Te Whare Wananga o Te Maro - Our marae

In our marae at school there are three main parts. The Tahuhu (backbone), the Heke (Ribs), and the carved head representing the ancestor. The reason the marae is in the shape it is is because it is the head and arms of an ancestor.

Except the carved heads on our marae represent the three tribes of Tauranga.  The top head represents Ngati ranginui the middle one represents Ngati pukenga and the last one represents Ngai te rangi. The colourful rope represents two things one is all the tribes are apart but they are still connected and the second is it represents all the houses at school.

The ribs and the backbone are the most important part of the marae because if you don’t have a strong backbone and strong ribs the you won’t have a strong marae. To also have a strong marae you have to have a strong community.

The whare is a meeting place to connect with you ancestors. This is the reason we take our hats and shoes off when entering the marae. It is a sign of respect to you ancestors and to the maori culture.  

Valentines Day

St Valentines was a Roman priest who was secretly organising weddings for soldiers. He was jailed then sentenced to death by the King on February 14th AD 270. We exchange cards, candy, gifts or flowers, with our special valentines. A special valentine is someone that you love. American spend up to 3.6 billion dollars on Valentines gift each year. 50 million roses are sold each year on Valentines Day. 73% of people who buy flowers for Valentines day are men and 27% are women.15% of the US women send themselves flowers on Valentines day. Eros is the greek god of love and his roman form is Cupid.

Waitangi Day

Why are these people carrying this banner?

The Treaty Of Waitangi was signed on the 6th of February 1840 in a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It was signed by 500 Maori Chiefs and some people from the British Crown. It is an agreement meaning that people of other countries were aloud to use the land. It was made an official public holiday in 1964. The people in the photo are protesting to try and get the people living in New Zealand to try and follow the treaty.