Term 4 Week 3 has been a hectic one!
The Year 7&8 students have been working very hard over Term 3 and 4 as the school Kapa Haka group. On Friday last week, they performed in front of the school as a dress rehearsal. This was the lead up to their BIG show yesterday at the Te Kohutu Festival, held at the Ruapotaka Marae in Glen Innes.
Last week we practised every day to get formations, singing and actions right. Our seniors are talented dancers and musicions, and they coped with many last minute changes with ease. Whaea Binny was there to share her insight and knowledge on how our group could be better, Mrs T made sure the students looked AMAZING on stage in their performance uniforms, while I made sure we used every minute possible to represent the Maori culture as best as we could.
You would have felt very proud to have known any of our performers if you'd seen what they did on Saturday. They sang and danced with smiles on their faces for E minaka, Kapioioi and
Te Iwi. The boys lead the haka of Tena i whuia and Tika Tonu with ferocity and pride.
The weather was beautiful and sunny, light breeze present and a blue sky backdrop. There were lots of families and school staff members in attendance there to support all the children in Y7&8. The group was lead on stage by their leaders Iosefo and Mya-Nia.
The lead students in this group played their parts very well - Iosefo, Kingston, Aleki, DJ, and especially Mya-Nia. She lead the group with confidence, assurance and integrity. A powerful leader who lead by example.
Performing outside provides a different sound dynamic, it feels like you have to try even harder to get your voice across. The sound people at the marae had done an excellent job of making sure everyone could be heard - you could almost pinpoint each individual voice!
One of the strengths of this group is how well they sung without any instruments. I've performed in a few cultural groups but THIS is the first I've been involved with where there was no guitarist. I tell you what, they sounded sooooooo beautiful! Their voices demanded your attention and you wanted to listen to what they had to say (sing).
The group were buzzing high on the adrenaline of their performance. So much that they were changed out of their uniform within seconds of making it back to the changing room. I'm mostly confident in saying all the performers got their Mr Whippy ice cream, a lovely treat to cap off their performance.
CONGRATULATIONS, 2022 Year 7&8 Kapa Haka Group. You put the school on the map in a positive manner, and a memorable way to be remembered. Ka pai e tamariki ma!
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