LATEST STORIES
Mānawatia a Matariki
The month of July marked the beginning of celebrations for the Māori New Year. Māori believe that appearance of Matariki in the morning sky in mid-winter marks the Māori New Year, or Te Mātahi o te Tau. It signals a time to remember those who have passed, celebrate the present and plan for the future. BestStart, Hei Hei celebrated Matariki by hosting a whānau evening where our beloved whānau shared the kai from their cultures.
To make this evening even more special, our tamariki showed immense mahi tahi to prepare the vege soup for the evening. The evening began with our preschool tamariki welcoming all the families by a wonderful waiata followed by the shared kai and matariki disco. Our tamariki enjoyed the matariki disco and loved flaunting their dance moves on the floor. We also took this as an opportunity to plan for the future by asking our whanau to fill in the aspiration stars in which our families expressed the things, they would like their children to experience at BestStart Hei Hei. Through this celebration, both our Kaiako and the whānau were able to spend quality time with each other thereby deepening the trusting relationship they already have with us.
Our tamariki learnt the importance of collaboration (mahi tahi) while having fun alongside each other. Mānawa maiea te putanga o Matariki To honour or celebrate Matariki when it rises in the sky