Term 2 started with a second flooding incident here at Hillsborough Kindergarten, and a three week closure.  This meant a long time away for many of our tamariki and displacement for others. Many thanks to Mt Roskill and Ōwairaka for hosting some of our tamariki and kaiako, your manaakitanga to us was appreciated. Returning back to our own space has been a wonderful feeling for all. This Matariki therefore has been an special time for us to foster whanaungatanga here at Hillsborough Kindergarten and rebuild connections after the closure.

To bring our kindergarten whānau together, kaiako and tamariki planned a special afternoon tea event to celebrate Matariki. Tamariki decorated our Kindergarten over several weeks with a myriad of different art works and practiced waiata for a special performance for their whānau. The nine stars of Matariki symbolising the new year and new beginnings adorned our kindergarten in many forms and provided inspiration for our tamariki to be involved in practicing cutting, artistic skills and printing,  growing their interest and knowledge of art practice and also the meanings behind the symbols of Matariki. One star we focussed on this year was Pōhutakawa, the remembrance star. Our tamariki made beautiful pōhutakawa flowers and special stars to adorn our remembrance wall where whānau and kaiako contributed photos of passed loved ones. This fostered a sense of belonging/mana whenua as tamariki made connections between Kindergarten and home seeing their loved ones on the wall.

Our Matariki afternoon tea brought our community together, with many whānau attending, including many older siblings who were past students of Hillsborough Kindergarten. Our tamariki came together to perform beautiful waiata for their whānau, showing both manakiatanga and kotahitanga! Afterwards kai from all cultures of our very diverse kindergarten community was shared as whānau mingled, growing connections and building whanaungatanga.

As a final part of our Matariki celebrations this term tamariki were excited to have the Kapa Haka group from neighbouring Waikowhai Intermediate School join us for a performance. The group sang and performed both beautifully and powerfully for our tamariki and finished with a awe-inspiring haka at the end! In return, our tamariki performed their Matariki waiata they had learned which delighted the school group.

The events of this Matariki have truly strengthened our whanaungatanga.