Category: Manawakura

The Remarkable Games

Posted on by Tracey Harkess

Thirteen rangatahi from Gisborne Girls High School, Gisborne Intermediate and Campion College took part in The Remarkable Games last Friday. 

The Remarkable Games is facilitated by Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti and joined by sporting codes that want to get on board to deliver an inter-school event. The kaupapa of the event is to provide our tamariki whaikaha (disability) community a safe, supportive environment where the rangatahi can be their unique selves and have some fun. It is a series of mini-games to get rangatahi involved in sport, play and active rec. 

Sport Gisborne Tairāwhiti Active Rangatahi Advisor Alana Karehana said “The event is always so much fun. It’s amazing giving these rangatahi an opportunity to play modified sports together and having the support of codes like Central Football coming together. You see them reaching their full potential out there, with movement and social interaction because they’re given the opportunity to. Their faces just light up, they couldn’t be happier.” 

The day consisted of a mixture of athletics, running races, hula hoops, football and finished off with a kanikani/dance off! 

The event was last held in July with Poverty Bay Golf and Parafed. This time Lee from Central Football joined in to teach football drills and skills.  

The next Remarkable Games is set to be held in March 2022. 

Kai Pai Day at Potaka School

Posted on by Tracey Harkess
Onepoto Based Manawakura Advisor Shyla, Kate and Tracey from Whiti Ora visited Potaka School for their Kai Pai Day.

Manawakura is a regional approach to a nation wide initiative called Healthy Active Learning, which is funded by Sport New Zealand, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education. One outcome of the initiative is to support schools and kura to create healthy food and drink environments. The Manawakura kaupapa for kai is to use a contemporary and holistic approach. Kate, a Dietitian, says: ‘Our goal of raising healthy eaters isn’t just about getting tamariki to eat their carrots for todays lunch, it’s supporting tamariki to grow up with positive eating attitudes and behaviours towards kai’. And that’s what Kai Pai Day was all about: a fun and interactive day for tamariki to celebrate and explore kai.

Prior to the day the students planned what they wanted to cook, the ingredients they would need, and rallied together to make it all happen.  Tamariki chose to make homemade burgers, kebab sticks, and smoothies. It’s fair to say there was cheerful chaos in the kitchen with 45 tamariki cutting, mixing, and grating kai but it was so cool to see them getting stuck into it. Tamariki tucked into the kai and had a sense of achievement having made what they were eating. A student said: “Look Koka, we made this!” holding up their burger.

Overall the day was a huge success, and the teachers were grateful tamariki were given the opportunity to have a hands on kai experience, especially given how isolated the up in Potaka, however having staff members like Shyla-Drew Taiapa, living and working in Wharekāhika helps ensure all of our schools are able to access Kates skills.

The staff at Whiti Ora are getting their way around kura on the coast, and hope to visit them all by the end of the year. Whiti Ora said we’re here to support our schools and kura on the coast and throughout Te Tairāwhiti in any way we can, especially when it comes to the health and wellbeing of tamariki.