Matariki Festival

Kia ora e te whānau,

As the days become colder and the nights grow longer, plans are underway to celebrate The Māori New Year with a Matariki Festival involving the whole school community.

In bygone days, Tākata Māori observed the rising of the lone star Puaka or the Matariki cluster of stars as the beginning of the New Year: the harvest season had ended and winter days were best spent indoors. This alignment of either celestial body is ancient and occurs all around Moana-ā-kiwa, the Pacific.

Our 2025 community Matariki Celebration is on Thursday 19th June. Please come at 5:00pm for a 5:20pm start. We’re really looking forward to the opportunity to celebrate together, reflect and reconnect, whilst enjoying waiata, kapa haka, fire and kai.

Several of our cooking classes will be making soup to share on the night courtesy of the Community Association, and Class 7 will soon begin their drumming practice. Class 12 whānau will be selling an array of culinary delights as the graduation fundraiser. The kapa haka groups are amazing and definitely not to be missed, and our wonderful caretaker Tim is working with Class 12 ākonga on their dramatic flaming torch entrance.

Please bring:
- Blankets, cushions, chairs
- Warm clothes
- Your own mug (for the complimentary soup)
- A few $$ to buy other delicious kai after the event
- Any lantern(s) your tamariki may have made at school/kindergarten
Tamariki will sit with their whānau this year, and we will have some space reserved at the front, for families with smaller children. Please feel free to place any lanterns around the centre circle, and light them yourselves.

We hope you will join the whole school by singing along with us to:
• Kei hea te rā
• Rise up o flame
• Ngā iwi e

Ngā mihi mahana
Jane Lush

Festivals Coordinator
janel@ch.steiner.school.nz