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May Meet Up

May Meet Up

On Thursday I attended an event called the May Meet Up at the Mangere Arts Centre. It was a gathering of artists and people with dreams from Mangere-Otahuhu and was such an inspiring evening.  We heard about these awesome projects that are happening in our community and country like: Anonymouz creating a soundtrack to help blind people…

The Eel and Sina

The Eel and Sina

Awesome day today with Jono Soo Choon and the team who came to our school and performed the Samoan legend The Eel and Sina. We hosted the show and had children from Rongomai Primary come up and see the show too. It’s really important for Pacific children to see Pacific stories on stage so they…

Storylines Awards 2018

Storylines Awards 2018

Cook Islands Heroes is the 4th book in the Pasifika Heroes series and the book won a Storylines Notable Books Award today. Awards are important for a self-publishing writer like me because they help people to trust the work. Two other books received special mention: Powering Up with Joseph Parker and Go Fiji Go. I think this is so awesome…

Toa Niue: Sir Robert Rex
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Toa Niue: Sir Robert Rex

This week is Niue Language Week. Why is Niue Language Week celebrated around this time every year? It’s because it coincides with one of the most important events in Niue’s history. Niue had been a Protectorate of Britain before New Zealand took over in 1901. New Zealand and Niue had a close relationship, but by the 1960s…

Dalvanius, the Fijian Sevens team and the hit song made on a marae
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Dalvanius, the Fijian Sevens team and the hit song made on a marae

This week I went to see Poi E: The Story of our Song … what an inspiring film! I learned an amazing lesson about self belief from this film … and from the Fijian Sevens rugby team, and the singer, Kings! The film tells the story behind the success of the classic NZ song Poi E,  written…

Pita Taufatofua
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The Shine and the Struggle

If you  watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony, you would have seen the memorable entrance of the Tongan team led by their coconut-oil glistening flag bearer, Pita Taufatofua.   Pita missed qualifying for the Olympics three times and has suffered numerous serious injuries, including six broken bones, three torn ligaments and months in a wheelchair. But he persevered and finally…

Olympic Islands
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Olympic Islands

The Olympics start this week and it’s also Cook Islands language week. In honour of both events, here’s a history of the Cook Islands in the Olympics, taken from my new book Olympic Islands.   The Cook Islands competed in the Olympic Games for the first time at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea….

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No Back Down

Of all the things said about Muhammad Ali after his passing last week, my favourite were the thoughts of radio commentator Bomani Jones. Bomani said the thing that stood out to him about Ali was his refusal to back down. He was knocked down in the 4th round of his fight against Henry Cooper but…

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Joseph Parker’s burger addiction, Inky the Octopus and the challenge of being brave

It’s Samoan Language Week and the theme for 2016 is, “E felelei manu ae ma’au i o latou ofaga  – Birds migrate to environments where they survive and thrive.” It’s been inspiring following the journey of Samoan Kiwi boxer Joseph Parker. His career reflects the theme of Samoan week. Before Joseph teamed up with trainer…

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The Ōtāhuhu Writers in Schools Project

Last year, five Ōtāhuhu primary/intermediate schools, Reading Together (a Ministry of Education supported reading initiative), the Ōtāhuhu Community Library, the National Library and the New Zealand Book Council’s Writers in Schools programme joined forces to deliver the Ōtāhuhu Writers in Schools Project. Five low decile schools in Ōtāhuhu, South Auckland, hosted a diverse range of NZ writers in residence for six days over term three and…

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The All Stars Are Coming

It’s All-Star weekend in the NBA, a time when the best players come together for events that celebrate the game of basketball.  This year’s celebrations are taking place in Toronto, Canada. One Toronto bank has gone out of its way to make the basketball players welcome. The Bank of Montreal installed a gigantic 10 foot…

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Dabbing, the Gully Creepa and connected students

Culture was on display in the just finished season of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. It will also be on display in our classrooms this year. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton has been criticised for the way he celebrates touchdowns and other successful plays. One of his favourite things to do is a dance called the dab. Some commentators…

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Pay it forward

Watching the film Pay It Forward with family tonight got us thinking about what an awesome concept it’s based on. A teacher sets an interesting project for his students: “Think of an idea to change our world – and put it into ACTION!” One student’s idea is the basis of the Pay it Forward concept. He does 3…