A Mihi Whakatau is a traditional Māori ritual whereby the host people (tangata whenua) welcome visitors (manuhiri) to our "marae" - school. The process starts with a "karanga". Visitors are then led onto the "marae" (into the hall), where they will be welcomed by a haka. A short speech will be made by school staff. As a result of this encounter, the manuhiri are recognised as "friend" not "foe" and cease being manuhiri, but now count among the tangata whenua.
A "waiata" is sung and finally kai (food) is shared to complete the process. Traditionally this would be a hākari (feast), but at school we tend to share cake and biscuits.
RSVP is not required.
Just a reminder to all new families attending the Mihi Whakatau to meet in the reception area by the office just before 2.30pm, where we will guide you through the ceremony, which takes approximately 15-20 minutes.
For New Entrant parents, this will be followed by a session at 3.15pm to help explain our learning programmes, how you can help at home, how children learn to read and write, expectations; and, we show you how to follow all our online resources such as signing up to the Amesbury Digest and accessing our planning online.
We hope to see everyone there!
