On Friday 19th June, our Northcross Kapa Haka group proudly participated in three incredible Matariki events, sharing their talent, passion, and pride with the wider community.
The day began at Murray’s Bay Primary, where our group was welcomed with a mihi whakatau, followed by beautiful waiata and haka. We have attended this event for the past 7 years and DP Paul Hoffman always makes our school welcome. Mr Jensen spoke on behalf of the manuhiri, and our students performed confidently in front of kindy tamariki, primary students, and visiting whānau.
Next, we travelled to Long Bay College for the Oneroa Matariki Celebration, hosted by Long Bay Primary. We arrived in time to witness a powerful and creative performance by Sherwood Primary, which inspired our students to bring even more passion and expression to their second performance of the day. The celebration concluded with a collective waiata from all schools in the Oneroa Kāhui Ako—a moving tribute to Matariki unity.
Our final performance took place at Albany Mall and we were warmly received by whanau, ex-pupils, and shoppers. The group once again delivered an outstanding display of commitment and school pride, representing Northcross with mana and aroha.
Also during the week our Kapa haka assisted with an East Coast Bays community project in Browns Bay. With fantastic leadership from Barefoot Harry, our students played with the Creche kids in a variety of Matariki activities on the Browns Bay Village Green. This was a great opportunity for our young people to get alongside young tamariki and it was also a lot of fun, although one large Nikau kite nearly hit our learning assistant Julia in the head – it was a windy day!
We have two more performances; a trip to Aria Bay rest home and then on Saturday 28th June at the Mairangi Bay Arts Centre . This begins at midday and all are welcome to attend.
A huge thank you to Mr Jensen for his tireless dedication, energy, and heart in preparing our students for such a special day. Miharo!
