Nurturing whanaungatanga - Mairtown's annual hangi

On Friday 8th of August we celebrated our annual Hangi at kindergarten. The Hangi is usually part of our Matariki events; however due to the weather we had to postpone the date and what a great decision it was, as the weather on Friday was just awesome. Ranginui must have been taking care of us as though it showered twice, neither of these downfalls effected our festivities.

Our Hangi is a highly anticipated event, from the beginning to the end of the day the focus is on working together, sharing, making connections and caring for each other as we collaborate in the creation of a delicious feast and experience.

Taika helps to put meat in the Hangi basket

 At the heart of our Hangi is the Te Ao Māori principal of whanaungatanga. Whanaungatanga recognises that people are taonga (treasures) and are part of a larger collective; therefore it is our relationships with each other and how we care and nurture these connections that is most important.

Roman carries his lantern

Paul Hirini describes whanaungatanga "as a value, which reinforces the commitment whānau members have to each other. Such commitment is expressed through the process of caring, sharing, respecting, helping, assisting and nurturing" (MOE)

Tiaki holds his sparkler

Ritchie (2012) also states that "Whanaungatanga recognises the centrality of whānau and relationships to early childhood care and education, and is consistent with the Te Whariki principle of Family and Community/Whānau."












On behalf of the team I want to say a huge thank you to our parents, whānau and tamariki for helping to make this such a special day. We also want to acknowledge Glen Davidson (our local library bus driver and musician  extraordinaire) for supporting us again this year with our fireside sing-along and lantern parade.

 Once again, Christine has created a wonderful video that truly captures the essence, care and energy of this wonderful day of social interaction and celebration, enjoy!

 E hoa ma, ina te ora o te tangata

My friends, this is the essence of life

Noho ora mai
Kim