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Rahui in NZ
In Maori culture: ‘a rāhui is a form of tapu restricting access to, use of, an area or resource. A rāhui is given its authority by the mana of the person or group that imposes it’
‘a prohibition against a particular area or activity, typically one in force temporarily in order to protect a resource’
On the 25th of March 2020, Lockdown/Rāhui begun.
To protect you, your whānau, your friends and your teachers our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made a huge decision for the people of our nation and imposed a lockdown/rāhui. This meant you had to stay at home in your special bubble with your whānau, keeping limited contact with others around you.
Why did you have to do this? Well, throughout many countries all around the world, there were some very nasty germs that were very dangerous, potentially deadly, and they were spreading very fast!
As sad as your teachers were, not being able to see you during this time, your teachers knew you would be safest with your families. So, they scrambled to quickly learn how they could continue to promote and share your learning from afar and to keep those close friendships/connections.
Jacinda (our Prime Minister) had also let everyone know that it was ok to go for short walks or bike rides around your community but that we needed to keep a bit of a distance from others if we pass them, and this was to keep us all safe.
Online stories were shared with you and your families. We learnt more about each other and who is important to us. You shared your pets with us, some of you went camping at home and you were able to participate in online physical challenges. Some of you did loads of baking, decorated sidewalks, enjoyed online mat times with talented teachers, created art and craft, enjoyed games with your brothers and sisters, mum, dads, nanas or grandads, and some of you just spent time enjoying sunny days in your backyards.
Many beautiful pictures were shared of you and other tamariki from BestStart Faringdon East and your teachers really enjoyed seeing everyone’s faces.
Your teachers thought of you each day, wondering how you were, what you were doing, and when they would see you again, hoping you were happy and doing well.
I imagine there could have been a lot happening for you and your family throughout this time and I am sure you have created some wonderful memories.