This is really cool from Parramatta rugby league player, Suaia Matagi. He visits youth in prisons and encourages them. He tells them that life is similar to a game of rugby league. “Just like in footy,” he says. “You might knock the ball on but that’s the same thing as life. You make the errors…
Last week was so awesome celebrating Cook Islands Language Week with the launch of Cook Islands Heroes at Tupu Youth Library. Something happened at the launch that taught me so much about where achievement comes from. Michael Metuakore is one of the heroes featured in the book. His story is amazing. Michael (Mangaia, Rarotonga, Palmerston, Penrhyn)…
Kia orana everyone! It’s Kuki Airani Language Week and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate. Cook Islands Heroes is a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone else who…
Kia orana everyone! It’s Kuki Airani Language Week and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate. Cook Islands Heroes is a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone else who…
Kia orana everyone! It’s Kuki Airani Language Week and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate. Cook Islands Heroes is a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone else who…
Kia orana everyone! Next week is Kuki Airani Language Week and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate. Cook Islands Heroes is a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…
Kia orana everyone! Next week is Kuki Airani Language Week and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate. Cook Islands Heroes is a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…
Kia orana everyone! Kuki Airani Language Week is coming August 1st and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate the week. It’s a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…
Kia orana everyone! Kuki Airani Language Week is coming August 1st and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate the week. It’s a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…
Kia orana everyone! Kuki Airani Language Week is coming August 1st and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate the week. It’s a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…
Kia orana everyone! Kuki Airani Language Week is coming August 1st and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate the week. It’s a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…
Kia orana everyone! Kuki Airani Language Week is coming August 1st and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate the week. It’s a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…
This week’s Cook Islands hero is rugby league player, Jordan Rapana. Jordan plays for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL, the toughest rugby league competition in the world. He also represented the Kiwis in last weeks’ ANZAC test. What makes Jordan a hero? It’s not just the way he plays rugby league – there are…
You were like a butterfly in a storm In that foul war that destroyed you. I dream Of you sometimes, the same improbable Dream – that you’re alive and not dead at all! And then I see you floating down that stream. At the end of ANZAC week I just want to pay respects…
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An American dad made news this week when he held up this sign at an NBA basketball game: Thomas was looking forward to watching his favourite player Lebron James, live. But he came from school with poor grades and the punishment his father gave him was to miss the game. Then he put it on a…
Hey guys lots of schools like to do a “Who Am I?” theme during term one. Here’s a couple of newspaper articles about New Zealand Warriors rugby league player Shaun Johnson on that theme that you could share with your staff. Not many young people would know that Shaun’s mum is Laotian. She escaped Laos…
The 2017 NRL season is about to begin and I want to encourage all who work with young people to consider what a rich resource of material we can get from rugby league and other sports to help engage students in our schools and classrooms. Here’s a few ideas: Study rugby league jerseys as visual language…
Thirty five train stations in France have installed vending machines which print short stories. The stories are free for people to read while they wait for their trains. Over 5,000 authors submitted stories for the machines. Passengers can choose whether they want their story to take one, three or five minutes to read. There are…
There are a lot of things that make me really proud to be a Kiwi. One of them was seeing what the New Zealand Maori rugby team did at the start of their game against Munster in Ireland on the weekend. Munster have recently suffered a tragedy. In October of this year, their popular head…
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…
Hey everyone here’s an article about Joseph Parker and his family that I wrote for e-Tangata magazine. It’s about a time I think I got Joseph’s dad in trouble … from his mum! Click on the e-Tangata logo to read the story.
Hey everyone, it’s Tongan Language Week this week and I’m launching my new book, Tongan Heroes. In the lead up to the launch I’m going to post short pieces and clips about some of the heroes in the book. The theme of Tongan Language Week is ‘Fakakoloa ‘a Aotearoa ‘aki ‘a e Loto’i Tonga’ — Enriching Aotearoa…
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…
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…
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….
Ive always loved this book. Beautiful writing and illustrations and a moving story for kids. Its awesome to see a new edition published 🙂
This week Benji Marshall will play his 250th NRL game! What an amazing achievement. And how fitting it is that the game will be played against the Wests Tigers, the team he first played for as a 17 year old high school student. Benji was a student at Keebra Park High School on the Gold Coast…
I recently took a class of Year 12 Drama students to see The Conch theatre company’s new show called The White Guitar. Wow! Speechless! One of those plays that after watching you just want to sit and reflect on for a while. The play tells the story of the Luafutu family. That’s the family of…
Tristan Thompson is a member of the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers. His stats in Game 7 read: 31 minutes played 3 shot attempts 2 blocked shots 3 rebounds They’re not MVP numbers. But the Cavs didn’t need MVP numbers from Tristan. They needed him to be a star in his role. One of his roles…
