Our Tongan and Māori Language Week celebrations weren’t quite the same this year – but we still found ways to acknowledge and enjoy these special occasions.

First up was Tongan Language Week was held from Monday 6 September. This year’s theme for Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e lea faka-Tonga – Tonga Language Week was  Fakakoloa ‘o Aotearoa ‘aki ‘a e Ako Lelei, which means enriching Aotearoa with holistic education. Our Prefects ran a bunch of fun stuff on the Pasifika Instagram page.

Day 1: TikTok challenge
Day 2: Taking it back to the golden days with some Tongan History ouaaa!
Day 3: Phrases from the PI committee
Day 4: The winner of the TikTok challenge was announced
Day 5: TLW closing video (view HERE)

Another very cool activity on the Instagram page earlier in lockdown was “My day in lockdown” student vlogs, where each Year 13 Pasifika student took over the Instagram page to share their day and answer questions.

This week, to celebrate Māori Language Week, one of our Deans – Maggie Cogger-Orr – organised a Māori Language Kahoot Quiz. On Tuesday 14 September, we also joined in the 12pm nation-wide “Take a moment for te reo Māori” organised by the Māori Language Movement.

Amongst the activities, a new Instagram page was created by the Prefects, called Ngā Rangatira o Āpōpō. You can follow HERE