Preserving Culture, Shaping Destiny: Saint Kentigern at Polyfest

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi taketake kei waenganui I a tātou, tēnā koutou katoa. Nei rā te reo ō mihi, te reo ō aroha e pōwhiri atu ana ki a koutou katoa.

This year celebrates 48 years of the ASB Polyfest and the overarching theme was Mana Motuhake – Creating one’s own destiny. 

Our Kapa Haka Group were new to this regional competition and indeed created history. They competed in Division 3 against 14 other Secondary schools on the well-established Māori stage. Competition for a new school was fierce. These students were fearless in their pursuit of Excellence and made us all and their tūpuna (ancestors) very proud. 

Special acknowledgements also to all the staff, Kapa Haka experts and whanau who assisted with making this event possible and supported our students in realizing their potential. 

In pursuing Excellence, our Kapa Haka Group placed in both Aggregate and non-aggregate items of the competition for Division 3.  

We gratefully received:

3rd place certificate for Haka – Traditional War dance category – Te Haka o Hāto Kēneti our school haka that was written by Rawiri Martin and Iosua Hotere-Sosopo a past student of the College. 

2nd Place certificate for Kākahu tāne - Boys uniform category – Designed specifically for Saint Kentigern

2nd Place certificate for Waiata tira – Choral item category which included the Bag pipes a first ever for the Kapa Haka stage. 

And finally, we received:

1st Place taonga for Manukura Tāne - Male Leader Category Rawiri Martin. 

Ehara te toa i te toa takitahi. Engari te toa i te toa takitini. Success is attributed to the many who contributed. 

Participants:

To watch the performance, please visit https://bit.ly/3q4YiDb