Matariki Celebrations!

This week Room 12 wanted to celebrate our Matariki holiday together as a class! We decided that the best way to do this was to share kai. We made vegetable soup using vegetables grown in soil. First we had to wash, peel, cut and then boil the vegetables. We added salt and pepper for flavour and blitzed it all together. It was delicious! After kai we made kites to fly in the wind and origami stars. This was a wonderful way to celebrate Matariki and connect with each other.

 

Matariki Whētu

Twinkling in the winter night sky just before dawn is Matariki! The appearance of Matariki signals the Māori New Year. For Māori, Matariki is a time of remembrance, joy and peace. It is a time for communities to come together and celebrate. 

In rūma tekau mā rua we have been exploring the nine whētu of Matariki. Each of the whētu in the cluster are connected, and they're individually named and defined with a purpose. 

Matariki - Health and Wellbeing

Pōhutukawa - Those who have passed away

Waitī - Fresh water and living creatures in the rivers, lakes and streams

Waitā - The ocean and food gathered from the sea

Waipuna-ā-rangi - The Rain

Tupuānuku - Food grown in the soil

Tupuārangi - Food connected to the birds, forests, berries, plants

Ururangi - Winds of the sky

Hiwa-i-te-rangi - The wishing star 

In the pictures below Room 12 created collaborative artwork about each star. They decorated one quarter of each star and put the puzzle together. We then made a wish to Hiwa-i-te-rangi for the year ahead on the smaller surrounding stars.