Our Treasures...Our Taonga!

Ahakoa he iti he pounamu
Although it is small, it is greenstone

Room 15 children have been busy making pounamu and prayer stones. We have been discussing the important links to our concept of ‘taonga’ and how they can be a sacred treasure. A pounamu is a humble way to deliver a small gift. The word pounamu stands as a metaphor for something precious or a treasure from the heart. Prayer stones are a way for humans to give physical expression to the aspirations of a prayer. Texts of sacred words, phrases and symbols are frequently etched, scribed, painted, or drawn on them. They may be simple rocks with words such as peace, love, kindness, kia kaha, etched or drawn on them. We will use our prayer stones to help us pray for those in need.

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How many treasures/taonga do you know are in a catholic church?

Last week, the Year 4 syndicate visited the church. Fr Thige spoke to us about some of the many taonga/treasures in the church. These treasures can also be seen in most catholic churches in New Zealand and in fact around the world. The children wrote some brief explanations about what they saw. Enjoy!!!

Pounamu's Stones

A few weeks ago, we read the book 'Pounamu's Stones' by Dot Meharry. This narrative is about a girl called Pounamu, who is raised by her grandmother. While spending time with her gandmother, she learns practical skills and great wisdom. Pounamu's heart tells her that her grandmother has chosen her for a special reason, but she must first learn and discover a life's story before she finds out what that reason is. Once we had read the text, we looked at different designs of pounamu, and created out own through the use of pastels. Enjoy!

Our Church, Our Taonga

The Year 4 Syndicate recently visited the church to look at the amazing taonga present inside of it. Fr Thige spoke to us about the important treasures within the church. These included (just to name a few) the chalice, ciborium, monstrance, and the tabernacle. We also walked around the church and looked at the 14 Stations of the Cross, the Crosses on the pillars (that represent the 12 disciples), and the 3 sacred oils that have been blessed by the Bishop. Once we had returned back to class, we talked about the taonga we saw, then wrote some amazing explanations. A special thanks to Fr Thige for his time and knowledge.

The Wittens

Hi my name is Paige, and I’m going to talk to you about some chinese writing. My family have been having a young women named Jiali stay at our house to see what it’s like to experience life with a kiwi family. On her last day with us, she was secretly writing a little booklet with our names writen in chinese. There is my dad’s name which is Vaughan, my mum’s Natasha, my sister Helaina, our cat Angel, and of course me, Paige. Jiali stayed with us for three whole weeks. I have enjoyed listening to her stories about her life in China. I hope she will do the same when she returns back to China and tells her family and friends about New Zealand life. My language...my taonga!