Welcome Back to Term 4 (Performance Term)

Welcome back to Term 4. We hope that everyone has had some time out and about. The Fox whānau spent a week in Wellington to hang out with our extended whānau. We felt fortunate to have been able to travel. Although very brief, catching up with people was good for our hauora. The kids had a chance to recharge and fill up on experiences outside of Auckland. Summer sports are kicking off soon so the kids are getting prepared for a busy spring/summer. 

I had the chance to reflect on what we did in Term 3. With minimal practices I think our group did a great job with their performance in the Matariki Concert. I've made it clear to our local schools that I think we need to do those sort of concerts more often but at a minimum we can do annually. We've started to embed a Friday 30 min practice at the end of the day which lifts all of our spirits as we close off the week. In those practices we get to perform with Te Puawaitanga, which has lifted our energy and enthusiasm. Bringing the two groups together has been a good initiative. We are hoping that by changing the practice times that we will attract more of the Te Puawaitanga learners to join in.

As much as we love practicing and building our kete of skills, performing is a way to execute what we've learnt. Our rōpū thrive on performances. When they get the uniform and moko on they all seem to lift. Term 4 is packed full of performance opportunities:

·        The Term 4 Pōwhiri (12/10)

·        Blessing of the new building (14/10)

·        The official opening of the new hubs (28/10)

·        The Te Kotuku Festival (21/11)

·        EOY Kapa Haka Celebration (to parents) (9/12)

·        Learner Achievement Celebration (11/12)

Goals for this term are:

·        Gradually introducing more waiata (we have 7 to introduce this term)

E Minaka Ana

E Nga Hau E Wha

Ka Waiata

Maumahara Noa Ahau

Tai Aroha

Utaina Mai

Whakaaria Mai

·        Ensure that we give the rōpū all the opportunities to perform

·        Embed the Wednesday practices (showing value to kapa haka by being incorporated in school time)

·        Embed the Friday afternoon performances. Invite parents to view (when alert levels are appropriate)

·        Acknowledge all of our leaving members. Give them a good sending off

We need your continued support to ensure we hit these targets. If you can help in any way e.g. Jump in and learn the waiata, play the guitar or have ideas on how to lift our children's experience then please either leave comments or have a chat. We are open to improvement opportunities and ways to keep it interesting if we have the help to achieve them.

Bryan Fox