Kia ora, welcome.
I stayed with Jakki and Peter Tuhaka while I worked in the Ngunguru School. Jakki is the Associate Principal for the Junior grades and Peter is the school's caretaker so I was able to find out how the school ran inside and out! They were very gracious hosts and took very good care of me.
I was welcomed with a special ceremony called a powhiri (formal welcome). After all the students were seated, a local Maori woman led us into the room with a kauranga (a high-pitched call to the ancestors). Sonny, the local Maori leader and descendant of the leader who gifted the land to the school) gave mihimihi (greetings) in Maori. To reinforce the good wishes in the greetings, the students the sang traditional songs. After I was welcomed as one of them, I was asked to introduce myself. It was a very touching ceremony. If I was a male, we would have concluded with a hongi like in this picture, but since I am a woman, we shook hands and kissed in the European fashion. I didn't take pictures of this ceremony out of respect, but I have included some of the songs that the children sang later.
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