whānau to come and enjoy and connect and be part of the centre. Together, we did some art and craft with our Tamariki, where they created their own stars as well as enjoyed some yummy soup that the Tamariki and Aunty Ruth made.
Our tamariki peeled, cut the vegetables for the soup and made the Māori bread, thus' empowering, building their self-esteem, confidence and competence to become lifelong learners, which perfectly blends in with our philosophy too.
This also goes well along with our philosophy, 'We also celebrate the diverse nature of our community where we practice the values of Tikanga, in partnership with the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi).
It was such a great night as our parents enjoyed seeing the beautiful pieces of art (Mahi toi) we made in celebration of Matariki as well as their photos. Children's learning and development are enhanced when culturally appropriate ways of communicating are used and when whānau, hapū, iwi, and community are encouraged to participate, as our curriculum document Te whaariki also states.
Here at BestStart Papatoetoe, we are excited for the new year ahead of us!