The children arrived at school at 7.15am. They had a simple version of the traditional Maori welcome, then gathered around the hangi pit to see the food being put in and covered (some blokes had been there since 5am preparing the pit, lighting the fire and heating the rocks).
The children then had breakfast and did some related activities in their classrooms. About 4 1/2 hours later everyone gathered around the hangi again to see it being uncovered and wondering if it will be cooked
And it certainly was...it was cooked to perfection.
The children, parents and other guests had more than one helping.
Last week they took a day trip to visit some important places in their local community and make a connection with the things that their classrooms are named after-Waikirikiri (Selwyn River), Te Ahu Patiki (Mt Herbert), Harakeke (Flax), Nga Kahu (Hawks) and Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere).
For the last few weeks they have also had artist in residence, Simon Rutherford, who has been teaching the children flax weaving and sharing his wealth of knowledge around the history of flax use.
He had some of his work on display today. It is stunning, such an amazing artist and craftsperson.
He calls these his test pots-each one is made out of flax collected from different plants in all sorts of locations. They take him several hours to weave.
He has an interest in pottery and has made some of his pieces resembling pottery from mid 1900's.
Wonderful!What great education.
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