He pēpi
Miere Manurere Paraone arrived safely at 3.47am on 12 December 2013 weighing 7.25lbs.
Her arrival was a delight for her first-time parents, Kerepeti Paraone and Savanah Tukariri; her first time grandparents, Patrick and Ripeka Paraone, Sharlene and Tim Pirikahu, Anthony and Donna Tukariri; and her first-time great-grandparents: Reihana (Aunty Doe) Parata and Peter Tukariri. Nōu te ao e hine.
Savanah Tukariri, Miere Manurere Paraone and Kerepeti Paraone.
Surf lifesaving championships
Congratulations to Te Kaio Cranwell and Mihiroa and Meihana Pauling from the Waimairi Surf Lifesaving Club for their 2014 Canterbury Surf Lifesaving Medals – two golds for Mihiroa in the under 10 beach sprints championship and beach relay; two golds (under 9 beach relay and board relay), one silver (under 9 beach sprint) and one bronze (under 9 beach flags) for Te Kaio; and two bronzes for Mei in the under 8 beach sprints and beach relay. Tau kē koutou. The club also won the overall trophy for the second year running.
Mihiroa Pauling, Meihana Pauling and Te Kaio Cranwell with their medals.
He Pēpi
Congratulations to Jess Tyro (Taiaroa whānau) and her partner Mike Hobbs, following the recent arrival of their new baby girl. Alexandra Alice Mae was born Saturday 8 March and is another moko for Pani Zaitsev (daughter of the late Tāua Mekura Briggs).
Congratulations
Congratulations to Amiria Puriri Tikao who has just been made Kaihautū (student leader) of Te Tikanga Reo Rua at St Albans School.
This is a great achievement especially considering you’ve been at TTRR for only one year. We’re all very proud.
Amiria Puriri Tikao.
Enjoying the view
Ko Ōnuku te marae, ko Ōteauheke te maunga, ko Kāi Tahu te iwi.
Overlooking the marae.
Whetu and Tahu (mokopuna of Bruce and Polly Rhodes), overlooking Ōnuku Marae.
Wānanga kapa haka – Te Pao a Tahu
We had a fantastic time at Arowhenua during the weekend of 21-23 of February. The whole weekend was sunny. Arowhenua really put it on for us. We were welcomed by Te Wera, Rihari, Gwen and Henare and were treated to a beautiful boil-up. A lot of our members were new to Arowhenua so we talked a bit about the history and area. Saturday was crunch day and we spent most of it practising our singing, choreography and haka, with some down time swimming at the river or chilling.
Saturday evening was wonderful. We had one of Arowhenua’s famous daughters, Ngāhuia, who has been well-viewed on YouTube for her singing. She spent time with us and shared in some singing too. Our pōua and tāua came in to visit on Sunday and we performed our bracket to show our appreciation for staying in Te Hapa o Niu Tireni. Overall it was a great time. Many of us have reflected on the beautiful wairua present in Arowhenua. Ko te reo matihere o whakamiha tēnei e rere atu nei. Tēnā koutou Kāti Huirapa.
Te Reo and Waka Fun Day
It was a beautiful day on 22 February for our tamariki and pakeke to get among the activities on the Waikouaiti awa. The main themes of the day were waka and te reo Māori. We had many friends and whānau from near and far, many of them participating in waka activities for the first time. We had four waka rotations with the four-man and six- man waka ama, the stand-up paddleboards and the waka unua, Hauteruruku.
It was an eventful day for our tamariki getting to know more about water safety and also some new kupu Māori for things pertaining to waka. Me mihi ka tika ki ngā kaiwhakahaere, Tori, Brendon, Suzi, Alex, koutou ko Hori. Ngā mihi nui hoki ki ngā whānau i hikina te hoe, ā, i korite ngā hoe hoki. Me hoe tahi tātou ki ngā mea katoa. Nō reira tēnā koutou e te whānau, ki te hoe.
Waka Fun Day at the Karitāne foreshore in February.
Otago Polytechnic rūnaka scholarships
We are delighted to announce that we have not one, but two Otago Polytechnic rūnaka scholarship recipients this year. The scholarship covers full fees for the degree or diploma the recipient is studying.
Congratulations to Takiwai Russell-Camp, who is enrolled in a Bachelor of Visual Art with a major in photography. Takiwai has been a member of Puketeraki since birth. She would like to use her skills learnt to capture events that add to our histories. We wish you all the best Takiwai.
Takiwai Russell-Camp graduating from Otago Polytechnic School of Design in December.
Rōpū taiohi
We had our first rōpū taiohi (youth group) session of the year in February. It was great to see all the kids back and ready to get back to the group. The team decided to put it to the kids to come up with some ideas on what they would like to do for the year.
Needless to say we got quite a few ideas and we’ll definitely be busy this year getting all their activities done. If you, or anybody you know, have any children from age 5 that you would like to send along, please don’t hesitate to contact Mere on [email protected]
Our first youth group for the year was a great success.
Kids of all ages enoyed a range of activities at our first meeting for the year.
The weather was fine, giving the kids a chance to get out on the field.
He pēpi
Last October was an eventful month for Michael Stevens (Metzger whānau) and his wife, Emma Wyeth (nō Puketeraki). On 21 October, the day before Emma’s birthday, the couple welcomed their third child into the world – Tūhiku-a-Kiwa Nicholas John Stevens. Weighing in at a bonny 8lb 1oz, Tūhiku slotted in to his busy family with great aplomb.
Tūhiku at three months of age.
Aoraki Matatū
Aoraki Matatū was held at Te Rāpaki o Te Rangiwhakaputa on the 28 February to 2 March. Aoraki Matatu is a te reo development initiative aimed at increasing our pool of Kāi Tahu te reo champions who are able to teach, lead and facilitate te reo learning opportunities within our Kāi Tahu communities.
Hana O’Regan and Lynne Te Aika are the poureo of this initiative and facilitate the weekend wānaka. Discussions about different teaching techniques, language concepts and Ngāi Tahu pūrākau and waiata prepare participants to teach at the Kia Kūrapa wānaka (for beginner to intermediate participants). The next Kia Kūrapa is at Tuahiwi 28-30 March.
We were fortunate enough to have Khelsilem (a distinguished guest from Vancouver) attend this Aoraki Matatū. Khelsilem who is of the Squamish people and a leader of language revitalisation amongst his iwi shared his experiences and the challenges that they face in regards to revitalising their language. It was a humbling experience to have Khelsilem contribute to the wānaka – Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi he toa takitini kē.
A big thank you to everyone who attended and to Kāti Wheke for their hospitality. Onwards and upwards from here, our next stop will be Kia Kūrapa ki Tuahiwi where participants from Aoraki Matatū will be able to put into practice what they have learnt over the weekend. Hope to see you all there.
Aoraki Matatū participants with Hana O’Regan and Khelsilem.