Category: Hanga | Create

Kotahitanga to me means unity, respect, and working together as one team. It’s about feeling connected to my teammates, valuing each person’s contributions, and creating a supportive environment where everyone feels included and motivated. For me, kotahitanga isn’t just about playing volleyball, it’s about building relationships and being kind and understanding with others.

During this unit, we were randomly sorted into 4 teams of at least 6. Each person in each team took on a role. The roles were coach, manager, captain, referee, and stats keeper. I took on the role of manager. My job was to mark the ‘roll’ for our team and making sure everybody had full gear. I also had to let our team know what court we were on and who we were versing.

In our 1PE volleyball class, we showed kotahitanga by focusing on teamwork. Our team includes me as the manager, our coach guiding us, the captain encouraging and uplifting us, the stats keeper tracking progress, and the referee ensuring fair play. Each role is important because it helps us work together smoothly and stay connected. We know that our success depends on supporting each other and playing as one.

During lessons, we do activities that encourage kotahitanga. We practice together, cheer each other on, and communicate well. Our team chants boost our spirit and unity, making us feel more connected and motivated. We also show manaakitanga by respecting everyone’s efforts (teammates, opponents, referees) making sure everyone feels valued and respected. This kindness helps create a positive environment where everyone can enjoy and learn from volleyball.

We also practice tuakana/teina  by teaching and learning from each other. As more experienced players or people that have a little bit more knowledge of the game/rules more than others (tuakana), we help our teammates (teina) learn skills and strategies. We share our knowledge, encourage questions, and support each other’s growth. This makes the team stronger because we lift each other up.

Here is my video about Kotahitanga that has been demonstrated within my team: ‘Bubble Guppies’

Understanding Maori and Pasifika Health Models: A Simple Comparison

To provide caring and culturally respectful healthcare, it’s important to understand different health models from Maori and Pasifika cultures. Two well-known models are Te Whare Tapa Wha (Maori) and Fonofale (Originated in Samoa however, applied to all Pasifika Cultures). Both models see health as a balanced and connected whole, but they do this in different ways.

Te Whare Tapa Wha (Maori Model)

• Meaning: “The four walls of the house.”

• Focus: Health is made up of four parts that support each other:

• Taha Tinana (Physical Health): The body and physical wellbeing.

• Taha Wairua (Spiritual Health): Spiritual beliefs and practices.

• Taha Whanau (Family and Social Well Being): Support from family and community.

• Taha Hinengaro (Mental and Emotional Well Being): Thoughts, feelings, and mental health.
• Key Idea: All four parts need to be balanced for good health. If one is neglected, it can affect the others.

Fonofale (Pasifika Model)

• Meaning: Uses the image of a fale (Samoan house)

• Components: 

• The Fale (House): Represents family, community, and culture.

• The Roof: Spiritual beliefs that shelter and support health.

• The Pou (Pillars): Four supports–Physical, Mental, Spiritual, and Cultural or Socioeconomic factors.

• Environment: The [physical and social surroundings affecting health.

• Time: The importance of history and cultural context.
• Key Idea: Health is connected to family, community, environment, and history, and these should all be considered.

Main Similarities:

• Both see health as more than just physical – including spiritual, emotional, and social parts.
• Both highlight that these parts are connected, and imbalance in one can affect the others.
• Both are based on cultural values and practices, promoting respectful, culturally safe care.

Main Differences:

• Cultural Focus: Te Whare Tapa Wha is specifically Maori, including Maori spiritual and social ideas. Fonofale is based on Samoan and broader Pasifika cultures.

• Design: Te Whare Tapa Wha uses the house with four wales. Fonofale uses the house with a roof, pillars, environment, and times, adding layers of context.
• Environmental and Historical Factors: Fonofale explicitly includes environment and history, recognizing their impact on health. Te Whare Tapa Wha focuses more on balance among four key areas.

Why It Matters: 

Knowing these models helps healthcare providers care for Maori and Pasifika patients in ways that respect their cultures. It encourages seeing patients as whole persons with connections to family, spirituality, and community. Using these models can lead to better, more respectful healthcare.

In Short: 

Both models teach us that health is a balance of different parts connected to culture and community. They remind us to consider the whole person, not just physical symptoms, to provide truly respectful and effective healthcare.

This is a drawing I made on Google Images using my amazing skills of booth models:

Last Monday, on the 17th of February was international RAK day. At our school we decided to have RAK week, or Random Acts of Kindness Week. RAK is celebrated globally to encourage individuals and communities to engage in acts of kindness. The week encourages spontaneous acts of kindness to promote compassion and empathy, reminding us that even small gestures can greatly affect others. Whether one receives, gives or observes RAK there is a sense of happiness and fulfillment felt amongst individuals and this is what we were wanting to create within our school community and in our wider community. RAK week, started in 1995 by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation in the U.S, is a global movement celebrated every February.

As a class, we celebrated RAK week by doing various acts of kindness in our school and the community we live in. Some of these acts included:

– Cleaning tagging off signs

– Picked up rubbish (around school and off the streets)

– Wrote positive and motivational quotes around the school

– Painted rocks and planted them around the school 

– Put positive and motivational quotes on mirrors and whiteboards

– Made homemade cookies and wrote letters to hand to some staff 

– Cleaned the music block to relieve the cleaner of a task at the end of the day

– Gave some extra cookies out to the AE class and more kids around the school 

I believe that by participating in these acts, we could create an atmosphere where kindness is valued and encouraged, and give a good sense of belonging for people in our school, with the intent to have a ripple effect of others practicing RAK. To be honest, I was reluctant to get involved because I thought it was cheesy and embarrassing, because other people might judge me because some of them don’t know me or believe me as kind. However, I still got involved and participated in as many acts as I felt comfortable with.

RAK highlights the positive of kindness on individuals and communities. By practicing kindness, we uplift others and enhance our own wellbeing. 

DNA, chromosomes, and genes are essential for the genetic composition of living organisms. DNA carries the instructions for the development, growth, reproduction, and functioning for the life you live and the characteristics that make you unique. The major function of chromosomes is to carry the hereditary code from one cell generation to the next. Genes are at the centre of everything that makes us human. Genes are responsible for producing the proteins that run everything in our bodies. These components work together to determine our traits and characteristics. Overall, DNA, genes and chromosomes work together to make you who you are.

Today we made Kawakawa Bath Fizz and Kawakawa Tea

The ingredients for our Kawakawa Bath Fizz were baking soda, corn flour, citric acid, coconut oil, water, essential oil, Epsom salt and food colouring.

We mixed the wet and dry ingredients together and it came out as a dry crumbly mixture. We then grabbed our packaging and filled it up to about halfway and then packaged it up.

The ingredients for our Kawakawa Tea were lemon, ginger and honey syrup, kawakawa leaves and water.

We boiled the water and kawakawa leaves to make tea then we put 100 ml of syrup into a bottle then around 3/4 of a cup of tea and then we mixed that into the bottle.

Our vocational class has been learning about Rongoa Maori.

We’ve been mainly learning about the Kawakawa plant and its medicinal properties.

There are 5 different groups making things and there are Kawakawa leaves in each thing. The 5 groups are making, tea, soap, lip balms, gummies and toffee/lollipops.

My group has been making Kawakawa tea and we’ve only made 2 batches. The first batch me, JJ and Peyton made was very bitter and it had lemons, honey, Kawakawa leaves and ginger me and a couple other taste testers thought it was really good but nearly everyone thought it was too bitter and needed more honey or maybe some sugar.

The second batch, me & Kalee made it and it was a different recipe. It only had blackcurrant juice syrup and Kawakawa leaves and it was very good. This was only our second batch but we think this is the one we’re gonna sell.

This video explains how we made our waka, what materials we used and what was on it.

Migration: going to a different country, to live and work

Purakau: stories

Wahi tapu: sacred places

We learnt about migration and how our ancestors migrated to New Zealand. They followed whales and Pipiwharauroa when they were migrating.

“The shining cuckoo (shining bronze-cuckoo in Australia) is a summer migrant to New Zealand. It is common throughout New Zealand but it is small and cryptically-coloured and so is more often heard than seen. It has a distinctive whistling call. Two intriguing aspects of its life history are its brood-parasitic habits and the long annual trans-oceanic migration .  Link

If I could travel anywhere in the world it would be somewhere hot like Hawaii so I could go surfing and go hiking in the mountains. I also really wanna try the shaved ice they make. I wanna watch a sunset/sunrise on the beach and go for a morning/night swim.

I would also go to the Maldives because they have really pretty and private villas and it’s right above the water and the water is so clear. You can even get your own pool above the ocean and some rooms have slides that go into the water. There are so many activities you can do, like, jet skiing, snorkelling, whale watching, etc.