2022 Piwakawaka Art

Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tau hou Māori – Happy Matariki.
The Piwakawaka class were very busy celebrating Matariki last week and learning all about the nine stars of Matariki.
They started the week by writing their ‘Matariki Hopes and Wishes’ for the new year ahead. The children were very excited to create their heitiki’s with Mrs Smith from the Te Puna group. A Heitiki is a small, carved ornament, usually of greenstone, worn suspended from the neck. It is often incorrectly referred to as tiki. We created our heitiki using polymer clay that was then baked in the oven.
The children then used their hand eye co-ordination skills to learn how to plait and create their own pois. A poi is a traditional performance accessory that Maoris use for Kapa Haka and other various traditional performances. They used the poi’s to dance to their song ‘Tarwhirimatea’ and to farewell Mrs Cosford from their class and wish her well on her new journey.
They finished their week by creating their beautiful Kiwi pictures, based on the book ‘Little Kiwis Matariki’ by Nikki Slade Robinson. These are hanging proudly in Piwakawaka, if you would like to come and admire!
"We really had a wonderful week exploring Matariki and learning new and exciting facts about this wonderful special time of year.  Ma te Atua koe e manaaki."  Katie Kingstone and The Piwakawaka Tamariki.