Nga Manu Korero

Three of our students competed in this year’s regional Nga Manu Korero speech competition that was held at Opononi Area School recently

Erana Bennett (Year 9) represented us in the Rawhiti Ihaka section (Junior Maori).   She did us all very proud with her courage as a speaker and also the effort and dedication she put in.

Skyla Anderson-Winn stood in the Korimako section (Senior English).  She spoke with passion and ferocity, delivering a high impact thought provoking prepared speech that brought the crowd to their feet.

Te-Arani Bennett (Year 11) who stood in the Pei Te Hurinui section (Senior Maori), spoke elegantly.  She inspired the audience as she delivered her speech with raw determination and confidence.

Both Te-Arani and Skyla stood in senior sections which meant that alongside a prepared speech, they also had to quickly brace themselves for a short unprepared piece which they both did very well in.

All three of us took on the challenge of stepping up on to the stage, to learning our speeches and representing our kura on this kaupapa. We are all glad and thankful to have done so. It is a huge privilege to be able to set an example for our peers and the rest of our region. We’d like to give a big mihi to Te Tari Maori and our ope tautoko that took the stage with us, our tumuaki Mr Solomon and our whanau, kura and wider community who helped the three of us prepare ourselves for our final performance and guide us on this amazing kaupapa.

Ko te kai a te rangatira ko te korero, no reira tena koutou katoa.

By: Te Arani Bennett