On Friday November 18, Nga Iwi School celebrated its 50th Jubilee. We had a day of celebrations starting with a very moving powhiri, supported by our local iwi and proudly carried out by our students who were in fine voice. There were a number of past students, teachers and principals who attended the event, as well as the Honorable Aupito William Su'a, Minister of Pacific People and associate Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Speakers for the celebration were many and varied. We started with my Principals welcome...welcoming the community and special guest to such an important occasion. Followed by our Iwi representative, Matua Ngaati-Tahinga Wilson who gave our community the history and whakapapa of our school and the whenua we stand on. The honorable Minister Aupito William Su'a spoke of how well our school is going, the initiatives that are running and the aspirations he and the government have for our community. Deanna Johnson spoke as the past Principal who introduced Kaiwhare as our new school logo. Mrs Jocelyn Trembath is a teacher who has served the school for more than 40 years. She spoke of the 'old days' and how much the school has changed over the years. Mrs Lily Taplin was the final speaker. Lily was a foundation student 50 years ago and is a current teacher at our school, she spoke of her love for the school and the community.
In between all of the speeches were performances. We had performances from our Samoan Group, Tongan Group, Niuean Group, Hiphop group and our KapaHaka Group. And intermittently between speeches and performances, Mrs Taplin led singing...the whole school were in fine voice all morning. At the conclusion of the assembly, guests were welcome to stay for shared kai, browse the photos which lined the hall walls and take a stroll around the school to see how it looks now.
At 6pm, guests started to arrive for the evening programme of dinner and a DJ. There were approximately 100 people in attendance including past students and teachers, present whanau, local iwi and staff. Staff meals were fully subsidised by the board for the amazing work they did in the lead up to and on the day of the Jubilee. Throughout the night people shared stories and reminisced about the time and their connection to Nga Iwi School. There was an amazing atmosphere of whanau - once a Nga Iwi kid always a Nga Iwi kid! Lots of laughter and photo taking, cheers to memories and a bit of dancing at the end of the night. We had people as far afield as the Far North, the South Island and Australia come to the event. In summary, the 50th Jubilee celebrations were a huge success.
We learnt a lot about our schools past and gained a new appreciation for our uniqueness. We have planned a 50th Jubilee whole school photo in the near future that will be mounted with the foundation school photo. This will be a symbol of how far we've come and the shoulders on which we stand.
