Our Marae Writing

At the marae Mrs Mercer did the karanga and then we listened to a couple of speeches.  Then the boys did the haka and that was excellent.  Meanwhile, the girls were making pois and then the girls came outside and did a poi dance to the boys.  then the boys did the haka to the girls.  Finally we had a poroporaki or leaving ceremony.  By Jack

Mrs Mercer did the calling.  I thought they were talking in a secret language.  I thought I belonged there.  I saw new things and carvings.  I had lots of fun.  By Emma Ellwood


It's my first I've been to a marae!  We saw Mrs Mercer do a karanga.  I tried not to laugh at it.  We did a hongi.  I thought there would be more people to hongi at the marae.  Then a women talked about the pictures of the ancestors on the wall.  There were lots of kowhaiwhais on the wall.  Then women taught all the girls how to make and do poi.  It was very hard making them.  We saw the boys performing a haka.  Then the girls performed the poi.  I really like making the poi.  By Isabel


When we got to the Marae Mrs Mercer did the karanga.  Next we went into the marae and listened to a speech.  We have to hongi.  The boys went first and then the girls.  After the hongi Wiremu told us who the pictures on the wall were of.  In the marae there were kowhaiwhai patterns.  Before lunch the girls made poi and they learnt to do a waiata with the pois.  The boys learnt the haka.  The boys did the haka to the girls and the girls did the poi to the boys.  There was a tekoteko inside the meeting house on the ground.
By Emma Minshull