School marks Maori Moment with kapa haka performance

Maori culture inspired smiles far and wide when the clock struck noon yesterday at Grants' Braes School in Dunedin.

That was because the entire school participated in the nationwide Maori Language Moment, which asked people to celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Maori any way they knew how.

To celebrate the moment, people were asked to do something to embrace te reo or Maori culture.

Hundreds of thousands of people signed up online to show their support for the event.

Grants Braes' School principal Gareth Taylor said getting the school together for kapa haka was the best way they could celebrate the moment.

Pupils were taught about the history of the moment, which was inspired by a petition with more than 30,000 signatures which was presented to Parliament in 1972 asking the government to teach te reo in schools.

The school was always looking for ways to incorporate te reo into the pupils’ learning, but it was just as important for the staff to work towards bettering their language skills.

The moment was particularly special as it was the first time the junior and senior kapa haka groups had performed a waiata together, he said.

After the moment, people posted pictures and videos of how they supported the event on the Maori Language Moment website.