Matariki Week

Matariki was traditionally a time for remembrance, celebration and fertility for Maori people, so it was a day for us to celebrate today too. The appearance of the Matariki stars also helped Maori decide when to plant their spring crops:

“The coming season’s crops were planted according to the portents read in the Matariki star cluster. If the stars were clear and bright, it was a sign that a favourable and productive season lay ahead, and planting would begin in September. If the stars appeared hazy and closely bunched together, a cold winter was in store and planting was put off until October.”

In keeping with tradition Block 1 made their plan for our summer planting. Now we’ll need get up before dawn this week to see what the Matariki stars look like, so we can figure out when to plant these crops this coming spring!

In the meantime we planted a mandarin tree into a pot in the garden club to celebrate. These gardeners are in Year 7, so will still be here next winter to eat the mandarins it will hopefully produce, which is a good incentive to look after the tree well!

Block 2 also planted a citrus tree, a generous thing to do for future students at the school, while Stephen and Josiah added a hebe. They worked as a team sharing the responsibility of planting it, said a karakia over it and were justifiably very proud of their mahi.