Carolyn | Matariki 2021

Staff in our office were organised into seven groups - each ropu were assigned one of the whetu, the purpose was for them to research that whetu and report back to the wider staff group. We put up a blank sheet and when they had presented to staff they had to place their whetu in the appropriate position so that the constellation would eventually be revealed, extra points were awarded to those groups who also included Pohutukawa and Hiwa i te Rangi in their korero. We finished the week with shared kai with an international theme, staff from different countries were encouraged to bring a dish from their country of origin - for example we had kai from Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, Poland, England, NZ / Australia (fairy bread, cheerios), Scotland (shortbread with a colonial twist), England (fish and chips), Canada (donut holes), Canada with a Chinese twist). We also did Karakia and Waiata for the month with a focus on Matariki and changed our Karakia mo te Kai which references Tupu a Nuku me Tupu a Rangi.