In Māori culture, Matariki is the Pleiades star cluster and a celebration of its first rising in late June or early July. The rising marks the beginning of the new year in the Māori lunar calendar. This year, Matariki was celebrated between 28 June and 6 July.
The Junior School celebrated Matariki by reading stories like Flit the Fantail and the Matariki Map, singing and dancing to songs like the Matariki Macarena and creating amazing art pieces based on the stars of Matariki, picture books and Māori myths and legends about Matariki.
Team 1A had a Matariki art rotation where all the learners had the opportunity to go to Mrs Lee, Miss Oed, Mrs Wood and Miss Haugh’s classrooms during an afternoon and create an art piece based on Matariki. The learners were very excited to be able to go the into different classrooms and learn from all the teachers of Team 1A.
The learners created a Matariki star cluster by using chalk shavings, a Matariki kite, a star silhouette painting using dye and a Little Kiwi’s Matariki scene from the storybook. Using the different art materials allowed the learners to experiment with different artistic effects and create beautiful artwork.
