Swanson School Cultural Groups Perform at Festival
Nearly a hundred Swanson students, from year 2 to year 8, performed at the Birdwood Cultural Festival. The festival involved students from other local primary schools, intermediates and high Schools. Our children performed really well and were a credit to us. We appreciated the support of our parents that came along on the day to watch the show.There were three culture groups in total. The Kapa Haka group performed a welcoming waiata. The Samoan Group performed a very lively sasa. The girls then danced and the boys followed with a haka very similar to the one used for the rugby world cup. The boys and the girls in the Cook Island group then joined together to perform a traditional song and dance. The performance finished with the girls showing their skills dancing to the fast beat of the drums.Attending and participating in an event such as this was a great learning experience for our students. It gave them the opportunity show pride and celebrate their culture and to appreciate the cultures of others. Our Samoan group is particularly special because it has been created through students working together and teaching each other and we intend to continue nurturing the development of their leadership next year so the group can grow from strength to strength.We were very fortunate that one of our parents, Mrs Eliana Elia- Tavaita’i and some members of her family, came forward and offered to begin a Cook Island Group for our students. It proved very popular and after a short time, and a lot of hard work, they were ready to perform. We acknowledge that coming to school every week and taking a cultural group is a big commitment and we are indebted to Eliana for what she has done for our children. Long may it continue. The cultural groups will be performing first up at the School Christmas Show next Tuesday evening so come along early and see them in action.
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