We are " Te Whanau Mahitahi " from Beckenham School. Every year we look forward to being a part of this special event that celebrates our cultural learning. At our school there are 4 kapahaka groups!

This term is a very busy one and "cultural festival" will be our 4th public performance for the term. Our last item includes using L.E.D and U.V poi with special lighting that creates a glow in the dark effect.

Beckenham School

Nga Tai Tamariki Aroha, Cotswold School’s Kapahaka group, will be performing in this year’s Cultural Festival. On debut in 2009, the group was both excited and anxious to perform at the same time. Once the group stepped out on stage nerves disappeared and a strong confidence emerged in the group. One child said after finishing performing waiata “I want to do that again! It was so much fun!”

Located in Bishopdale, Cotswold School has a roll of over 550 students from years 1-6. The senior children opt into Kapa haka practices showing their dedication and commitment. The group practices all year with the highlight being to perform in front of a large audience. This year’s group of senior children is led by Joseph Swete in the Haka and Amy-Lee Peterson for the poi. Kia kaha Cotswold! Stand strong.

Cotswold School

Isleworth School

The Isleworth Kapa haka was formed in 2008 and are excited to be performing at the Cultural Festival for the third time.

Our group is made up of children from many different cultures. We see this as a wonderful opportunity to showcase our performance skills and special gift of singing. Our thanks goes out to our wonderful tutors Matua Anton and Matua Norm, and to our kaiawhinaWhaea Rachael and Whaea Debby.

Manning Intermediate School

Manning Intermediate School is excited to be performing in this year’s Cultural Festival. Sadly it is the last time the Kapa haka and Wearable Art will appear in the show as the school is closing at the end of the year.

If the Harakeke was removed, where will the bellbird sing? If I was asked, what was the most important thing in the world; I would reply: It is people, it is people, it is people. The students, staff, parents and wider community of Manning Intermediate continue to show a bond of strength and unity. We are proud to share the awesome talent and creativity of our students for one final time. Kia Kaha.

Paparoa St School

Te Roopu Kapa Haka o te Kura o Paparoa are very excited to be part of the Christchurch Cultural Festival for 2013. Our group is made up of junior, middle and senior students.

We will be performing two original pieces (together in public for the first time) that were written especially for us. They acknowledge that, with all the earthquakes, we in Christchurch have been through really tough times. But we are also reminded that during tough times we learn a lot about ourselves. We become more experienced, and a lot wiser.

And we are reminded that after every storm, a rainbow appears. And rainbows have all the colours together as one, just like all the cultures of our school. And rainbows reach to the far horizon, Te Pae Tawhiti, just like the children at our school, striving in their education to be the best they can be.

We look forward to showcasing the talent of a committed, creative and enthusiastic Kapa Haka.

Thorrington School

The motto for this years Cultural Festival is "Ma te huruhuru, ka rere temanu" Adorn the bird with feathers so it can fly.

This will be Thorrington School's debut at the Cultural Festival. They will be spreading their wings to showcase their journey of learning of Kapa Haka. We have a dedicated senior group of 36 children in Year 4-6, some who have been part of the group since they were New Entrants. They will proudly perform their waiata, haka, poi and rakau using both traditional and contemporary music under the guidance of their very experienced kaiāko Sherrilee Herangi-Harrison.

Sumner School

The Sumner School Kapa Haka consists of 90 students from Years 4 to 8. They practice once a week in their lunch hour with their tutor Anton McLean.

The students have worked hard to learn the words and actions for a variety of traditional waiata and the school haka, which was written especially for Sumner School. They are looking forward to performing at the Primary School’s Cultural Festival on Wednesday 28th August.

Linwood North School

Linwood North School has been completely rebuilt and we are now the proud inhabitants of a beautiful M.L.E. (Modern Living Environment).

We are a multicultural school situated in the eastern suburbs of Christchurch. The school community was badly affected by the 2011 earthquakes and that saw the roll drop dramatically when our families had to find housing elsewhere. We are thrilled that people are returning to our community and the roll is climbing steadily again.

The children of Linwood North School are encouraged to explore and celebrate their own cultural backgrounds. They are also encouraged to learn about and respect the cultures of others. The whole of the Senior School (Years 4, 5 and 6 –with some Year 3 children) is involved in both of the culture groups.

The kapa haka group is guided by Maaka Tau. We have been fortunate to be able to welcome Lui Pereira back to gently lead the Pasifika group. The groups practise on a Thursday afternoon. Both tutors also work with the Junior School children to immerse them in their culture and prepare them to be our future culture groups. Thank you to our wonderful tutors.

Russley School

Russley School students are diligently rehearsing for their performance at the Cultural Festival on Thursday 29 August.

This is Russley’s second appearance at the Festival and the students are working hard to perform at their best. The roopu consists of around 65 Year 5 to 8 students. Russley are also presenting two Wearable Arts costumes designed and constructed by some senior students.

St Anne’s School

St Anne’s School in Woolston has participated in the Cultural Festival for many years. Each year we offer participation for all of our pupils from Year 1 through to Year 8. This year we have 77 from a roll of 114 pupils in our group. Two years ago we switched to the Matinee performance and those students who do not perform come along to support us. It is an awesome day out!

Our staff and parents support us in many ways, from our costumes to our performance. As a very multicultural school we are able to show case our cultures and our Special Character

This Year we perform a Waiata ringaringa, Haka, Samoan slap dance and our beautiful Himene Ka Waiata.

Christchurch East School

Christchurch East School Kapa Haka group first performed at the Christchurch Primary Schools' Cultural Festival in 2012. We have a group of 70 children from 5 to 12 years of age who are enthusiastic and excited to perform again this year.

The group performs each term at school and community events, including Children's Day. We have been working hard on a new performance that reflects the theme Ma te huruhuru, ka rere temanu: Adorn the bird with feathers so it can fly. We are performing on Tuesday 27 August at the matinee show; please come along and support Christchurch East School's Kapa Haka group

Cobham Intermediate School

Kapa haka is a great opportunity for all kids to experience. We have about 40 kids in our school Kapa haka group with a mix of Year 7 and 8 girls and boys. Matua is a great teacher as he takes Kapa haka seriously and he is very funny. Kapa haka is very enjoyable because we play lots of games and at the same time the games help improve our speed and reflexes. We usually play ‘Matua says’ and ‘Timi Tame Hare’. We really like them because when we win, we get rewarded and they are fun. Matua helps us individually if we ever get stuck on the Maori words or actions.

The Kapa haka group are involved in lots of performances including the school open night, assemblies and the Cultural Festival. We are really looking forward to the Cultural Festival especially because we get to perform on stage and wear our awesome Kapa haka uniforms and show of our Wearable and Visual arts.

The Cultural Festival is a great opportunity for classrooms to enter their wearable arts and visual arts. This year we have Room 3, Room 5 and Room 16 who took up this challenge. Shelly is our manager and organiser. She has helped sew the uniforms for the Cultural Festival. We have a variety of songs like Whakarongo, Nga Iwi E, the haka and other waiatas. Kapa haka is really fun and we will definitely be joining next year.

By Ella Coggan, Ella McKissock and Gabrielle Baird

St Martins Primary School

St Martins Primary School has been proudly performing at the Cultural Festival since 2006. Our school has both a Junior and a Senior KapaHaka group. Both groups meet on a Monday afternoon to practice.

This year our junior group has 95 members and our senior group has 45 in it. The senior group has been practicing very hard all year and will be performing at the festival.

Addington Primary School

Ma te huruhuru ka rere te manuAdorn the bird with feathers so it can fly

Addington Primary School has a long association of performing in the Cultural Festival; however this year is the first year that senior art students will exhibit in the visual art section. A select group of students has been working hard over the last term to not only produce a wonderful exhibit but also to try and understand the theme, and find creative ways of expressing it.

The students spent time researching Native NZ birds and the myths and beliefs that went along with them. An example is the Koitareke (marsh crake) It had a call that was good luck if you heard it on the right. It was bad luck to hear the Koitareke call on your left.

They then chose a bird that they connected with, and worked on colour palettes, textures, shapes and personal style. A mixed media approach was used to create a representation of that bird. The tutors, Fran and Sandy have been impressed with the student’s perseverance, especially during the preparation stages when visual progress wasn’t so evident. So keep an eye out for Addington School’s entry this year at the Cultural Festival.

Woolston School

Nga Taitamariki o Roimata is the name given to the Woolston School kapahaka and Pasifika group.

The group is made up of just over a hundred students, ranging in age from 5 to 13 years.

This year, as last year, the cultures will combine as one group to perform a variety of waiata and pese in their interpretation of the whakatauki "Ma tehuruhuru, ka rere te manu".

Woolston School has been performing at the Cultural Festival since 1996 and continues to be an enthusiastic and committed group of performers.

Elmwood Normal School

Excited tamariki from Elmwood Normal School have been gearing up for this year’s Cultural Festival.

This marks the first time Elmwood Normal School will be participating in this unique and culturally diverse event. Tamariki have been preparing over the past few weeks in poi, waiata and haka, ready to ‘karawhiua’ on the big stage.

The tamariki have been truly inspired by this year’s cultural theme ‘flight’, inspiring them to soar high, and aim to exceed their potential in their performance. Special thanks to Yvonne Cooper for making the kapa hakauniforms.

Casebrook Intermediate School

Students at Casebrook Intermediate have been learning about the artwork of Maori artist, John Bevan Ford. In response to this study the students have produced paintings that are a representation of family, place and time and hold special significance to each student The cloaks are a symbol of protection over these elements.

The photo features the work of students (from left to right) Jacqui Neil, Caitlin Naylor and Tai-iba Hassanian. Further examples of Casebrookstudents’ works will be on display at the Festival. Casebrook Intermediate will also be showcasing three of their performance groups; Kapahaka, Pasifika and Korean Dance. The students performing in these groups are proud ambassadors for Casebrook.

Belfast School

Belfast School Kapa Haka are a recently new group who have been working on a variety of new songs for this years Cultural Festival. This year we have been privileged to learn our own haka which represents the school motto, Care, Share, Learn and Grow as well as a variety of poi skills.

We are excited to be entering the Cultural Festival for the first time in many years and look forward to developing our skills and knowledge further.

We would like to say a big thank you for the contribution from WhaeaDanna, Sarah Vaughan and those who have been involved making costumes, we couldn't have done it without you!

West Spreydon School

For the first time in many years, West Spreydon School (Omokihi) will be participating in the Primary Cultural Festival on Thursday 29 August. We have a Kapahaka group, and a Pasifika group, comprising 97 enthusiastic students altogether. Both groups will be wearing their new uniforms which were purchased this year through grants from The Red Cross and Charitable Trusts. The children have been practising for a number of weeks now. They are very excited about performing, and we all appreciate the efforts of our new tutors.