Ngā Manu Kōrero

This has been a massive month for Hēmi Hākēna whānau. Last week we had three speakers at Ngā Manu Kōrero the Otago and Southland regional Māori speech competition. Anahera Unahi competed in the Sir Turi Carroll (Junior English) section, speaking on the theme of identity and her taha Māori. Trinity Duncan competed in the Te Rāwhiti Ihaka (Junior Māori) section. Trinity was articulate and awesome. Lilly Kingipotiki spoke in the Korimako – Senior English this year. She delivered an impassioned speech about identity and finding your place. She was emailed a message of congratulations from the Director of Education for Otago and Southland, David Tapp which stated:
“I was fortunate to attend Ōtākou ki Murihiku Ngā Manu Kōrero 2025 today and to hear your kōrero. I wanted you to know that I thought you did an amazing job and I appreciate how nervous you must have been. I was very inspired by what you said and I congratulate you for all of the hard work that you have put into preparing for today! I hope you are proud of yourself – you should be! What an exceptional achievement, ka mau te wehi.” All three speakers put in countless hours writing and rehearsing their speeches, with the support of whānau and kaiako, and showed real presence on stage. Kei runga noa atu koutou. We are very proud of you all and how you stood on that massive stage. We are into the final preparation for Te hautoka now. Our noho over King’s Birthday weekend was fruitful and all students have been working hard to ensure our bracket is strong, powerful and polished. We can’t wait to share it with you all.