MAORI LEADER'S REPORT

Ka tangi te titi

Ka tangi te kaka

Ka tangi hoki ko au

Tihei Mauriora

Whakamaua ki a tina, tina

Haere mai te toki

Haumie huie Taiki e!

Nga mui nui ki a koutou

Nga mihi aroha

Nga mihi nui ano ki a koutou katoa

No reira tena koutou tena koutou tena koutou katoa

At the end of the 2007 prize giving, I was happy to accept the Maori leadership role and lead my boys through 2008, and this year as a Maori student and leader it has been a privilege to witness and be a part of the steady increase and progression of Maori culture within St Thomas'.

During my five years here I have witnessed many changes, and to me the most significant is the development of Maori Tikanga and its role in the school. Throughout the year we have been working towards improvement in cultural activities, some which have been growing for years and others which were introduced late last year. Firstly, the evolution of our Kapahaka ropu is amazing; we've leant new haka and have performed at countless assemblies to a respectful student audience. Also, an activity that kicked off last year in STC is Taiaha, and with the help of Tane Keepa it continued through 2008.

But the main highlight for me and the boys was our yearly Marae Noho to Takahanga Marae in Kaikoura to get away for a few days, have some fun and learn some more Tikanga; it began with the long awaited journey in the vans all the way up to Kaikoura with a pit stop at Cheviot. When we finally arrived we were welcomed on to the Marae and then we shared food and set up our mattresses. Takahanga was beautiful from the hilltop view overlooking Kaikoura city, the mountains and ocean to the hundreds of carvings in the Wharenui where we slept. As night came Michael Bendall showed off his guitar skills and we began to learn some new Waiata, Utaina-mai being the favorite. After a late night of singing, jokes and trying to get to sleep we were woken in the morning by Mr Campbell who happily said "we're going for a run!" We ran through the streets and along the beach as one big group or as Peni put it "like a league team!" The weather was great; 24 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, so after something to eat we decided to cool off by jumping off the Kaikoura wharfs, then stopping at the shops for some ice creams thanks to Mrs Earle and Mr Campbell.

When we returned to the Marae Caleb taught us some Taiaha moves and we kept working on Tumatauenga - our new haka. After tea we sang some more songs and were split into 3 groups to role play 3 different legends of Maui. This was a time of laughter and hilarity and that night to no one's surprise everyone pretty much fell asleep straight away. When we disagreed on the morning run we went for a long walk instead. When we returned Brett - a Marae worker, taught us some quick Taiaha drills and blocks as well as a few games and before we knew it we were packing our bags and getting ready for the hardest part of the trip, leaving. But before we left we thanked Brett with our favorite song and our special haka, Brett kindly accepted our thanks by replying with his own song and with a final blessing he summed up our last three days together with one word - "family".

Two or three years ago I could not have even imagined myself as a leader, I never really looked forward to coming to school and the thought of joining the Taiaha or Kapahaka group never even came to my mind but with a push from my Maori teacher I went to a practice after school and never looked back. I have gained many things by doing Kapahaka, Taiaha and learning Maori at STC. I have been filled with self pride and it has kept my head up and has helped me in finding my identity; but most of all the friends I have made through these tikanga are some of the closest I have ever made and having the privilege to perform in front of large crowds with you as well as going on Marae stays only emphasizes that. You have left me with many great memories that I will never forget and for that I thank you.

But all of this would not be possible without the help of Mr Campbell, Mrs Lee and Michael Bendall's constant hours of hard work that they have put into STC. Without you all I would never have made the friends I have today, I would have never known what it's like to lead a haka, never gone to Kaikoura Marae, never have a badge saying "Maori Leader" and I would never have written this magazine article, I give you my deepest thanks because without you I would not be the young man I am today, your hard work does not go unnoticed and is appreciated by many.

I will never forget the people I have met through school and to my Whanau that remain at STC, as you continue on the journey I have been on for the last five years I ask you to do three things for me: Do your best in everything you do, Do not let anyone tell you that you can't do something just because they can't themselves and ignore anyone who speaks negatively of the things you do, because this will happen some stage in your school life and probably more than once. So with this in mind I wish you the best of luck for your future, I will miss STC and all who are there, but it is not the end it is just the beginning of a new journey. I will still be around if help is needed and I may even come on the next Marae trip so to my friends reading this, this is not goodbye, it's Ka kite ano!

 Report by: Nathan Delautour  -  Neihana