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MATARIKI at BestStart Howick
Matariki is a time to acknowlege the past/our ancestors and our present/our growing generation. It is a very special time for us here at BestStart Howick, to be thankful to God for the blessings of our wonderful children. It is a time for us to all come together as one big family, share the bounty of the harvest with some traditional Māori songs and music.
At BestStart Howick, we all started preparing for this celebration with daily practices in singing in Te Reo Māori the national anthem, Matariki song and the haka. We are grateful to Nova's whānau for training our tamariki in performing the haka, our whānau for bringing in vegetables, flour, butter and oil contributing to the kai. They even came in to help with the kai preparation, ka pai whānau! Nearly all our whānau attended our Matariki celebration dinner.
Our mihi started with a karakia followed by the children's concert and the haka. What a proud moment for us all to see our tamariki singing so confidently in te reo Māori. Whānau also participated in art and craft making their own Matariki stars and some painted them on a canvas. For dinner we all enjoyed a scrumptious traditional hangi followed by apple cream tarts. At BestStart Howick, we strongly believe that it takes a village to raise a child. Community is very important to us. When you walk in through our doors you are guaranteed to see this at all times.